George B. Seitz
director, producer, writer
- Birth name:
- George Brackett Seitz
- Born:
- 1888-01-03, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Died:
- 1944-07-08, Hollywood, California, USA(undisclosed)
- Professions:
- director, producer, writer
Biography
George B. Seitz traded Broadway footlights for California sunshine in 1913 and promptly plunged into cliff-hangers, cranking out weekly thrills for The Perils of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine, and The Iron Claw—scripts he often wrote while doubling as the fellow dangling from the rope. Audiences liked what they saw, so he stepped behind the camera and kept the chapters coming. When sound arrived, Seitz’s pace never slackened; he simply swapped piano accompaniment for crisp dialogue, shuttling from Columbia back-lots to every other studio in town, spinning comedies, horse operas, and city-wise melodramas with equal speed. The gig that stuck, though, was at MGM, where he shepherded Mickey Rooney and company through the small-town triumphs and tangles of the entire Andy Hardy cycle, sealing a reputation as the dependable maestro of America’s favorite coming-of-age franchise.
