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Walter Siegmund remembered
26.08.1925 - 26.06.2012 | Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter
| Written by: Thomas
Hauerslev, Mark Lyndon | Date:
06.07.2012 |
Karlsruhe 2008
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Paul
and Walter Siegmund in the Schauburg kino in Karlsruhe, October 2008
It is with great sadness I must report the passing of Walter Siegmund, one
of the pioneers and engineers of the Todd-AO process.
Walt's principal tasks were the design of the curved Todd-AO screen and the
Distortion
Correcting Printing Process.
I first met Walt in May 1997 during the
Historical Wide
Screen Gathering in his home in Pomfret, CT, USA.
We sat around his kitchen table while Lois, his wife, made sure we had
enough to eat. Suddenly Todd-AO history came alive with Brian O'Brien, Jr.,
Walt, Dick Babsih (Cinerama/Cinemiracle) and
Bill Shaw (IMAX) around the
table. It was fantastic for me, after reading about it for so many years.
Here they all were - the engineers who made the processes!!
Walt was extremely kind and helpful, and always referred the "days of
Todd-AO" to be among the happiest days of the working life. Walt had a great
sense of humour, and I still hear his laugh when I think about his
"Oklahoma!" story and the rectified Todd-AO print, which he seriously
wanted to throw into the river from the George Washington Bridge on his way to
the Rivoli theatre in New York, since he truly felt the print wasn't
really very good.
| More in 70mm reading:
Todd-AO Epilouge
Walter P. Siegmund, a small
bio
Walter Siegmund
Interview
Historical
Wide Screen Gathering
Garrett
Brown meets Walter Siegmund
How
Todd-AO Began
Distortion
Correcting Printing Process
Mark III printer principle
Walter Siegmund Obituary (PDF)
Internet link:
Smith & Walker
German Projectionist Forum
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Walt
talking with Orla Nielsen, Denmark
Walt was very happy to talk about Todd-AO and with the help of Dick Whitney,
American Optical Company, we spent a full excursion day at AO in
Southbridge, CT., where Todd-AO was developed in 1952 - 1958. It was Walt's
first visit since he left the company in the early 1960s. After Walt left AO,
he pursued a career in fiber optics where he was a leading engineer with at
least 55 patents in his name -
including establishing his own company TaperVision.
In June 2002 Walt and Lois visited Copenhagen en-route on a cruise in the
Baltic sea. They spent an afternoon in our house, and it gave me the
opportunity to interview Walt about "The Early Days of Todd-AO". He
enthusiastically related anecdotes, and in the late afternoon I even showed
him the 70mm clips he had kindly donated to me. This was the first time he saw
"Distortion Corrected" Todd-AO in 50 years. Just imagine his enthusiasm
sitting between my model of a screen and the DP70, witnessing that moment! It was THRILLING for
me.
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Walt
talking about the Mark III printer in Karlsruhe
Seeing Todd-AO again on my curved 2-foot screen must have caught Walt's
enthusiasm for the old format he co-developed so many years ago.
Bill
Lawrence and I were delighted that he and Lois accepted our invitation to
come to Bradford in 2005 to be with us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Todd-AO. I proudly interviewed him on stage - but in reality I was only the
moderator. Walt didn't need questions, he simply enjoyed talking about the
past to the audience - and he did it so well.
I often called Walt, mostly on his birthday, but also on other occasions to
talk to him about our mutual interest for the Todd-AO history. He
occasionally sent
me small bits and pieces of Todd-AO memorabilia from his collection,
including the 64 degree lens, a view finder for the Bug-eye lens, optics for
the distortion correction printer and various other treasures - which for
most people are worthless pieces of iron. But Walt kept it for more than 50
years simply because his loved this story. And now it is safe in Copenhagen.
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One
of my favorite images of
Walt sitting next to the DP70 Todd-AO projector in Karlsruhe
The last time I saw Walt was in 2008 when he enthusiastically accepted
Herbert Born's invitation to come to Karlsruhe for the 4th
Todd-AO Festival.
This time he travelled with his son Paul, and although Walt needed to rest
every day, he was with us to give a talk about the Distortion Correcting
Printing Process. Uniquely Todd-AO, and almost forgotten today.
Walt was born in Bremen in Germany and was very happy to be back and see
Todd-AO for a final time in Germany. He amused his audience by telling the "secret"
story of the Todd-AO lenses which were in fact Zeiss lenses re-tooled for
the Todd-AO cameras. Only the 128 and 64 degree lenses were made by American
Optical. Walt amused everyone of the mainly German audience in the Schauburg
cinema by the fact that most of "Oklahoma!" was in fact filmed with
German quality lenses. Walt was the star of the weekend, and many guests
made him feel very welcome.
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Walt
and the Todd-AO projector
I will miss Walt, his enthusiasm and sense of humour, and look back at
the four times we met in his home, my home, Bradford and Karlsruhe with
great affection.
Walt was surely IN THE SHOW WITH TODD-AO!
Thomas Hauerslev, editor in70mm.com
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Another
happy moment for Walt in Karlsruhe with fans of his work and Todd-AO:
Francois Carrin, Robert Valkenburg, Walt, Orla Nielsen, Paul Siegmund,
Maria and Thomas Hauerslev
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Bradford 2005
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Walter
Siegmund with Mark Lyndon
I had the enormous good fortune of meeting and spending some very valuable
time in the company of Walt Siegmund and his wife Lois back in 2005 at the
Widescreen Weekend of the Bradford Film Festival.
In that vintage year, we were all very fortunate to have been educated about
his role in the creation of Todd AO. As well as Todd-AO, he was a great
pioneering scientist in the field of fibre optics, a technology that has
transformed all our lives, as the
famous picture of him in Life magazine will testify. I will remember him
with great admiration and fondness.
All the best,
Mark Lyndon
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I
met Walter Siegmund when Lois and he visited the Widescreen Weekend in
Bradford. They were a lovely couple and I enjoyed every minute I spent with
them. Walter was old school: charming, warm, intelligent, a great and easy
communicator. He loved his subject and the worked he had done. With a
twinkle in his eye and a passion in his heart he would talk animatedly about
optics and film and captivate even those for whom the subject meant little.
He gave me a prism that he had developed for reading text as he got older. A
small piece of glass, that gives fantastic magnification, held in a
beautiful little royal blue pouch with a gold draw-string. It is on my desk
now and becomes more useful with each passing year. I always think of Walter
with pleasure and great memories and I always will. A great man.
Bill Lawrence,
Halifax, England
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Copenhagen 2002
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Pomfret 1997
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