Jump to content

In Memoriam, Ted Churchill.


Peter Abraham

Recommended Posts

  • Premium Members

25 years ago today, Ted Churchill died.

For those of us who knew him it was a painful day and time in our personal lives and in our careers.

For those who knew of him back then, it was a shocker and made them want to know more.

There will be links coming in here that will provide nuance and detail and some incredible clips and videos of him.

As Garrett Brown has often said, " I invented the Steadicam. Ted invented the Steadicam Operator ".

Hope you're resting in peace, Teddy.

 

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

I don't recall the exact context, but I recalled hearing a story about Ted Churchill that I try to carry in my professional life wherever and whenever possible. I'm probably horribly misquoting the exact words, but it was something like this, when asked how he was such a successful Steadicam operator: "I may not have been the best, but production was never waiting on me." I tried to apply that, along with a heaping helping of humor on every show to which I have the good fortune to contribute. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members
3 hours ago, William Demeritt said:

I don't recall the exact context, but I recalled hearing a story about Ted Churchill that I try to carry in my professional life wherever and whenever possible. I'm probably horribly misquoting the exact words, but it was something like this, when asked how he was such a successful Steadicam operator: "I may not have been the best, but production was never waiting on me." I tried to apply that, along with a heaping helping of humor on every show to which I have the good fortune to contribute. 

Hi Will,
You may have heard it from me- I shared that quote at every workshop I taught. A pretty good mantra.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

Yes they were for the model 1. These were taken before my time with Steadicam. That would put them about 45 years old. I’ve been doing a lot of digging old stuff from my files. These pictures, as well as the two Teddy rig pictures hung above my workbench for years. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

Sweet pics! I remember the “Teddy rig” pics, very cool! I think I had that same monitor (external b/w video camera viewfinder — like anything else existed back then!) as a backup for a while. The prototype looking model 2 pics reminds me of my 2 when I got it. It had a funny homemade looking monitor bracket that moved the monitor way in like the one pictured. The battery bracket looks like a DeRose?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...