DGA Monthly

2 0 I D G A M O N T H L Y By 1956, nearly 35 million families, or 71 percent of all Americans, had purchased TV sets. By the end of the decade, many of the television Directors in Hollywood had joined the SDG, either because they had begun to make movies, or because they were directing films for television. To the forward-thinking Guild leadership, it was clear that in order to increase clout, bargaining strength, and revenue streams for the benefit of all Directors, it was essential to bring practitioners of both mediums, regardless of location, together in one union. But despite regular overtures emanating from West to East, members of the New York-based RTDG were resistant to the idea, and it was apparent that any proposal for a merger would face quite a few obstacles. Hollywood was still the center of the film world, and given the comparative fame and wealth of the big screen Directors, who counted among them legends such as DeMille, Ford, and Capra, the Manhattan- based practitioners of live television feared that rather than gaining clout in such a merger, they'd lose influence and be essentially swallowed up. "They felt, truly, they were a weaker group. They didn't want to be swallowed up," said television Director John Rich, who had started his career as a member of the RTDG, but later joined the SDG, where he became a board member for some 50 years. But the SDG, he recalls, "had no intention of swallowing anybody. We wanted the friendly merger, so that we would have Directors directing actors and stories— rather than cameras." To have the two guilds divided on the basis of technology, he said, "would be a disaster." Cates says the east coasters saw the potential for video to become ubiquitous. At the same time, they were growing uneasy about maintaining a division between live shows and filmmaking based on guild affiliation. "We did feel that our technology was ultimately going to overwhelm film. Even though we couldn't imagine then what has taken place since, there was the instinct that at the end of the day, those of us on the East Coast were really going to be making television using our technology." Other members had also begun viewing the gulf between the two guilds as counterproductive. Many television Directors belonged to both organizations and found themselves paying two sets of dues, while production companies held the advantage of being able to negotiate two different contracts. And if a Director who'd made a name in television wished to parlay that into film opportunities—as Delbert Mann did when the success of the teleplay Marty, which he The Birth of the Modern DGA — continued from page 19 — continued on page 23 (L-R) When Michael Kane, president of the RTDG's Hollywood chapter; Tom Donovan, president of the New York Local; and George Sidney, president of the SDG, finally sat down to talk, they realized there was a lot to gain from the merger. directed for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse in New York, leading to his opportunity to also direct the 1955 feature film—he had to apply for membership in the Screen Directors Guild. This was seen as an impediment to career fluidity. Like- minded members of both organizations began meeting to quietly lay the groundwork for a possible merger. "I favored the idea," says Michael Kane, then- president of the RTDG's Hollywood chapter, and for 17 years the Director of Art Linkletter's House Party on CBS. "It seemed to me there was no point in having two guilds—Directors were Directors." As talk of a merger started to percolate, Kane said he had lunch with TV colleagues John Rich and Jack Shea, members of the rival SDG, and told them, "We've got to make this happen." But mutual suspicion still ran high—to the point that informal meetings to merely discuss the topic were held off the beaten path—at coffee shops like Ships in Westwood, rather than at industry watering holes like Chasen's. These tensions, however, subsequently began to ease. George Sidney, who was president of the SDG for much of the '50s and '60s, recalled: "Finally, when we met with them, sat with them, and drank with them, we found out they weren't so terrible." He added, half-jokingly, "We both had something in common—we all hated the producers." Soon after that, Kane ran for international president—the RTDG's top office—on a merger platform, and was elected. Even so, he said in a recent interview that factions of the RTDG continued to offer considerable resistance. "The guys on the East Coast were still not too sure about this merger idea," he said. "During a board meeting, I remember saying to them, 'If you guys haven't got enough courage and self-esteem to be a part of this, you're making a big mistake.'" The campaign to convince the East Coast holdouts required a persuasive personality, someone whose charisma and fame would disarm potential adversaries and draw them to the table. Past president Frank Capra, who had been so effective in getting the major studios to recognize the SDG in 1939, was pressed back into service in May 1951 and sent out to New York. But his charm, apparently, was not infallible. Tom Donovan, a Director of live shows such as Westinghouse Studio One in Hollywood and The United States Steel Hour, was president of the New York Local of the RTDG at the time. "One night," he recalls, "I received a telephone call at home and it was the great Frank Capra, saying, 'We're talking about the possibility of the radio and television people and the movie people all becoming one.' After that phone call, Donovan recognized that the writing was on the wall. He and RTDG member Jack Sughrue went out to Los Angeles, to a meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. "We met with Jack Shea, Mike Kane, and Stu Phelps— western members of the RTDG—and it became very clear to us that the merger was in the best interests of the RTDG," says Donovan. "I have to tell you that I signed the last RTDG check at the time of the merger, and the sum of our total account was $50, so clearly the merger was a good idea." The entire RTDG voted on the matter soon after that. The outcome was 555 members in favor, 77 against. At the SDG, the vote yielded a similar mandate from the vast majority: 666 in favor, 62 against.

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