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Andy Sidaris
February 20th 1931 - March 7th 2007 Andy Sidaris, a celebrated Emmy-award winning director for ABC Sports where he spent the first 25 years of his colorful career, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.His work on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, the Olympics and college football -- where his signature ‘honey shots’ became legendary -- set the standard for innovation and excellence during the pioneering days of television sports. He was Wide World’s first director and spent much of his career cavorting the globe as he directed every sport imaginable. As an 18-year Southern Methodist University graduate, Sidaris -- who was hired by ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas -- voluntarily prepared a compendium for camera coverage of college football and sent it to Roone Arledge, the president of ABC Sports. Arledge was so impressed, he immediately hired Andy, who went on to spend a quarter of a century as one of the network’s most accomplished directors. Andy helped to develop the techniques that are standard today, including instant replay, slow-motion replay and split screen views. Affable and self-effacing, Andy became a beloved figure by his colleagues and competitors alike, unique in a pressure-packed industry fraught with stress, tension and hostility. Imbued with a keen sense of humor and a loyal affection for his camera crew, Sidaris’ levity and light heartedness “brought out the best in everybody who surrounded him,” said Keith Jackson, ABC’s top announcer on Sidaris-directed college football games. “Andy was one of a kind.” During the 1976 Olympic Games in Mexico, Andy -- a Greek who had a life long passion for sports -- refused to take a shot of John Carlos and Tommie Smith showing the black power salute on the victory stand because he did not believe there was a place for politics in the Olympics. Following his departure from ABC Sports, Sidaris directed episodes of Kojak and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, produced by his wife. In 1969, Andy directed The Racing Scene, a documentary featuring his friend James Garner. Fun loving and adventuresome, Sidaris branched out into movies in 1973, and with his wife Arlene, formed Malibu Bay Films in 1985, when he wrote, produced and directed Malibu Express, featuring Playboy Playmates. The family partnership, flourished as it combined vitality, verve and versatility to each production. He and his wife produced 12 films in the fabled Bullets, Bombs and Babes collection. The Sidaris formula remained the same: beautiful women, exotic locales and action personified. Sidaris was as popular among the Hollywood glitterati as he was with the celebrities of sport -- and whether directing a Playboy show for his friend Hugh Hefner or a college football game, he remained unflappable, unpredictable and unswerving in his quest for delivering top quality entertainment. Andy never took himself -- or the TV and film industry -- too seriously, always lighting the set with his sense of humor and a relaxed and laid back manner. In addition to his wife Arlene, Andy is survived by his daughters Alexa Garner Sidaris, and her husband Matt Weiss, Stacey Avelar and her husband Steve, and son Drew. |
