WHO’S WHO??

1.TERRY STEWART is holding a Kodak Cine Kodak Royal Magazine and 16mm magazine manufactured from 1945-1950.

2.DAVID KARABINAS is holding a Kodak Compact Graflex. Most sports still photography was done with a Graflex in the early 20th century- Manufactured 1912-1973

3.JIM BOWEN is holding a Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 – THE box camera. This model manufactured from 1946-1952.

4.CHRIS PHILLIPS is holding a Bolex H-16 Rex-4- 16mm workhorse. First manufactured in 1933 they are still being made in Switzerland today

5.TEXAS CREWMAN AS WAX FIGURES

6.ROBERT PORTER

I knew him before I actually started working at Texas Crew. He used to come in to the Mexican restaurant where I worked with his wife and kids. He always ordered the El Grande plate, which as the name suggests, was pretty substantial. He liked the way I brought the ice water out with the chips and salsa. Unlike most families, I was always happy to have them in my section. The kids were pretty clean and he was a good tipper. – DK

7.ARMADILLO – LONG TIME ICON OF THE TEXAS CREW

8.CHIHUAHUA- LONG TIME MASCOT OF THE TEXAS CREW

9.A BUST OF STEVEN F. AUSTIN- HELPS US WITH PARKING TICKETS

10. A HIGH DEFINITION IMAGE OF THE ALAMO

Goldie Hawn was in Austin shooting a movie and she had been asked to record a cover of a Beatles song for a tribute album. The record company hired me to go over and film the session. She was pretty nice and there really wasn’t much to the shoot actually but at the end of it she asked the crew to all gather together for what we thought was going to be one of those standard group photos. Once we had all gotten together she stood in front of us and lifted her shirt – flashing the entire crew.

“That’s one for the crew,” she said, smiled, and left. – CP

13.GREG WELCH

Greg Welch is one of the greatest triathletes of all time. Greg won “The Grand Slam” of triathlons including winning the Ironman World Championships in 1994. Greg had to retire from competition after undergoing 9 open heart surgeries. “Plucky” is currently a commentator for Ironman Live and works for Oakley. With everything that he’s been through he is still one of the funniest and most upbeat people that you’ll ever meet. It helps that he’s an Aussie. Everybody knows Aussies are funny. – TSS

14.ROB LEE

Rob’s outfits on shoots are legendarily inappropriate – whether they are tight fitting bike shorts paired with  a sleeveless T or a backwards facing cycling cap coupled with board shorts and flip flops, no cameraman garners more complaints about what they wore to the job than Rob.  But there’s one instance where his inability to dress appropriately worked to our advantage. It was after the 2000 election. We stood in the library of the Governor’s mansion, mostly just happy to be inside. After weeks staked out on the sidewalk across the street, shivering in the coldest, wettest, November we’d had in years, the simple fact we were anywhere except out in the cold made it almost easy to forget that we were in the middle of an historic moment. The room was lit for the interview and any second, George W. Bush – the newly appointed President of the United States – would enter and sit down with Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes for his first interview since being awarded the presidency. This was a big interview – “The” interview – and so we’d sent the “A” team (sort of) – Bowen, Phillips and Lee – to make sure everything went smooth.

But we are only part of the equation, and this became painfully clear when the door suddenly opened and in strode W. We looked at the producer. We were ready to go – we had been for a while – but where was Scott Pelley? There was panic on the producer’s face. Awkwardly he introduced himself to Bush and then just as quickly excused himself from the room to make a frantic phone call. As the door closed behind him we realized that we were now being left alone with the Governor.

A few seconds passed and no one said anything. Making someone like the soon to be President of the United States wait for the correspondent was a huge gaffe. No one knew what to say or do. It would be the President-elect who finally broke the silence.

Pointing at Rob Lee’s Chuck Taylor Converse high tops he said, “I like those shoes you have on.”

Rob smiled uncomfortably. We all looked at each other.

Bush went on. “And look at your shorts,” he said, motioning to the surf shorts that only covered half of Rob’s bare legs. “You must be the only person in this city wearing short pants in this weather.”

Now we all laughed nervously. At least we were killing time. Rob smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “I may be.”

