{{Short description|American filmmaker and actor (1931–2007)}} {{use mdy dates|date=December 2013}} {{use American English|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Andy Sidaris | image = Andy Sidaris.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Andrew William Sidaris | birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|2|20|mf=y}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|3|7|1931|2|20|mf=y}} | death_place = Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Director|producer|screenwriter}} | years_active = 1950–1998 | spouse = Arlene Sidaris | website = {{url|http://www.andysidaris.com/}} | alma_mater = Southern Methodist University | children = 3 }}
'''Andrew William Sidaris''' (February 20, 1931 – March 7, 2007) was an American television and film director, producer, and screenwriter. After a pioneering career directing televised sports beginning in the 1960s, Sidaris wrote and directed a successful series of action B-movies from 1985 to 1998—dubbed the "Bullets, Bombs, and Babes" series—that featured ''Playboy'' Playmates and ''Penthouse'' Pets in starring roles. In 2014, ''Paste'' magazine named one such picture, ''Hard Ticket to Hawaii'', the best B-movie of all time.
==Early life== Andrew William Sidaris was born in 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, to first-generation Greek immigrants.<ref name="smu">{{cite web |url=https://scholar.smu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=commencement |title=Fortieth Annual Convocation: Commencement Exercises and Conferring of Degrees |date=1955-05-30 |publisher=Southern Methodist University |page=12 |access-date=2024-01-27 |quote=Andrew William Sidaris...Speech and Theater.}}</ref><ref name="bombs">{{cite web |url=http://www.notcoming.com/features/andysidaris/|title=Bullets, Bombs, and Babes: The Films of Andy Sidaris |last1=Carter |first1=David |last2= Heath Jr.|first2=Glenn|date=August 6, 2012|website=NotComing|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref><ref name=hilarious>{{cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/andy-sidaris/andy-sidaris-movies-hard-ticket-to-hawaii/ |title=Bullets, Bombs & Babes: A Guide to the Hilarious, Sleazy Action Films of Andy Sidaris |last= Vorel |first=Jim |date=June 3, 2020 |website=Paste|access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> He grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he played halfback and quarterback on the football team at Byrd High School.<ref name="times1">{{cite news |last=McIntyre |first=Bill |date=1981-04-11 |title=TV Director Andy Sidaris Calling His Own Plays |work=The Times |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |page=5-C |quote=...Shreveport native son Andy Sidaris...}}</ref> He graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and theater.<ref name="smu" /><ref name="lat">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-10-me-passings10.2-story.html |title=Andy Sidaris, 76; ABC sports director went on to make B-movies |date=2007-03-10 |work=The Los Angeles Times |access-date=2024-01-27}}</ref>
==Career== ===Television=== Sidaris began his television career in 1950, working as a stage manager for WFAA in Dallas, Texas, before being promoted to director six months later. In 1959, he moved to Los Angeles to work for ABC Sports, beginning with directing AFL football games in 1960. Sidaris also directed the first telecast of the ''Wide World of Sports'' in 1961, Monday Night Football games, as well as ABC's coverage of every Olympics from the 1964 Winter Games in Grenoble to the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, winning several Emmy Awards in the process.<ref name="lat" />
While directing college football games on ABC, Sidaris pioneered what became known as the "honey shot," close-ups of cheerleaders and attractive female fans in the stands at sporting events.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/07/07/andy_sidaris_the_man_who_invented_sports_television_s_honey_shot.html|title=The Man Who Invented Sports Television's "Honey Shot"|first=Josh|last=Levin|date=2014-07-07|accessdate=2021-07-07 |magazine=Slate}}</ref> He was also at the forefront of the development of instant replay, slow-motion replays, and split-screen views.<ref name="lat" />
Sidaris entered the field of scripted television in the mid-1970s, directing episodes of programs such as ''Kojak'' and ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries''.<ref name="lat" />
