2012 is ending minus a few heartfelt friends. It’s a good time to remember them.
Bob Lambert, once the top New Technology exec at Disney, sadly passed away at age 55. Bob had many friends in the business, and used his connections to reach out and move agendas. Among his many accomplishments, he was the first major studio executive to encourage Texas Instruments to further develop its DLP technology for showing movies in cinemas, and he was instrumental in bringing the original seven major motion picture studios together to form Digital Cinema Initiatives. At his memorial, Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, captured the essence of Bob with a story. When Iger was selected by Disney’s Board of Directors to become the next CEO of the company, he reached out to Steve Jobs to begin the job of repairing Disney’s then deteriorating relationship with Pixar. Iger was prepared for, and given, the customary lecture by Jobs as to how to better run Disney. In the midst of giving advice, Jobs pushed Iger to get the company more involved with technology, telling him that he needed to reach out within his own organization to Bob Lambert. Somewhere, Bob must have been smiling to hear that.
Ray Zone, one of the leading experts in 3D in Hollywood, passed away at age 65. Ray was known as the “3D King of Hollywood,” producing 3D adaptations for over 150 comic books for Disney, Warner Bros., and many more. His knowledge and love for 3D did not end there. Ray was a very active player in bringing 3D to digital cinema. His warm and friendly personality was merely a cover for a man with an amazing depth of knowledge for everything stereoscopic. Several of his books can be found on Amazon. (Search for Ray Zone.) For the SMPTE publication titled “3D Cinema and Television Technology: The First 100 Years,” Ray volunteered to write the introductions to each chapter. It’s a small capture of the vast knowledge that, sadly, we will no longer be able to tap.
John Silva, a leader in television production whose passion extended to digital cinema, died at age 92. John is perhaps best remembered for his days as Chief Engineer of Los Angeles-based television station KTLA, where he conceived and implemented in 1958 the first live broadcast from a helicopter, no small feat in those days, forever transforming television news. Angelinos also remember him for bringing the New Year’s Day Rose Parade to television. In digital cinema, he continued to be a “mover and shaker,” reminding everyone younger than him (which was nearly everyone) to pick his brains now as he may not be around long. John was an expert in color and color representation, sharp as a whip, and was never shy to share his knowledge and opinions. I still have the lengthy papers he made sure I read on color representation in the DCDM (digital cinema distribution master). John’s greatest gift shared was his passion for getting things right. We’re still working on that, John.
Hans Camenzind, inventor of the integrated phased lock loop in the late 60’s, as well as the “555” timer integrated circuit in the early 70’s, passed away at age 78. His significance in digital cinema is purely personal, as anything Hans knew about digital cinema was from me. Hans was a brilliant engineer, and continued to put his skills to work developing custom circuits until his last days. He employed me as a young man out of university in his Silicon Valley startup named Interdesign, where he proved the ASIC concept for analog integrated circuits years before the acronym ASIC came into being. In hindsight, we churned out chip designs at an astonishing pace for well-known companies, instilling a remarkable depth of design experience in a young engineer. Even after selling his company to the now defunct Ferranti, Hans carried on with the work he loved. The electronics industry rests on the shoulders of many giants. Hans will be remembered among them.