DGA Monthly

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 I 2 3 On Dec. 7, 1959, it was announced in the Hollywood trade papers that henceforth, the two guilds would be merged into a single organization known as Directors Guild of America, Inc., made up of 2,068 Directors, Assistant Directors, Associate Directors, Stage Managers, and Program Assistants. The newly christened DGA would handle contracts with CBS, NBC, and ABC, as well as with 361 film- producing companies. All this became official on Jan. 1, 1960. There was good reason to celebrate. The combined Guild had a net worth exceeding $1 million, and there was great excitement over its expanding prospects. Capra was named president; Kane, executive vice president; and Sughrue, 1st vice president. "Growth is the bellwether of any organization, and our Directors Guild knew it had to grow," said Sidney. But like many a marriage, this union of newlyweds rather quickly hit the rocks. The unease of East Coast officers over what they perceived as their diminished influence—exacerbated by a Guild practice of holding national board meetings in Los Angeles—resurfaced in a way that quickly became explosive. But as talk of a split escalated, cooler heads determined that there was far too much at stake to allow for a catastrophic regression. A solution, it seemed, called for some deep-think organizational restructuring and diplomatic finesse. As Ricca recalled it, some "very statesman-like people"—Schaefer, Fielder Cook, Franklin J. Schaffner, and Tom Donovan—formed a committee chaired by Donovan that worked out "a fair and equitable kind of constitutional approach." This committee—in a plan it characterized as "drastic," but "for the benefit of all"—proposed the elimination of the western and eastern regional boards, a consolidation of power in the National Board, in which the East Coast would be fully represented, and the creation of councils organized by job categories—Directors, Assistant Directors, The Birth of the Modern DGA — continued from page 20 (Clockwise) Television Directors from the East Coast eventually became presidents of the merged Guild. Delbert Mann became president in 1967; George Schaefer in 1979; Gil Cates in 1983; and Jack Shea in 1997. ADs and UPMs Join Two additional mergers increased the ranks of the Guild and consolidated the entire Directorial team into one unified Guild. In 1963, Assistant Directors covered by IATSE Local 161 in New York joined the new DGA. Unit production managers followed in 1964. ADs and UPMs Join ADs and UPMs Join This article is an edited reprint of the Spring 2011 DGA Quarterly article, "A More Perfect Union" by Amy Dawes. Stage Managers, and so on—rather than by region. "That eased much of the East-West friction and in many ways, kept the newly merged Guild from splitting apart," Schaefer later recalled. The period that was later referred to as "the time of the trouble" settled down then. "What resulted from that was a much smoother running of the organization," said Ricca, who stayed on as eastern executive secretary for the next 18 years. "The organization recovered really fast." Indeed, members from the East Coast, the RTDG, and television became leaders of the national guild, beginning with Delbert Mann, elected DGA president in 1967; George Schaefer, who ascended to the presidency in 1979; Gil Cates, who took office in 1983; and Jack Shea in 1997. Without a doubt, pay scales and working conditions for television members improved slowly but significantly after the merger. Equally important, the DGA grew into a unified and respected force in the industry. Still ahead was the all-important fight for the basic Bill of Creative Rights that was established in 1964, and the era of advances in creative rights that followed. But by 1962, the members who established—and saved—the merged Directors Guild of America had proven that nothing succeeds like an idea whose time has come.

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