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In Memoriam Roderick Ryan, ASC, 1924-2007 e was, perhaps, one of the leastpublic figures of importance in Hollywood, but in his 40 years at Eastman Kodak, Roderick Ryan, Ph.D., helped provide the know-how and service filmmakers have come to expect from that company. “He worked behind the scenes and didn’t make a big show about things, but he always had the technical information I needed,” says cinematographer Ralph Woolsey, ASC. “I was more interested in the technical side of the business than many, and when new Kodak products came out or were about to come out, Rod was the person I went to.” An honorary ASC member since 1986, Ryan died from the effects of Lewy Body Disease at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on Oct. 11, 2007, at the age of 83. Ryan was born on Sept. 18, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent his early years there and in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before moving to California. He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1942. His career in motion-picture imaging began when he was a combat cinematographer stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Santee during World War II. He helped document the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, and was shooting footage when the Santee was hit by a kamikaze attack during that fight. In July 1946, he was one of the photographers who shot footage of atomic-bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. Ryan went to work for Eastman Kodak in 1947, and during his 40-year career in the Hollywood office, he held a number of positions, including quality control engineer/ Color Print and Processing; photographic engineer/Color Technology; and regional director of engineering services and coordinator of engineer- H ing services/Motion-Picture Division. Ryan completed his education at the University of Southern California while working at Kodak, earning a B.A. in 1952, an M.A. in 1956, and a Ph.D. in 1966. Photocopies of his highly regarded doctoral thesis, “A Study of the Technology of Color Motion-Picture Processes Developed in the United States,” circulated for years within the film industry before the piece was finally published as A History of Motion-Picture Color Technology (Focal Press, 1972). The book covered not only well-known processes, but also such obscure and short-lived processes as Brewster Color, Coloratura and the Morgana Process, and included technical details related to processing and color dye formulas. The first comprehensive historical survey of color in motion pictures, it proved to be a pioneering one. Ryan earned a number of awards for his expertise in color and film-lab practice. In 1960, he received a Special Commendation from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) for his contributions to Control Techniques in Film Processing, and in 1978, SMPTE acknowledged his “continuing substantial contribution to color film printing and processing systems” with its Herbert T. Kalmus Memorial Award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also recognized Ryan’s contributions. In 1981, he received a Scientific and Engineering Award for devising a film-processing machine designed especially for visual effects. In 1990, he was awarded a special Medal of Commendation “for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the academy,” and in 2000, he became the 14th recipient of the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, “presented to an individual in the motion-picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.” Ryan was proposed for associate membership in the ASC by opticaleffects cinematographer Joseph Westheimer, ASC in 1974. The associate member classification is reserved for non-cinematographers who are actively “engaged in work that contributes to cinematography through either technical expertise or the rendering of services or products directly related to cinematography.” After he retired from Kodak, Ryan was made an honorary ASC member, joining such notables as Thomas A. Edison, George Eastman and Walt Disney. Through the years, Ryan served as a technical engineer and consultant for NASA, and as a lecturer at USC and the University of California’s Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses. His wife, Helen, died in 1990. Donations in Ryan’s memory can be sent to the American Diabetes Association, 5200 W. Century Blvd., Suite 480, Los Angeles, CA, 90045; or the Lewy Body Dementia Association, P.O. Box 451429, Atlanta, GA, 311459429. — Robert S. Birchard I American Cinematographer 121

American Cinematographer - January 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2008