| | | | | | | My father, George (Steve) Stephenson, passed away peacefully on the 5th June of this year. He was such a great film maker working on so many films over the years. I'm sure many of our colleagues who worked with him gained so much knowledge observing his talent. This is certainly true of myself. I remember as a teenager my father bringing home what I believe was the first Nagra in England. It was loaned to him by Yul Brynner, who he was working with at the time. He showed this machine to my brother and I, saying this will change the whole concept of location sound recording. How true this was.
Having left Pinewood in the late sixties, I had the pleasure of working with him as his third man. Not only was he a creative sound mixer but a master of communication with actors and directors alike. He took me to Spain to work on the film Shalako with director Eddie Dmytryk. He fell in love with the country and remained working there on many movies that were shot in the area at that time. I was fortunate to be with him on many and gained invaluable experience and knowledge for which I am eternally grateful. I am also proud of the fact that later in my career, we were able to work together as sound mixers on the same movie, gaining a shared credit.
George has many credits to his name, too numerous to mention, but his favourites were always with the all time greats, African Queen, Polanski's Cul-de-sac and The Vampire Killers and notably The Guns of Navarone for which he was nominated for the 'Oscar'.
George also leaves a wonderful wife Frances and cherished daughter Rebecca. We will all miss him dearly.
DAVID STEPHENSON
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| | | | | | I first met George, or rather Steve as I always called him, soon after I joined the sound department at Pinewood in September 1945 having just left school, and in spite of our age difference, he befriended me. Steve, having been RAF aircrew during the war, had for his exploits early on in France, been awarded the DFM for assisting his wounded pilot to return their damaged aircraft back to safety.
After leaving Pinewood, he joined Shepperton as a mixer and it was not until 1952 when the industry was starting to recover from a deep recession that we teamed up again. Afterwards, although not working together, we remained firm friends. Steve was always very popular and sought after, working on several films for the Boulting Brothers as well as many other prestigious productions, including The Guns of Navarone. He then had a successful period working in Spain as well as on other worldwide location pictures until he was cruelly struck down by a dreadful stroke. During this time I visited him and hopefully made his day a little brighter.
For me, Steve was one of the nicest people that anybody could ever possibly wish to meet and I shall always remember him with great fondness.
DAVID BOWEN
ERIC PALMER Hon AMPS
Eric Palmer, for many years Projectionist at Audley Square Preview and ADR Theatre, died on August 4th.
Lionel Strutt has written an excellent tribute to Eric which includes an interesting insight into the Audley Square Theatre. Unfortunately due to lack of space, it will be held over until the next issue. | | | |
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