Jerry Fairbanks
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Gerald Bertram Fairbanks (November 1, 1904, San Francisco - June 21, 1995, Santa Barbara, California) Fairbanks survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and began his career in film as a cameraman on silent movies such as John Barrymore's The Sea Beast (1926). This was followed by work on early sound productions such as Howard Hughes' film Hell's Angels (1930) in which he participated both as a biplane pilot and aerial cinematographer for the extensive World War I dogfight scenes.
His first foray into producing involved an innovative color series of theatrical short subjects for Universal Studios called Strange As It Seems (1933-1934). Based on the success of these productions, he was able to sell Paramount Pictures on three new series of short subjects entitled Unusual Occupations, Speaking of Animals, and Popular Science. The latter series was produced with the cooperation of the editors of Popular Science magazine and ran from 1935 to 1949. Films in the Unusual Occupations and Popular Science series were made in Magnacolor and showcased a vast assortment of groundbreaking wonders from the world of science and industry. In 1945, Fairbanks won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, One Reel for Who's Who in Animal Land, and was nominated again in that category in 1948 for Moon Rockets.
In the mid-1940s, Fairbanks was intrigued by television and became one the first film producers to create filmed programs specifically for this new medium. However, Paramount, seeing TV as the great rival to its continued success, issued an ultimatum to Fairbanks in 1949 — either stop making shows for TV or his association with Paramount was at an end. Fairbanks chose television and continued his success with his Popular Science films in the new medium of TV.
Fairbanks also broke new ground in television by inventing the multiple-camera setup of production in 1950, assisted by producer-director Frank Telford, which is still used by sitcoms today.[1] Desi Arnaz and Karl Freund are often cited as the inventors when producing I Love Lucy, but Arnaz himself gave credit to Jerry Fairbanks as the originator of this system. The only enhancement Arnaz made was to use 35 mm film instead of the 16 mm film which Fairbanks employed.
Fairbanks also gave a young actor named James Dean his very first performances on film, first in two Pepsi Cola TV commercials and then as John the Apostle in the Father Peyton's Family Theater TV episode entitled "Hill Number One" broadcast on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1950.
Fairbanks died in Santa Barbara, California on June 21, 1995 at the age of 90. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6384 Hollywood Blvd.
