"George may be gone, but as long as there is a Directors Guild of America, there is no chance that he will ever be forgotten." –Martha Coolidge

The Hollywood icons who came to the Guild to pay homage to the legend included Tony Curtis, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann-Margret, Gary Owens, Rich Little, Esther Williams, Roger Mayer, Fay Kanin, Delbert Mann, DGA Secretary-Treasurer Gil Cates, DGA President Martha Coolidge and Dr. Robert Schuller.

Gary Owens served as master of ceremonies, guiding the audience on a lively, high-spirited path with his anecdotes about the golden years of Hollywood. "As a writer, director, producer, executive, prolific musician, photographer, and paleontologist, George truly was a renaissance man," Owens said.

Sidney joined what was originally the Screen Directors Guild (SDG) in 1939, just three years after its inception. At the time he was the SDG's youngest member and legend has it he began smoking what would become his trademark pipe in order to look more grown up. In 1951, Sidney was elected president, having been nominated by his friend, John Ford. He continued as president until 1959, and played a pivotal role in the 1960 merger between the SDG and the Radio and Television Directors Guild — out of which emerged the renamed Directors Guild of America.

Sidney was reelected president of the DGA in 1961 and served until 1967. The 16 years he served as president still stand as a record. Current DGA President Martha Coolidge remarked, "It is no exaggeration to say that if it weren't for George Sidney, the DGA would not be the vital and powerful force for its members that it is today."

In the late '50s, Sidney joined Harry Cohn at Columbia where he produced and directed The Eddy Duchin Story, Jeanne Eagels, Pal Joey and Pepe. His unforgettable Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas are both revered as classics. Sidney later joined Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna to finance Hanna-Barbera Productions. He created an empire there, serving as president for the first ten years.

Past DGA President Gil Cates emphasized that the DGA was an inseparable part of Sidney's life. Among his enduring contributions were obtaining health benefits and minimum wage for fellow directors; establishing an arbitrations committee and pension fund; bringing in television directors to DGA membership; securing screen credit for assistant directors; pioneering the low-budget production contract and co-chairing the United Nations World Congress of Directors in 1986. "His contributions to the Guild are almost impossible to enumerate," Cates said.

Corinne Entratter Sidney, married to Sidney from 1990 until his death (May 5, 2002), read a letter from a former UNLV film student who remembered the words of his late teacher: "Learn your craft in film school, then forget it. Study stories, learn the 37 plays of Shakespeare, break down the structure of stories, know how to tell stories. And understand — never quit. Do not give up."

Tony Curtis met Sidney in 1950. "He was the most encouraging and friendly person I had met," Curtis said. "In an environment that was difficult and quite uncomfortable for me at the time, George always went out of his way to make me feel comfortable and happy. The unique thing about George for me was ... him. He had a way of shining at you, his sweetness, his caring, it all came out in his face. I needed someone like him to give me the sense of who I am and what I am."

Former DGA President Delbert Mann said, "George Sidney was my mentor and guide, tutor and guardian in everything related to the Guild. Together we won the fight [with the Writers Guild over possessory credit] ... George Sidney and Joe Youngerman orchestrated the battle and were the inspiration for all of us."

Four-time president of the Motion Picture Academy, Fay Kanin, spoke of Sidney's admiration for the old studio system. "George used to say, 'Say what you will about Mr. Mayer, Harry Cohn, Jack Warner. They loved making movies. They turned cowboys into stars and stars into cowboys. They made this business exciting.' And that's what George wanted to do with his movies — make them exciting."

Cyd Charisse expressed her gratitude for Sidney's generosity of spirit. "George Sidney gave me my first speaking part in his film, The Harvey Girls, starring Judy Garland. That was quite a jump for me, but before I knew it [thanks to George], I was singing and dancing throughout the film. He helped me at a time when I was trying to make my career at MGM. I will never forget that great smile of his, those twinkling eyes. God bless him."

An emotional Ann-Margret spoke of her experience with Sidney on Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas. "He not only had faith in me," she said, "but he gave me the courage to have faith in myself. He taught me how fortunate I was to be a part of his creative world. And for this, and for so much more, I am eternally grateful."

