Edward Chan Sieg (November 8, 1928 – March 7, 2007) was an American director, writer, poet and photographer.

Early life

Sieg was born in 1928 to Edward Augustus Sieg and Gladys Geraldine Chan Sieg. "Gerald" was a member of one of the oldest Chinese families in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. At the age of 12, Sieg published an article on

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's "

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

" in ''

The Etude ''The Etude'' was an American print magazine dedicated to music founded by Theodore Presser (1848–1925) at Lynchburg, Virginia, and first published in October 1883. Presser, who had also founded the Music Teachers National Association, moved ...

'' magazine. He graduated from Savannah High School, then from Savannah's Armstrong Junior College and the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. He earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

and a

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degree at the latter institution. Sieg fought in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Career

In 1952, a year after moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, Sieg played Benny in a boxing movie titled ''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

''. He returned to Athens, Georgia, in the 1960s after being appointed the resident director at the Town and Gown Theatre. While in Athens, he wrote the original play ''An Existentialist in the House of Death''. His photograph of

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the Lists of Olympic medalists#Medalist with most medals by Olympiad, most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympi ...

at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, shortly after winning the gold medal, also won Sieg a gold medal at the International Photographic Competition. In the 1970s, Sieg worked at the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. In 1984, Sieg published ''The Squares: An Introduction to Savannah''. He followed it up the next year with ''Eden on the Marsh: An Illustrated History of Savannah''. The proceeds from ''The Squares'' go toward benefiting Chatham Academy, a Savannah school for children with learning disabilities.

Personal life

Sieg married Elizabeth, with whom he had a son and a daughter. His father died in 1969, aged 61; his mother died in 2005, aged 95. They are both interred in Savannah's

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, southeast of downtown Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery's prominence grew when it was featured in the 1994 novel '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Ev ...

Death

Sieg died in 2007, aged 78. He was survived by his wife and children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sieg, Edward Chan 1928 births 2007 deaths American artists American directors American poets American photographers Artists from Savannah, Georgia Writers from Savannah, Georgia