Don Siegel
Director

Don Siegel Net Worth

Don Siegel was a renowned director, producer, and editor born in Chicago, Illinois in 1912. He was educated at Cambridge University in England and began his career in Hollywood in the mid-1930s as an editor and second unit director. His first feature as a director was The Verdict (1946) and he gained recognition in the 1950s for his tightly made, expertly crafted, and intelligent "B" pictures. He graduated to major "A" films in the 1960s and early 1970s and also made several "side trips" to television, mostly as a producer. He is best known for directing Flaming Star (1960), which is generally considered to be Elvis Presley's best picture. He had a long professional relationship and personal friendship with Clint Eastwood, who has often said that he learned everything he knows about filmmaking from Don Siegel.
Don Siegel is a member of Director

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Director, Producer, Editorial Department
Birth Day October 26, 1912
Birth Place  Chicago, Illinois, United States
Age 108 YEARS OLD
Died On April 20, 1991(1991-04-20) (aged 78)\nNipomo, California, U.S.
Birth Sign Scorpio
Occupation Film director and producer
Spouse(s) Viveca Lindfors (m. 1948; div. 1953) Doe Avedon (m. 1957; div. 1975) Carol Rydall (d. 1991)
Children 5, including Kristoffer Siegel-Tabori

💰 Net worth: $900,000 (2024)

Don Siegel, a renowned American director, producer, and editorial department figure, possesses an impressive estimated net worth of $900,000 in 2024. Throughout his illustrious career, Siegel has created a lasting impact on the film industry through his remarkable contributions behind the camera. Known for his exceptional directing skills, he has helmed numerous acclaimed films that have captivated audiences worldwide. As a seasoned producer and influential editorial department member, Siegel has worked closely with some of the industry's top talents, leaving an indelible mark on the United States' entertainment landscape.

Biography/Timeline

1945

Siegel found work in the Warner Bros. film library after meeting Producer Hal Wallis, and later rose to head of the Montage Department, where he directed thousands of montages, including the opening montage for Casablanca. In 1945 two shorts he directed, Star in the Night and Hitler Lives, won Academy Awards, which launched his career as a feature Director.

1948

From 1948 to 1953 he was married to Actress Viveca Lindfors, with whom he had a son, Kristoffer Tabori. He married Doe Avedon (a former Actress and ex-wife of Photographer Richard Avedon) in 1957. They adopted four children and later divorced. He married Carol Rydall, former assistant to Clint Eastwood, and they remained together until he died at the age of 78 from cancer in Nipomo, California. He is buried near Highway 1 in the coastal Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetery. Siegel was an atheist.

1954

Siegel was also important to the career of Director Sam Peckinpah. In 1954, Peckinpah was hired as a dialogue coach for Riot in Cell Block 11. His job entailed acting as an assistant to the Director, Siegel. The film was shot on location at Folsom Prison. Siegel's location work and his use of actual prisoners as extras in the film made a lasting impression on Peckinpah. He worked as a dialogue coach on four additional Siegel films: Private Hell 36 (1954), An Annapolis Story, (1955), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Crime in the Streets (1956). 25 years later, Peckinpah was all but banished from the industry due to his troubled film productions. Siegel gave the Director a chance to return to filmmaking. He asked Peckinpah if he would be interested in directing 12 days of second unit work on Jinxed!. Peckinpah immediately accepted, and his earnest collaboration with his longtime friend was noted within the industry. While Peckinpah's work was uncredited, it would lead to his hiring as the Director of his final film The Osterman Weekend (1983).

1956

He directed whatever material came his way, often transcending the limitations of budget and script to produce interesting and adept works. He made the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1956. He directed two episodes of The Twilight Zone, "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" and "Uncle Simon". He worked with Eli Wallach in The Lineup, Elvis Presley and Dolores del Río in Flaming Star (1960), with Steve McQueen in Hell Is for Heroes and Lee Marvin in the influential The Killers (1964) before directing a series of five films with Clint Eastwood that were commercially successful in addition to being well received by critics. These included the policiers Coogan's Bluff and Dirty Harry, the Albert Maltz-scripted Western Two Mules for Sister Sara, the cynical American Civil War melodrama The Beguiled and the prison-break picture Escape from Alcatraz. He was a considerable influence on Eastwood's own career as a Director, and Eastwood's film Unforgiven is dedicated "for Don and Sergio".

1978

He has a cameo role (as a bartender) in Eastwood's Play Misty for Me as well as in Dirty Harry. In Philip Kaufman's 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a remake of Siegel's own 1956 film, he appears as a "pod" taxi driver. In Charley Varrick starring Walter Matthau (a film slated for Eastwood but ultimately turned down by the actor), he has a cameo as a ping-pong player.

1982

Schifrin composed and recorded what would have been his sixth score for Siegel on Jinxed! (1982), but it was rejected by the studio despite Siegel's objections. This was one of several fights Siegel had on this, his last film.

Some Don Siegel images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.