George Sidney
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George Sidney | |
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Born | October 4, 1916 Long Island City, New York, United States |
Died | May 5, 2002 (aged 85) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
George Sidney (October 4, 1916 - May 5, 2002) was an American film director and film producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
[edit] Biography
Born in Long Island City, New York, Sidney began his career as an assistant at MGM until being assigned to direct the Our Gang comedies, which MGM had just acquired from Hal Roach, in 1938. Sidney, then age 21, was the youngest Our Gang senior director ever, and was only nine years older than the eldest Our Gang kid, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer's brother Harold.
After a year of working on Our Gang shorts, Sidney moved on to the Crime Does Not Pay series. He soon graduated to features, including The Harvey Girls (1946), The Three Musketeers (1948), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Kiss Me, Kate (1953), Jupiter's Darling (1955), The Eddy Duchin Story (1956), Pal Joey (1957), Jeanne Eagels (1957), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), and Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas (1964). His last film was Half a Sixpence (1967).
Sidney had helped MGM colleagues William Hanna and Joseph Barbera bankroll their side company Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1944 and was associated with them for ten years. Hanna and Barbera's Jerry Mouse appeared alongside Gene Kelly in Sidney's film Anchors Aweigh (1945); he later featured Fred Flintstone and Huckleberry Hound in Bye Bye Birdie, when the animators had moved to Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures.
Sidney was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award four times. In 1958 he was presented with a Golden Globe Award for Best World Entertainment Through Musical Films. For his work in the art of cinema, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died of complications from lymphoma in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 85.
Motion picture actor George Sidney (1876-1945, born Samuel Greenfield) was his uncle.
[edit] Awards and nominations
Year | Group | Award | Film | Result |
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1952 | Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Show Boat | Nominated |
1953 | Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Scaramouche | Nominated |
1954 | Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Young Bess | Nominated |
1957 | Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | The Eddy Duchin Story | Nominated |
1959 | Directors Guild of America | DGA Honorary Life Member Award |
|
Won |
1986 | Directors Guild of America | Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award |
|
Won |
1998 | Directors Guild of America | President's Award |
|
Won |
1995 | Golden Apple Award | Louella Parsons Award |
|
Won |
1958 | Golden Globe Award | Best World Entertainment Through Musical Films |
|
Won |
1993 | San Luis Obispo International Film Festival | King Vidor Memorial Award |
|
Won |
[edit] External links
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Persondata | |
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NAME | Sidney, George |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | Film director and producer |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 4, 1916 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Long Island City, New York, United States |
DATE OF DEATH | May 5, 2002 |
PLACE OF DEATH | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |