Arthur Allan Seidelman

Arthur Allan Seidelman (born 1937 in New York City) is an American television, film, and theatre director and an occasional writer, producer, and actor. His works are distinguished by a humane, probing, and sympathetic depiction of characters facing ethical challenges. His approach to directing is guided by his belief that character and relationships, along with an emphasis on genuine emotion over intellectualization, are the keys to unlocking the dramatic potential of a performance, a play, or a screenplay. Early life and career Born in the Bronx, the son of Jeanne and Theodore Seidelman and nephew of Yiddish Theatre star Isidore Casher, Seidelman received his B.A. from Whittier College and an M.A. in Theatre from UCLA. He subsequently studied with Group Theatre (New York City) co-founder Sanford Meisner, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. Seidelman credits Meisner with teaching him how to approach actors and to find the cord of inner realism that ignites a scene. Seidelman also studied with Group Theatre co-founder Harold Clurman. Walter Kerr praised Seidelman's 1970 revival of Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing as an "astonishingly fresh and deeply moving evening" and wrote also that it was "directed and played as nakedly as though no one were watching." Film Seidelman made his screen directorial debut with Hercules in New York, a 1969 comedy-action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first feature, which has become a cult classic. He then co-wrote and directed Children of Rage starring Helmut Griem as an Israeli doctor caught up in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and also starring Simon Ward and Cyril Cusack. The film was the first Hollywood feature to address issues on both sides of the conflict, and it was screened for major international bodies including the United Nations General Assembly and the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Seidelman also directed The Caller, a science fiction thriller shot at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, starring Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith and the 2007 film Black Friday (also known as The Kidnapping).