Las Vegas nightclub comedian Rich Little, still a talented impersonator, livened up the evening by "doing" many of the people Sidney worked with during his long career (including Stuart Granger, Gene Kelly, Van Hefflin, Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, Clark Gable, Raymond Burr, Walter Pidgeon, Red Skelton and Paul Lynde). "I have terrific memories of George Sidney," Little said. "One of the ALL-TIME greats and we must never forget it."

Esther Williams, who did not only her first, but also her last film with Sidney, said, "He was the best friend anybody could ever have, especially to a 17-year-old girl hitting the MGM lot in 1942, just after Pearl Harbor." Williams went on to share a delightful story about one of her first experiences with Sidney.

"One day, during the time when Georgie was test director at MGM, he called me to his office and said, 'Esther, I know you're just learning, you've only been here two weeks, but you're gonna do a screen test. And I think you're gonna do it with Clark Gable.'

"And I said, 'There must be some mistake! Oh no!' And he said, 'Lana Turner has gone to New York to marry Artie Shaw. And L.B. [Mayer]'s furious. She's supposed to be in a sequel to Honky Tonk, but L.B.'s not gonna let her do it. He's gonna fix her, he's gonna put an unknown in that picture.'

"And I said, 'But, there are a couple of kisses in this test! I don't think I could stand it if Clark Gable kisses me.' And he said, 'Lana Turner has survived, and so will you.'

"Then suddenly, those big heavy doors clanked open and shut. And in walks Clark Gable. He was blindingly beautiful. I had just seen Gone With the Wind and Rhett Butler ... well, if you saw that movie you fell in love with Rhett Butler. You couldn't help it, when Scarlet said, 'No I won't,' you said, 'YES YOU WILL! Don't be stupid, you little English broad.'

"So Gable walked onto the set. He tossed the onion-skin pages (that you're supposed to learn for the test) on the table. And I thought, 'I bet he doesn't know these lines!" Then he leaned over and said, 'Hi kid.' And he kissed me! There was no kiss in this part of the test.

"I batted my eyes and looked at Georgie, who said, 'You'll get over it kid.' But then Gable kissed me again. He kissed me five times! None of this was supposed to be in this part of the test. I mean, he never looked at the pages on the table!

"Just about that time, a beautiful woman with blonde hair named Carole Lombard walked in. Everybody genuflected properly. She was in black velvet with black fox, and that wonderful blonde hair and lots of diamonds. Oh, thank God I was nearsighted, because I couldn't really see her closely, so I couldn't see if she was making an unattractive face at this lousy swimmer who wasn't supposed to be acting...

"And Georgie says, 'OK, roll 'em.' And Gable kissed me again! I kinda fluttered the pages in hopes he'd say something. He didn't, so I decided to go ahead and say the lines I had. And for some reason — I think it was the drama of the moment — I started to cry.

"Georgie saw this and immediately yelled, 'Cut! Thank you, Mr. Gable. We're so glad you could come ... but we still have a test to do.' Strong Georgie, in his 20s.

"And Gable got up — mercifully didn't kiss me again — and he left in the arms of beautiful Carole Lombard. And I was mystified. Why did he do this? Then as he left the set, I heard him say to Ms. Lombard, 'See, honey, I told you I was gonna kiss me a mermaid today.'

"And George wisely said to me, 'Don't get your feelings hurt, Esther, they play pranks on each other. Today you were the Tuesday prank.' George wiped the tears from my eyes. 'We still have a test to do,' he said. 'We'll cry fresh ones for the scene.' Then he read the lines to me, wonderful George, sat there and did Gable...

"The next thing I knew, I got a call from George and went to his office and he said, 'You got the role.' And I said, 'What?! I'm gonna work with Clark Gable? In a co-staring role?!' And Georgie said, 'You got it. But you're not going to take it.' And I said, 'How come?' And he said, 'Because you're only 17. Gable's in his 40s, he knows what he's doing. He knows where the key light is. You won't ever get another picture if you do this one.' Then he said, 'You turn this down, 'cause we have a swimming movie to do. And I'm gonna direct you in something called Bathing Beauty.'

"And that's what happened."

• DGA Presidents remember George Sidney - (DGA Magazine July 2002)
• Baz Luhrmann's visit with George Sidney - (DGA Magazine July 2002)
• DGA President Martha Coolidge regarding the death of George Sidney (May 06, 2002)
• George Sidney's Filmography on IMDB

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