WOODLAND HILLS—On August 14, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced the death of one of their own, longtime member Mark Rydell. He joined the guild in 1963, serving on the National Board 1987-1991. What he’s most famous for are the films he produced over the years.
On Thursday, August 13, Oscar-nominated director, Mark Rydell died at age 97, at an entertainment industry retirement community in Woodland Hills, California.
Rydell, who was born in New York in 1929, began his directing career in the 1960s, as he directed Ben Casey, I Spy, and The Fugitive, but before directing, his talent began with music. His given name by his parents Sidney and Evelyn was Mortimer. Though, he later changed his first name to Mark, he kept his mother’s infinity for music.
He trained under the legendary pianist, Teddy Wilson at the Juilliard School of Music. Acting came naturally to Rydell, directing, and filmmaking were soon to follow.
In the 1967 Western Heritage Awards, Mark Rydell was awarded the Bronze Rangler award in the category of Fictional Television Drama for his directing in the classic television show, Gunsmoke in the episode entitled Death Watch.
In 1967, Rydell debuted as Director on the silver screen with The Fox. After that, he just kept up the momentum with; The Reivers, and The Cowboys.
His work on television continued with greats like, Crime of the Century.
Rydell received a nomination from DGA in 1981 for On Golden Pond. In 2001 he was also nominated by the DGA for the Television and Mini-Series category for James Dean.
The truth is they all worked so well together, renowned actors and actresses performed their best under Rydell’s direction.
In an interview with journalist, Cynthia Robins of the San Francisco Chronicle Rydell stated;
“I’m attracted to material that is substantial enough to deal with life and death issues. I don’t like to waste my time with trivia.”
Renowned actress, Bette Midler, won her best actress Oscar nominations following her work with Rydell as her director when she made her debut into film, with her first movie, The Rose in 1979. They also worked together on For the Boys in 1991.
“He was an actor of note before he became a director, and I was so lucky to have him when I did. He taught me so much on The Rose and later-on For the Boys. Two Oscars nominations, both because of him. He was an actor’s whisperer; just a few words was all it took, to understand what was needed. Devoted to Meisner. So many happy memories. RIP.”—Bette Midler
