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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Revamped Raider Stadium ready for test drive Pizzeria hopes for Mystic rebound Expansion of hazard zone not expected to hike insurance rates Police reports CALENDAR Education SOU wants its students to love Ashland AHS drops homecoming king, queen A busy homecoming week for AHS students Sportsology returns to ScienceWorks Your child's best best bet for success? It's you Environment Annual tour shows how to live green Taking action here, now on global climate change Garden serves up a feast fit for monarchs Only voters can make a tree tops in town Getting away from — and back into — it all Business Pizzeria hopes for Mystic rebound Ski survey gets heavy response John Kalb, Ashland chiropractor The Coffee Window Oregon job report shows labor force growth Politics and elections Election officials fine Richardson for late reporting of rent-free home Sheriff a no-show at Ashland Chamber forum New script for film ordinance sent back to rewrite November elections right around the corner Matthew T. Mangino: Federal government complicit in militarization of police State News Nation - World Obituaries Death Notices Dorothy Irene Brown Death Notices Death Notices Susan Carol Loube Sports Latest Stories Ashland pulls out homecoming thriller No. 14 Southern Oregon pulls out rollercoaster win over No. 11 Eastern Oregon Revamped Raider Stadium ready for test drive Elizabeth Institute donates pink socks to AHS soccer Oregon State's Mannion keeps adding new milestones High school Ashland pulls out homecoming thriller Elizabeth Institute donates pink socks to AHS soccer A Grizzly week of homecoming activity Ashland readies for another hot quarterback on homecoming night Grizzlies fight back, bite Crater in five Southern Oregon University No. 14 Southern Oregon pulls out rollercoaster win over No. 11 Eastern Oregon Revamped Raider Stadium ready for test drive Oregon State's Mannion keeps adding new milestones Raiders bury Geoducks in Cascade Conference opener SOU wrestler headed to NAIA Hall Opinion Latest Stories Us versus them Jim Brock: It’s not about the minimum wage Homecoming changes with the times Matthew T. Mangino: Ambush of police officers is a growing problem Letters to the Editor, Sept. 26 Editorial Homecoming changes with the times Keep film ordinance simple Don’t ban smoking on the beach A perennial problem No time for complacency Letters Letters to the Editor, Sept. 26 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 25 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 22 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 20 Letters to the Editor, Sept.17 Guest opinions Us versus them Remembering a very prominent local lady Remembering a simpler time in Ashland Fostering a culture of peace in Ashland Stuck on the sands of hesitation Revels Latest Stories Camelot Theatre presents 'Spotlight on Johnny Mercer' John Reischman and the Jaybirds Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 4 things to do this weekend Community blog: Workshop explores travel and description Theater Camelot Theatre presents 'Spotlight on Johnny Mercer' Southern Oregon hosts its Lunacy Theatre Festival Friends of Jim Giancarlo remember Ashland theater icon Freud v. Lewis: Intellectual heavyweights spar over life's big issues 'Freud's Last Session" at Ashland Contemporary Theatre Music Sean Hayes at the Armory Q&A: Rachael Miles John Reischman and the Jaybirds Q&A: Acousta Noir Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas New script for film ordinance sent back to rewrite Still stifling laughter 40 years after 'Young Frankenstein' 'The Drop' hits all the marks Movie listings for Varsity Theatre, Ashland Street Cinemas Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Community Blog: From Definiency to Contentment Choose to embrace moments of revelation Parsi cultural history served up on a plate Community Blog: Predicting Peace - Part 2 of 7 Beyond the home: Housing options, continued Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Police reports ... CALENDAR ... SOU wants its students to love Ashland ... Police reports ... CALENDAR ... SOU wants its students to love Ashland ... ASHLAND Still stifling laughter 40 years after 'Young Frankenstein' By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Sep. 21, 2014 @ 4:44 pm Updated Sep 22, 2014 at 1:14 PM By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Sep. 21, 2014 @ 4:44 pm Updated Sep 22, 2014 at 1:14 PM » RELATED CONTENT • 'The Forgotten Kingdom' wins best feature • And the winners are ... • ‘Saving Pelican 895' wins AIFF audience award • AIFF hands out annual awards • AIFF breaks attendance records » Social News Gerry Hirschfeld, the director of photography for “Young Frankenstein” and many other big Hollywood films, is 93 now and living in Ashland at Mountain Meadows Retirement Community with his longtime wife, Julia, 80, who did continuity in many of his movies. The hilarious "Young Frankenstein," a send-up of the original black-and-white '30s movies of the same theme, broke much new ground for comedy, so much so that Hirschfeld could barely recall the main schticks of the movie, 40 years later, without breaking down in laughter. “That one scene, where Marty Feldman came up and chewed on Madeline Kahn’s white sable stole, I mean, we couldn’t even shoot that, the cameraman was laughing too hard and jiggling the camera.” But they finally shot the classic gag scene and, says Hirschfeld, would shoot most scenes a dozen times, with director Mel Brooks consulting with actors and others over how to make it a little bit better each time, though only he could see what had to be done. “Mel was the master of comedy. He was great,” says Hirschfeld. “He would do a shot so many times. I was interested in becoming a director at that time and would study him. Each time it was a little bit better. I learned persistence from him.” To commemorate the movie's 40th anniversary, Brooks had prints of his hands (thanks to a prosthesis, one hand has six fingers for comic effect) and shoes cast in concrete outside the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and a new Blu-ray edition of the film was released the next day. Hirschfeld also became friends with the film’s main star, Gene Wilder, who would would study Hirschfeld’s work because he was thinking about becoming a director. Hirschfeld, a native New Yorker, got in film by the sheerest of coincidences, joining the Army in World War II and getting assigned to making training films, this on the strength of knowing how to shoot still black-and-white photos. One of his fellow filmmakers in the Army was from Hollywood and took him back there after the war. His first feature film, shot for the Army as a civilian, was “Shades of Gray,” documenting the spectrum of traumatic stress on everyone involved in war — and, he notes, was used as a study decades later for the Oscar-winning Best Picture “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Gaining in reputation, he was contacted by Sidney Lumet, director of “Fail-Safe” (1964) as head of photography — and, along with Frankenstein, calls it his favorite film. Both were shot in black-and-white, for emotional impact. "Fail-Safe" led to a friendship with Henry Fonda (the president trying to avoid nuclear war in the movie) and Hirschfeld yarns about bumping into the famed actor in Central Park, trying to eat a hot dog and explaining he has to keep his back to the streets or people will come up trying for autographs and conversation. Hirschfeld was close friends with actor Richard Benjamin of “Goodbye Columbus” and when Benjamin directed “My Favorite Year,” he called on Hirschfeld to shoot it. In the 1980s Hirschfeld realized all his crew were dying and that stress was a big factor, so he retired to Ashland in 1987, continuing to work on a smaller scale till 1993. He taught cinematography at Southern Oregon University for five years and has been the sole judge for best cinematography for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, as well as one of a select few to judge movies for Oscars every year. “It’s been the best job, if you know what you’re doing, of any job one could ever get," Hirschfeld said. "You spend three or four months a year working and you get to know all the actors. They’re very nice people on the whole. It’s a very gratifying feeling watching your work in a theater.” Hirschfeld is father of four sons, two of whom worked in Hollywood. In 2006, he won the coveted President’s Award of the American Cinematographers Association and authored the exhaustive book, “Image Control; Motion Picture and Video Camera Filters and Lab Techniques,” which he calls something of a landmark, because most masters in the trade refuse to tell their secrets. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Sep. 21, 2014 @ 4:44 pm Updated Sep 22, 2014 at 1:14 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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