Just then, the door swung open and in strode Pelley apologizing for being late. The rest of the interview went off without a hitch. For once, Rob dressing like a 14 year old surf punk was actually sort of helpful. – DK

15.MATT FRANKLIN

We were strapped into the jet boat racing through the Baltic Sea along the Swedish coast. The water was cobalt blue and at times it felt like we were actually floating above it, gliding inches over the surface. But then, just as quickly we would be pounding into the surf, the tiny boat shuddering as we slammed into the waves. I was terrified and quietly planned out how I would survive when the boat inevitably flipped over and dumped us into the icy water. I looked at the pilot and our guide – they were smiling – they clearly thought this was fun and assumed we would too (since we were obviously strapping American men who enjoy danger and thrill seeking)  so asking them to slow it down would be a sure indication of my lack of machismo – something I was unwilling to yield this early into the shoot. I glanced over at Matt and could see in his eyes that he shared my concern but was equally unwilling to concede his manhood. Finally, after one particularly harrowing moment Matt called out above the roar of the engine. “Hey – can we slow it down a bit” He motioned to the camera he clutched in his hands. “It’s just that this camera costs about $100,000.00 and I’m worried it’s getting jarred around too much. Sorry.” The pilot’s eyes widened at this figure and he quickly throttled down. “No problem,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

We continued on – but at much more reasonable and less dangerous speed. I relaxed and glanced over at Matt who gave me a knowing look.

Our masculinity – at least in Sweden – was preserved. – DK

16.DAMION HAUX

With arms overhead for hours, Damion does the monotonous job that no other Texas Crew member under 60 would take, and listens to clanging poker chips and quips by not so sharp tools, and makes it though another World Series of Poker in Las Vegas – JB

17.ROB DAVIS

I’ve only heard the story second hand but the lesson one draws from it is clear. They were in Spain shooting for one of the Lance Armstrong documentaries we worked on. I don’t remember which one. They were staying in the same hotel as the team, it’s a resort so I think it was pretty nice, not the kind of place you’d think you needed to worry about crime. I guess that’s why Rob thought it would be okay to sleep with his patio door open. He woke up to find a man standing in his room going through his stuff. He shot out of bed and raced toward the intruder who bolted out the door into the night. Undeterred, Rob gave chase, racing through the hotel grounds after him. I don’t know how long he ran before giving up. I guess that’s when he remembered that he slept in the nude. The lesson? Don’t screw with Rob Davis – even when he’s naked. – DK

18.MUHAMMAD ALI

The G.O.A.T. Muhammad Ali, The Greatest Of All Time, The Champ. In 1996 thanks to a few kind words from Harriett Saltzman and Lisa Lax, both at NBC Sports at the time, The Texas Crew was hired by the Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee to document the Olympic Torch Relay across America. It was one of the most fulfilling jobs of our careers. The millions of people who lined the relay route cheering for a symbol of unity through sport kept us going during the grueling hours and miles. The final torchbearer is literally the cherry on top for any Olympic opening ceremonies and Atlanta was no different. The identity of the final torchbearer was a closely guarded secret and on the last day we heard a rumor that made perfect sense to us. It would be Ali. Olympic gold medal winner at the 1960 Rome Olympics and 3 time heavyweight champion, one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, it was a perfect choice. Who can ever forget the image of Muhammad Ali, hands shaking from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease proudly lighting the cauldron to signal the start of the Olympic games. Instant classic.

Several days later we were assigned to the Olympic Athletes Village to shoot a surprise trip by none other then The Champ. The Athletes Village is very restricted and camera crews are only allowed in specified areas. The scene as Ali arrived can only be described as chaotic. Our producer Lisa Lax wanted us to stay with Ali as the crowd grew and Ali went into the Village. Security quickly informed us that cameras weren’t allowed past the next doorway. Sometime there is no way around the rules, but the nature of this crazy business calls for improvisation.  Rappin looked around for a friendly face and as luck would have it standing close by was Ali’s biographer and photographer Howard Bingham. Howard looked at security and said, “Their with The Champ.” In we went to the cafeteria where Ali held court for the next hour. His voice barely above a whisper he took pictures and laughed with Olympians from all over the world. The looks on their faces said they had already won a gold medal just by meeting The G.O.A.T.  – TSS

19.PAULA ABDUL

It was the second season of American Idol and in addition to being a judge on the show, Paula was doing double duty as the celebrity correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. I was the field producer working with her during the Austin auditions. Chris was shooting – I think Rob was running sound. We would hang out in the waiting room with all the would-be contestants and every once in a while Paula would emerge from the Judge’s room to do a stand-up or interview one of the kids waiting to go in. She seemed nice enough. At some point I found myself in a discussion with a couple of the Idol Producers and Paula sorting out what we were going to do next. We stood in a circle, Paula beside me. I felt something tug on my pants, glanced down, and saw that Paula had slipped her hand into my front pocket. Nothing else happened, she didn’t move it, she didn’t say anything about it, she just put it in my pocket and left it there. No one seemed to notice and the conversation continued, though I can’t recall at all what we said. When we were done speaking, everyone dispersed and as casually as she had placed it there, she removed it and we went on with our day as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It would not be for a few years, when the news of Paula’s affairs with younger staffers came to light, that I would re-consider that moment and the possibility that a great opportunity had passed me by. – DK

20.SIR GEORGE MARTIN

Of all the famous people I’ve met doing this job, this was the only person that I really couldn’t believe I was actually getting to meet. He was in town to record Goldie Hawn perform a Beatles cover for a tribute album. We’d been hired by the record company to shoot the session. This shoot was memorable for a couple reasons, but growing up I’d read every book printed about the Beatles, and to get to meet Sir George, the fifth Beatle, was by itself one of those moments I don’t think I will ever forget. – CP

21.BOB COSTAS

The Texas Crew has worked with Bob Costas since 1988 and as everyone in and out of the business knows, Bob is one of the best broadcasters, ever. Whether it be the NBA, the NFL, MLB or the Olympics working with Bob has always produced topnotch fare. The 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver were no exception. We opened NBC’s prime time show one night from a floatplane landing in Vancouver Harbour (that’s the way Canadians spell harbor, go figure). After several practice runs we had worked out the timing so we would arrive at the Lion’s Gate Bridge just as the show went to air. But as luck would have it our director, the world famous Bucky Gunts, let us know that we were going to be too early to the bridge. In a dramatic maneuver and without warning the pilot made a hard left turn that any NASCAR driver would have been proud to make. I had to sit facing the back of the plane to get the right shot of Bob and was unable to fasten my seatbelt. I started to slide forward and grabbed a seat back to keep from ending up in Bob’s lap. Bob’s eyes got real BIG. Just as the pilot pulled out of the turn Bucky threw it to the floatplane and Bob live. Costas is the ultimate pro and cruised through the live shot without a hitch. He even worked in a joke about in flight service when he pulled out a bag of peanuts that Rappin, my soundman, had given him moments earlier. It was a thrill and a highlight from the world of live television. – TSS

22.PAVAROTTI

Pavorotti was in Austin performing and he needed to shoot a quick video for Australian television to promote his upcoming appearance in Melbourne. The PR person told us that he didn’t have much time and so it had to be shot down and dirty in his hotel room. There wasn’t even going to be a teleprompter – just poster board with the message written on it by hand.

“You have to be quick,” she said. “He must have time to prepare for his performance.”

We got up to the room and were ready to go in a few minutes. Pavorotti came in, his face was this strange shade of orange from the makeup he wore for the stage, and he asked to take a look at the message he was supposed to read.

The first line of the copy read ‘its great to be back in Melbourne for the first time since the 80’s.’ Pavorotti frowned.

“But I’ve been to Melbourne,” he said. “This is not correct.”

“Yes we know,’ the PR person said. ‘But not since the ‘80’s.”

“Then it is not my first time in Melbourne,” Pavorotti said. “Change it please.”

“Wait, wait,” the woman said as the producer reached for a pen. “Hold on.”

“Why hold on?” Pavorotti asked. “I have been to Melbourne. This is not correct.”

“Yes that’s true,” the PR person explained. “But you are returning for the first time in many years.”

“So this is wrong,” he said. “I’ve been to Melbourne.”

“But it is your first time back.”

“But it is not my first time to Melbourne,” Pavorotti continued. “I’ve been to Melbourne.”

I looked at the producer, who just shrugged. This was going to take a while after all. – CP

23.DR. PHIL

Here are the rules – we bring in supplemental air conditioning to keep him cool, he doesn’t want any blackberries on the fruit tray, and the crew should avoid talking or making eye contact with him at all times.  – DK

24.DOUGLAS KIKER

In 1987 Jim and I were assigned to cover massive flooding in Mississippi. NBC correspondent Douglas Kiker was on the scene as was his longtime producer John Travieso. Kiker was from Georgia and channeled Foghorn Leghorn when he spoke. We had to fly through severe weather to get to a small airport in the south of the state. Everyone was a bit on edge as we stumbled out of the twin engine prop plane thankful to be on the ground. While the brain trust talked about our next move Jim and I stood outside looking at the sky. It didn’t look good. Reports of tornados in the area just added to our anxiety. Then we heard a faint sound in the distant. As the seconds passed and the sound grew louder we realized that somebody was landing a helicopter at the airport. Jim and I burst out laughing. Jim said, “What idiot would be flying a helicopter in this hellacious weather?” Kiker, in his best Foghorn Leghorn voice said, “Boys don’t laugh, that choppers for you.” And it was!

- TSS

25.MICHAEL IRVIN

Michael Irvin was called the “The Playmaker” during his 12 years with the Dallas Cowboys, but for us he became known as “The Matchmaker”. We worked with Michael many times including a memorable interview conducted by OJ Simpson who insisted on calling Michael Irvin “Michael Irving.” Michael went to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, which The Juice turned into “St. Thomas Acquaintance.” OJ did have a way with words. In November of 2001 we were assigned to work on a HBO Real Sports piece on Michael Irvin. We went to Dallas excited by the proposition of working with the dream team of correspondent Armen Keteyian and producers Nick Dolin and Lisa Bennett. The interview hit on the football career of Michael but also the off the field trouble that had plagued him. Michael’s personal life may have been messy, but during this shoot, he seemed to possess the skill of a clairvoyant. In the interest of full disclosure I had tried to set Nick up with a friend in NY. It didn’t work out. Michael saw that the real match made in heaven was between Lisa and Nick. Michael asked them why they weren’t together as it was obvious to him that they were soul mates. Nick and Lisa have been married since June of 2006 and have a daughter who proclaimed that she would someday be a swimmer at the University of Texas. The Playmaker is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and The Matchmaker is in the Hall of Fame too! – TSS

26.OZZY OSBOURNE

We were doing a story for MTV News on Ozzy’s return to San Antonio after being banned for urinatingon the Alamo. After the interview Ozzy asked me if I was going to come out onstage with him to shoot before the music started. The road manager was behind him shaking his head “no” but of course I just pretended not to notice.

“Sure,” I said. “That sounds great.”

An hour later, I stood backstage with Ozzy waiting to go on. I could hear the crowd and then the music that signaled Ozzy to take the stage.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked, and before I could answer he started moving. It was pitch black as I followed him out on to the stage. I couldn’t see anything. And then the lights came on. There was an entire arena full of people staring back at us screaming. I totally froze. I was supposed to run right off stage but I couldn’t move. I don’t know how long I just stood there. Finally I felt someone tugging on my shirt – it was the road manager. He had to pull me off stage.

That shot ended up running over and over on MTV. I might have froze but at least I got the shot.

- CP

27.JULIETTE CAMPBELL

When she picked us up at the airport we had no idea she was a former Olympian. We just figured she was simply a knowledgable local that Puma had hired to shepherd us around Kingston and keep us out of trouble. She proved to be pretty good at that – even when we ended up on a beach outside the city doing an interview with Usain Bolt and found ourselves threatened by a Mafioso who demanded payment for working on “his beach.” At one point he did threaten to kill us and we weren’t sure if Juliette’s up in his face screaming was helping or hurting our cause, but in the end – thanks to her – we simply agreed to buy our lunch from him once we were done shooting. He grilled us fresh fish and served us Red Stripe under a lean-to and we gladly paid him several hundred dollars. But that’s not even the real story. The real story is when the two-year old boy tottered into the frame in the middle of our Usain Bolt interview. Wearing only a diaper, and covered in dirt, the little boy was chewing on a broken piece of glass. Juliette quickly whisked him away so we could continue, and while we worked she tried to sort out whom he belonged to. It turned out he belonged to no one, and lived off the good graces and best intentions of a few drunks who hung around the beach. As the day wore on it became clear just how unacceptable that was to Juliette and by the time we were packing up to leave she told us her plan. “I’m going to take him home to my mother,” she told us. And so she did. She sent us pictures of him not that long ago: years older and nothing like that dirty child we saw on the beach. It turned out that being an Olympian wasn’t the only thing we didn’t know about Juliette – turns out she was some sort of saint too. – DK

