November 23, 1995
Los Angeles, Nov. 22 - Longtime Guild official Joseph C. Youngerman died in Los Angeles Wednesday from complications following a stroke. He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years Molly, son Arthur, daughter Barbara, 12 grandchildren and 18 grand-children.
One of the central figures in the history of the DGA, Mr. Youngerman served 27 years as the organization's National Executive Secretary following a distinguished 25 year production career that began in silent films as a prop man at Paramount. He went on to work as an assistant director for many legendary directors, including William Wellman, Cecil B. DeMille, Ernst Lubitsch and Rouben Mamoulian.
Among his achievements as Guild Executive Secretary were the historic mergers of the Screen Directors Guild with the Radio and Television Directors Guild and Screen Directors International to form the Directors Guild of America in 1960; construction of the DGA's national headquarters building at 7950 Sunset Boulevard during the 1950's; and expansion of the Guild's offices in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.
His proudest accomplishment, however, was the creation of the Directors Guild-Producer Pension Plan based upon an ingenious proposal he mapped out one night when he couldn't sleep. Operating from his credo that "a strike is an effective weapon until you use it," Mr. Youngerman's pension plan proposal resulted in a major producer contribution to the pension funding exchange for surrendering the Guild's lein on post-1948 films.
Upon retirement from his DGA chief executive's post in 1978, Mr. Youngerman was given a lifetime contract as a DGA consultant. Since then, he has continued to serve as trustee of the DGA Educational & Benevolent Foundation and administrator of the DGA Annual Awards, Annual Christmas party for the children of DGA members, and Annual DGA Day at Disneyland. Mr. Youngerman continued to go to work at the Guild every day up until a few months ago.