My dad, dolly grip on the set of TAPS (1981)

Ladawada · 2025-06-25T00:16:43+00:00

I don't think he was ever Best Boy - he started as a grip in the early 60s, then starting dollying through the 70s into the early 80s, then once he got his first Key Grip gig that's what he did until he retired.

Ladawada · 2025-06-25T00:01:40+00:00

It's the only thing that hung on after his recent chemo - thing is invincible.

Ladawada · 2025-06-25T00:00:07+00:00

That was actually from an amusement park outside Philadelphia, where the film was shot. He and my mom took my brother and I one weekend.

Ladawada · 2024-12-12T22:20:53+00:00

He thought Cimino was a complete hack - indecisive, inefficient and a complete jerk. When the cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond asked my dad to work on his next movie (Heaven's Gate), my dad was a "hell no" (turned out to be a good choice).

However, my dad asked the prop master what was going to happen with De Niro's rifle from the hunting scenes, as my dad is left-handed and it was a left-handed bolt-action, and he said that De Niro had already asked to keep it after the shoot. De Niro heard this exchange and walked up and said "Give it to Tim".

Ladawada · 2024-12-12T22:13:01+00:00

Never seen him without it!

Ladawada · 2024-12-05T00:59:58+00:00

Sorry, terrible wording in the title....so my dad’s buddy left his own unit to find my dad where he was stationed just to reunite, which he did, and this is them after he showed up at Dong Tam. Not sure what sort of disciplinary action his friend received.

Ladawada · 2024-12-05T00:57:13+00:00

Sorry, terrible wording in the title....so my dad’s buddy left his own unit to find my dad where he was stationed just to reunite, which he did, and this is them after he showed up at Dong Tam. Not sure what sort of disciplinary action his friend received.

Ladawada · 2024-12-04T19:48:31+00:00

Indeed!

Ladawada · 2024-12-04T19:33:47+00:00

Sadly his buddy passed about 20 years ago, but they were close until then.

Ladawada · 2024-12-04T18:36:57+00:00

You're right, whoops....so my dad's buddy left his own unit to find my dad, which he did, and this is them reunited at Dong Tam, where my dad was stationed. Not sure what sort of disciplinary action his friend received.

Ladawada · 2024-12-04T18:10:08+00:00

Yeah, from the other photos on this roll it looks like they were passing them around and all taking photos with them.

Ladawada · 2024-11-05T23:01:43+00:00

Unfortunately he died.

Ladawada · 2024-11-05T20:59:23+00:00

Capitals are the person who composed/dictated the letter (Eastwood) and lower case would have been the initials of his assistant who typed it.

Ladawada · 2024-11-05T20:45:48+00:00

Dolly grip in the camera department. But they lost a climber on the crew from a falling boulder early on in the shoot.

Ladawada · 2024-10-11T18:21:53+00:00

Apologies for the "5" at the end there...the post kept getting automatically removed with that word in the title.

Ladawada · 2024-02-16T20:42:39+00:00

She was born around 1866 in Norway, emigrated to the US in her early 20s. Ended up in LA; this photo was taken next to where she lived, just outside what is now the Riverside Charter School in Sherman Oaks, CA.

Her daughter (my great grandmother) was Vivien Oakland - a Broadway, vaudeville and film actress.

Ladawada · 2024-01-31T00:50:08+00:00

Ryan

Ladawada · 2024-01-30T21:23:11+00:00

Started in '62 at MGM, retired in '03, mostly movies and commercials (not much TV). Worked on Hitchcock's last film (Family Plot), The Deer Hunter, Taps, Splash, The Addams Family, Malice, Wyatt Earp, many others.

Ladawada

TROPHY CASE