DGA National Vice President Ed Sherin will be the recipient of the Directors Guild of America’s 2002 Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award, DGA President Jack Shea announced today. The Aldrich Award, given for extraordinary service to the Directors Guild of America and to its membership, will be presented to Sherin at the 54th Annual DGA Awards on March 9, 2002.
“Ed Sherin is a superbly qualified and deserving recipient of this Award,” said Shea. “As DGA National Vice President, Ed has invigorated the East Coast membership. His leadership-by-example has inspired many well-respected Eastern members to serve on the DGA National Board and on our Eastern Councils and Committees. In addition, Ed’s guiding vision for the DGA Honors event in New York has put a spotlight both on the outstanding work done by DGA members on the East Coast, and on the growth and development of East Coast film and television production in general.”
Sherin, who has served as the DGA’s National Vice President since 1997, was the inspiration for the DGA’s Annual Honors, celebrating the achievements of filmmakers as well as government, labor and business leaders who have invigorated American film and television production, particularly in the Eastern region of the United States. He was also instrumental in calling for a landmark amendment to the DGA constitution that requires candidates for Guild elected positions to have worked for a total of at least 30 days under a DGA contract within the preceding seven years. This “working in trade” amendment was passed overwhelmingly by the DGA membership in 1998 and ensures that the Guild’s members are truly represented by colleagues who understand their issues and concerns.
After serving in the Korean War for four years, Sherin began his career in entertainment in the late 1950’s as an actor in television and Broadway stage. A decade later he established himself nationally as a theatre director with the production of The Great White Hope, which won the Pulitzer prize, the Tony Award and the New York Drama Critics Award.
He went on to direct the feature films Valdez is Coming and My Old Man’s Place; television movies including, A Marriage: Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz, Daughter of the Streets; and television series including LA Law, Moonlighting, Homicide, Hill Street Blues, Tour of Duty and Law and Order (for which he was also Executive Producer).
Sherin has won many awards during his career, including an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series (Law & Order), a New York Drama Critics Award, the New England Theatre Award and Off-Broadway’s highest honor, an Obie Award. In 1998 he received a Crystal Apple Award, presented by the City of New York to individuals who have shown a longtime support for New York film and television production.
The Robert B. Aldrich Award was established in 1984 to recognize extraordinary service to the Directors Guild of America and to its membership. Robert Aldrich served as DGA President from 1975-1979. Past recipients include Robert E. Wise, Elliot Silverstein, George Sidney, Sheldon Leonard, Gilbert Cates, George L. Schaefer, Larry Auerbach, Milt Felsen, Jack Shea, Gene Reynolds, John Rich, Burt Bluestein, Max A. Schindler, Daniel Petrie, Delbert Mann, Martha Coolidge, Arthur Hiller and Tom Donovan.