28.MIKE WALLACE

I think it was his last story for 60 Minutes – the Roger Clemens interview. There must have been twenty people in the room for this thing. It was the biggest interview of the year – a circus – but when Wallace walked in he was as cool as could be, none of what was going on around him seemed to have any effect on him.  He just sat down and did his job. There’s a reason that guy is a legend and I’m just glad I got to work with him. – CP

29.HARVEY PENICK

Harvey Penick was the head golf pro at Austin Country Club from 1923 until 1973. He was the head golf coach at the University of Texas from 1931-63. He coached 5 players who are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame including major tournament winners Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite. To say that Mr. Penick was an accomplished golf instructor would be an understatement. However, the masses didn’t know much about Harvey until Bud Shrake got a glimpse of Harvey’s Little Red Book. Bud was a journalist, sportswriter, novelist, biographer and screenwriter. He counted Dan Jenkins and Gary Cartwright as compadres. Legend had it that they could rip it up pretty good.

In 1992 Bud helped turn Harvey’s simple, easy to understand and down to earth golf instruction into the largest selling instructional golf book of all time. It was only natural that it be turned into an instructional video. Producer Micky Holden enlisted the Texas Crew to shoot the Little Red Video one fall day in 1994 at the Austin Country Club. Of course Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite were happy to help out with Mr. Penick’s masterwork. In addition to 5 video crews we decided that we needed a big splash. We thought a golf swing at 10,000 frames per second would be interesting.  Normal film speed is 24 frames per second. What we wanted to do was see what happened to the golf ball at impact, and what a sand shot really looked like. Our super grip, Robert Porter, designed a box that would be above ground level and allow us to shoot at lens level and be able to trade out the sod after every shot. The grass would literally fry and the wood tee would smolder from the intense heat of the 10K light needed to expose for 10,000 fps. In addition we only had a 3 second window of film in which to capture the impact of club on ball and the camera would become so hot we had to wait 30 minutes in between shots to allow the camera to cool off. The time frame was tight and I explained to Ben Crenshaw that when I hollered swing he would have to swing immediately to be within our window. Up stepped Ben, the film started blowing through the sprocket holes and I hollered “SWING”! Ben looked at me and said, “Now?” I said the only thing appropriate at the time, “No, not now.” In the end we got some amazing footage of the ball going out of round at impact and back to round before leaving the frame, which was about 15 inches. But my favorite shot was watching the golf club create a wave that pushed the ball out of the sand without ever making contact with the ball. We got nominated for an Emmy for Technical Achievement for that one.

On April 9th 1995, a week after Mr. Penick passed away, his prize pupil Ben Crenshaw won his second Masters by doing what Harvey taught us all to do, “Take dead aim”. – TSS

30.GEORGE PAUL

The first time I ever ran a camera with Texas Crew was on a Barbra Walters interview with Lady Bird Johnson. It was a huge operation with multiple cameras, a grip and lighting truck, a complete video village, makeup artists, technical directors – everything you could think of – like they brought the whole New York studio to Texas. It was even directed by George Paul – who’s sort of a legend in the business.  This was a big break for me but I was so worried I’d mess things up that I hardly moved the camera the whole shoot. After it was over George Paul came over to me and said “nice work kid”.

Before I knew it, I started saying all the things I could have done better. The whole time I was talking he just looked at me and when I finally stopped he said simply, “just take the compliment kid.”- CP

31.RICK ALLEN

One of the most bizarre gigs the Texas Crew has done was a Def Leppard concert in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in San Antonio Texas. Research showed that this particular Wal-Mart had sold more Def Leppard discs then anyplace else in the US. Yep, San Antonio likes their metal. We were hired by the bands record label Mercury to shoot the 6 song performance and document the “gig”. Our producer, Spock, was from LA and she was a big fan of the band. In 1984, the drummer for the band, Rick Allen lost control of his Chevy Corvette on the way to a New Years Eve party near Sheffield England. He was thrown from the Vette and had to have his left arm amputated. Career over? No way. Using his right arm, feet and technology Rick has remained Def Leppard’s drummer and was on the drum kit that night in the spring of 1999.We started off with the usual green room meet and greet and moved into the parking lot. Chris was working close to the stage while I was on sticks on a raised platform close to parking section A3.  The show went smoothly.  Spock mentioned that the boys would be signing autographs in the store. OK, no problem. We walked into the store and tables had been set up in various aisles with a band member seated and ready to meet the adoring public. Def Leppard has 5 platinum and 2 gold records with Hysteria selling 20 million worldwide. They have some hard- core fans but we found THE hard-core fan. The lines were long and we were drawn to an extremely stoked dude holding a car fender. Unusual to say the least. As he approached Rick Allen’s table he was smiling from ear to ear. He proceeded to tell Rick that the fender that he now possessed was from the Corvette that Rick had crashed 15 years earlier. Rick could not have been happier to sign the fender and pose with fan and fender. I can honestly say I didn’t see that one coming. – TSS

