February 14, 2018
Former DGA Secretary-Treasurer and 1983 Frank Capra Achievement Award recipient William Beaudine, Jr. recently passed away.
The son of director William Beaudine, Bill Jr. got his start in small roles in some of his father’s films before becoming a 2nd AD on Beaudine Senior’s Philo Vance Returns in 1947, joining the DGA that same year. He worked as an AD throughout much of the 1950s on films such as Frank McDonald’s Yukon Gold and Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers before becoming a UPM for the series Lassie. Some of his other credits include Tom Laughlin’s feature The Trial of Billy Jack, Steven Hilliard Stern’s movie-for-television Miracle on Ice; and episodes of the television series Quantum Leap. He also received Emmy nominations for producing Paul Bogart’s mini-series Dress Gray and Glenn Jordan’s mini-series Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder.
An active Guild member during his career, Beaudine served as a member of the National Board from 1960-1985 and was elected as the DGA Secretary-Treasurer from 1979-1981. He also served on the Western AD/UPM Council from 1967-1982 and 1991-1996; and was a longtime Trustee of the Directors Guild Foundation. In recognition of his service to the industry and to the DGA, in 1983 Beaudine was presented with the Frank Capra Achievement Award.