January 14, 2014
Director Frederic Rheinstein passed away on December 22, 2013. A member of the DGA since 1960, Rheinstein was known for his long tenure at the Guild’s charitable organization, the Directors Guild Foundation (DGF). He began his service as a DGF trustee in 1980, and continued to serve until 2013, holding officer posts as Treasurer and First Vice Chairperson. He also served five terms as an alternate member of the DGA’s Western Directors Council from 1972 to 1979.
Born in New York City on November 5, 1927, Rheinstein attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Princeton University where he graduated in the class of 1949. After serving in the Army during the Korean War, his first job after college was as an assistant stage manager for NBC Television where he was soon promoted to stage manager of for the legendary program Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Rheinstein moved to California in 1952 to work as an on-site producer-director for NBC’s network news division where he covered such historic events as Jack Ruby’s shooting of suspected JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, Gemini and Apollo space missions, and the Vietnam War. He won an Emmy for live coverage from Mihuatlan, Mexico, of the 1971 total solar eclipse. He is also known as the founder of The Post Group in Hollywood, a pioneer and leader in the post production world for over 30 years.
In addition to his wife Suzanne, Rheinstein is survived by daughters Linda C. Rheinstein and Katherine R. Brodsky, son David A. Rheinstein, and granddaughters. A Requiem Eucharist in celebration of his life is to be held at All Saints Episcopal Church Beverly Hills at 11:00 a.m. on January 25, 2014.