Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, doubling as a cowboy. He graduated to director in 1918.
At Universal Studios in the mid-1920s, Seiter was principal director of the popular movies with Reginald Denny, most of which co-starred Seiter's then wife Laura La Plante (his second wife was actress Marian Nixon). This period also included The Beautiful and Damned and The Family Secret.
In the early sound era, Seiter helped nurture the talents of RKO's comedy duo Wheeler & Woolsey in features such as Caught Plastered (1931) and Diplomaniacs (1933). He also directed Laurel and Hardy in Sons of the Desert (1933), generally regarded as one of their better feature films. Seiter's other films include Sunny, Going Wild, Kiss Me Again, Hot Saturday, Way Back Home, Girl Crazy, Rafter Romance, Roberta, Room Service, Susannah of the Mounties, Allegheny Uprising, You Were Never Lovelier, Up in Central Park, One Touch of Venus.

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