TV director Paris Barclay (Sons of Anarchy, Glee, House) has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America for a two-year term, succeeding Taylor Hackford (Ray, Officer and a Gentleman) . Barclay was selected at the DGA’s convention on Saturday at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles. He’s the first African-American to serve as DGA president.
“I got surprisingly emotional about it when I was giving my acceptance speech,” Barclay told Variety. Hackford announced earlier this year that he would not seek a third term in accordance with the DGA tradition of presidents only serving two terms. The well-liked Barclay has served eight years as First VP and six years as Third VP.
Barclay also told Variety that other DGA members such as Steven Soderbergh and former president Michael Apted have been urging him in recent years to consider becoming president. “As time went on, I began hearing that from more and more people,” he added.
Apted made the nomination Saturday and Soderberg seconded it.
Barclay asserted that he will maintain the tradition of the DGA president being a working director — in his case as the executive producer of the sixth season of “Sons of Anarchy.” Once that season’s shooting is completed, he plans to continue directing episodes of other series that interest him along with a feature film.
Barclay joined the DGA in 1992 and became a member of the African American Steering Committee in 1993. He’s also served on the Western Directors Council for 16 years and received the guild’s Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award for service in 2007.
“I am profoundly honored to be elected president of the DGA,” said Barclay in his acceptance speech. “The DGA has worked for more than three-quarters of a century to advance the creative and economic rights of directors and their teams and I look forward to continuing this strong tradition of service. As the son of a glass blower and a tile maker from Chicago, I am extremely humbled to have the honor to serve in the footsteps of the legendary leaders of the DGA like Frank Capra, Robert Wise and Gil Cates.”
Barclay has directed over 130 episodes of TV, including “Sons of Anarchy,” “Glee,” “Smash,” “House,” ” Cold Case,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “In Treatment,” “The Good Wife,” “CSI,” “Lost,” “The Shield,” “The West Wing,” “ER” and “NYPD Blue.” He’s also been a director-producer on “Sons of Anarchy,” “In Treatment,” “Cold Case,” “City of Angels” and “NYPD Blue.”
article by Dave McNary via Variety.com
Paris Barclay Elected President of the Directors Guild
Published in African-American Firsts, Awards/Honors, Commemorations, Entertainment, Movies, News, TV and U.S.
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