===Film=== In 1973, Sidaris expanded into film, directing the exploitation picture ''Stacey'', followed by the action film ''Seven'' in 1979.<ref name="times1" />
Beginning with 1985's ''Malibu Express'', Sidaris wrote and directed a series of lighthearted B-movie action pictures that featured buxom, gun-toting ''Playboy'' Playmates and ''Penthouse'' Pets in starring roles.<ref name="lat" /> Most of the "Bullets, Bombs, and Babes" films chronicled the adventures of a team of secret agents—frequently played by Dona Speir, Hope Marie Carlton, Cynthia Brimhall, Roberta Vasquez, and Julie Strain—working in exotic tropical locations. The series' trademarks included frequent displays of partial female nudity, muscled male co-stars, and over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek death scenes,<ref>{{cite news |last=Briggs |first=Joe Bob |date=1988-03-27 |title='Picasso Trigger' a Sidaris Work of Art |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1988/03/27/picasso-trigger-a-sidaris-work-of-art/ |work=The Orlando Sentinel |access-date=2024-01-28}}</ref> such as in 1987's ''Hard Ticket to Hawaii'', where a skateboard-riding assassin is blown up by a rocket launcher while he clutches a blowup doll.<ref name="hilarious" /> In 2014, ''Paste'' magazine named ''Hard Ticket to Hawaii'' the best B-movie of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Vorel |first=Jim |title=The 100 Best "B Movies" of All Time |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/05/the-100-best-b-movies-of-all-time.html?a=1 |access-date=2024-01-27 |magazine=Paste |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215012/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/05/the-100-best-b-movies-of-all-time.html?a=1 |archive-date=2014-05-12 |date=2014-05-09}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Sidaris had three children—Drew, Alexa, and Stacey—with his wife and production partner Arlene.<ref name="times1" /><ref name="times2">{{cite news |last=McIntyre |first=Bill |date=2007-03-10 |title=TV Sports Pioneer, Filmmaker Andy Sidaris Dead at 76 |work=The Times |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |page=3B}}</ref> They resided in Beverly Hills, California, where Sidaris died of throat cancer on March 7, 2007, aged 76.<ref name="lat" />
==Selected filmography== {| class="wikitable" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- ! Year ! Film ! Notes |- | 1969 | ''The Racing Scene'' | Director |- | 1970 | ''MASH'' | Football choreographer (uncredited)<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/03/andy_sidaris_ob.html |title=Andy Sidaris, RIP |last=Susman |first=Gary |date=2007-03-09 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=2009-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615103231/http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/03/andy_sidaris_ob.html |archive-date=2007-06-15}}</ref> |- | 1973 | ''Stacey'' | Director, producer, writer |- | 1979 | ''Seven'' | Director |- | 1985 | ''Malibu Express'' | Director, producer, writer |- | 1987 | ''Hard Ticket to Hawaii'' | Director, writer |- | 1988 | ''Picasso Trigger'' | Director, writer |- | 1989 | ''Savage Beach'' | Director, producer, writer |- | 1990 | ''Guns'' | Director, writer |- | 1991 | ''Do or Die'' | Director, writer |- | 1992 | ''Hard Hunted'' | Director, producer, writer |- | rowspan=2|1993 | ''Fit to Kill'' | Director, writer |- | ''Enemy Gold'' | Producer |- | 1994 | ''The Dallas Connection'' | Executive producer |- | 1996 | ''Day of the Warrior'' | Director, writer |- | 1998 | ''L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies: Return to Savage Beach'' | Director, writer |- |- ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television |- ! Year ! Title ! Notes |- | 1975 | ''Kojak'' | Director, 1 episode |- | 1976 | ''Gemini Man'' | Director, 1 episode |- | 1977 | ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' | Director, 1 episode |- |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{official}} *{{IMDb name|id=0796477}}
{{Andy Sidaris}} {{ABC's Wide World of Sports}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidaris, Andy}} Category:1931 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Film producers from Illinois Category:Film directors from Illinois Category:American television directors Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer in California Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American male screenwriters Category:Writers from Chicago Category:Screenwriters from Illinois Category:20th-century American screenwriters Category:20th-century American male writers