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Stanley Kramer Memorial
by Jerry Roberts
Photos by Terry Lilly
Director John Rich with actor Sid Caesar and director Carl Reiner.
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The late Stanley Kramer's bold style as a filmmaker who turned difficult and seemingly unpopular subjects into groundbreaking and very popular movies was celebrated March 31 by a capacity crowd in Theater One of the Directors Guild of America.
"Stanley's brilliant films were not only tremendously entertaining, but he also told stories about important social issues, including racism, atomic war, interracial marriage, war crimes and science vs. religion," said DGA President Jack Shea in his welcoming remarks to the star-studded gathering. "He gave very freely of his time to the Guild and to his fellow directors."
Kramer, an independent producer and writer who began directing in 1955 with Not as a Stranger, had during his career also served on the DGA National Board and the DGA Western Directors Council.
Four Kramer-directed films received Academy Award nominations for best picture: The Defiant Ones (1958), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Ship of Fools (1965) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). Kramer's directing filmography also includes such diverse fare as On the Beach (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and Bless the Beasts and Children (1971).
Directors Oliver Stone and Sidney Poitier at Kramer memorial.
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Speaking at the gathering were Sidney Poitier, who starred in The Defiant Ones and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America; director/producer Irwin Winkler; Thom Mount, former president of the Producers Guild of America; Charles Champlin, arts editor emeritus of the Los Angeles Times; advertising guru and director Stan Freberg; Mario Iscovich, who had production responsibilities on Kramer's The Domino Principle (1976) and The Runner Stumbles (1979); John Dayton, and Kramer's daughters, son and his wife actress Karen Sharpe Kramer. California Governor Gray Davis sent a proclamation to the DGA declaring March 31 as Stanley Kramer Memorial Day.
"This was a guy determined that he was going to break social taboos and fought like hell to do it," said Abby Mann, who wrote the TV, film and, most recently, stage versions of Judgment at Nuremberg. He was speaking via a filmed tribute from New York with Maximilian Schell, who won the best actor Oscar for Nuremberg. "You certainly changed my life, and I'm very grateful for that," said Schell, who was at work with Mann to bring Nuremberg to Broadway.
DGA President Jack Shea with
Stanley Kramer's wife, Karen
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Actor Beau Bridges, who narrated a collection of Kramer film clips and served as co-emcee with L.A. radio personality Michael Jackson, remembered his late father, Lloyd Bridges, working on the Kramer-produced films Home of the Brave (1949) and High Noon (1952), and his own work in Kramer's final movie, The Runner Stumbles, starring Dick Van Dyke who was in the audience with other luminaries such as Milton Berle. "He was a warm and compassionate leader," Bridges said.
A highlight of the gathering were the onstage stories told by five cast members of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Kramer's most financially successful movie. Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, Sid Caesar, Edie Adams and Buddy Hackett had the crowd in stitches. Adams recalled an off-camera food fight by the cast that Caesar started by passing the catsup--really passing it. "I remember Mickey Rooney had glasses," Adams said. "One of the panes was knocked out and he had a piece of roast beef hanging from his eye."
"What a thrill to be in a Stanley Kramer picture," Rooney said. "God bless Stanley Kramer."
A reception for the attendees was held in the atrium.
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