A Director’s Award
Robert Rossen, my deceased husband, won the Directors Guild award in 1950 for the film, “All the King’s Men.” He did not win the Academy Award in the best director category. I mention this to correct a statement in a March 13 article by Nina J. Easton (“ ‘Rain Man’ a Step Closer to Oscar?”).
A quote from the article: “Only three directors have been passed over by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after receiving the Director’s Guild top award--Steven Spielberg in 1985, Bob Fosse in 1972 and Anthony Harvey in 1968.”
The fact that McCarthyism reared its ugly head four decades ago and was reflected in the Oscar vote is painful to recall, but be that as it may it’s high time to get the record straight.
SUE ROSSEN
Los Angeles
Editor’s note: The Directors Guild, which provided the information, acknowledges that Rossen was inadvertently omitted from the list. A spokesman said the reason for the omission was that, prior to 1953, the guild had a different voting system, under which quarterly awards were given. Rossen won both a quarterly and an annual Directors Guild award for “All the King’s Men.”
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