32.COLT McCOY

How do you follow greatness?  Following Vince Young as QB at The University of Texas had let down written all over it. Vince had merely run and thrown UT to a scintillating 41-38 victory in the National Championship game against USC. Now a redshirt freshman from Tuscola Texas, population 714, would take the snaps. The first time we shot Colt McCoy we could see a spark but had no idea that he would become the winningest QB in college football history. In 2008, his junior year, Colt was having an outstanding year. Kory Kozart from ESPN called to say he was doing a shoot for the Heisman Trophy show. He saw Colt as the All American boy and wanted to do something with an American flag. We thought that was a great idea, and I immediately thought of George C. Scott as Patton addressing the troops in front of a BIG flag. Kory signed off on it. In one of Rappins finest rigging jobs we hung a 12’X18’ stars and stripes as a background.  By the way, if you ever need a big flag we’ve got one at the office. All American boy indeed. Sam Bradford won the Heisman that year with Tim Teabow the 2007 winner also on the stage but I like to think Colt’s feature was the best. Check it out on this website. – TSS

33.ARTHUR KENT

Arthur Kent was a NBC News foreign correspondent from 1988 until 1992. In that time he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square, the war in the Persian Gulf (Arthur became famous as the “Scud Stud” for his agile missile dodging on live television during Gulf War 1), and a clandestine trip to Tibet a month after Tiananmen Square. Texas Crew was along for the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square, the tour of Tibet, and the Russian pullout from Kabul. Remarkably, Arthur covered the war in Afghanistan from both the Mujahideen AND the Russian sides. Few had a more extensive knowledge of the region than he. Arthur had covered fighting in Afghanistan from the Mujah side so it was going to be interesting to see him cover it from the Russian side. Jim and I flew from London to Moscow and met up with Peter Kent (Arthur’s big brother), serving as correspondent, and Arthur his producer. May 14, 1988 was the eve of the Russian pullout of Afghanistan.  General Boris Gromov held a press conference to discuss the details of their plan. Jim and I were surprised when Arthur Kent asked the General a specific question about a disputed Russian attack earlier in the year. The General stared at Arthur and said, “How do you know about that?” Arthur defiantly said, “I was there.” The General raised an eyebrow, gave a bullshit answer and moved to another question. Peter was our steady hand while Arthur was full speed ahead. On May 15th the Russians put on a good show with hundreds of vehicles including T-62M battle tanks and Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters moving towards the Russian border. In all we spent a week in Kabul filling daily stories and even got a live shot up on the satellite. Jim and I loved the thrill of being on the lead story and were most impressed with Peter and Arthur’s ability to get things done in a difficult location. We still use Arthur’s go to line, “My friend, I’m a friend of the President, my friend.” – TSS

34.EARL CAMPBELL

“Haven’t you guys got enough?” Overheard numerous times during the lifetime of Earl’s B-roll shoots.- JB

35.ERIC BEGLEY

We sat across the table from the Koreans and listened to our local production partner Mr. Yoon, explain through a translator, that once again he was unable to provide us with something he had promised. What had started with innocuous items like walkie-talkies had now grown to more critical things like a soundman who spoke English, the proper cameras, and a helicopter. Eric’s face grew redder with each word, his Irish-blood obviously beginning to boil.

“So what do you have?” he asked, slapping his hand hard onto the conference table. “Anything? Do you have anything we asked for? Were you ever going to provide any of this? What about the emails? I don’t get it? I mean, what the f***”

He abruptly stood up and walked away from the table, still muttering to himself about how he was going to pull off this shoot without all the things he’d been promised.

The entire Korean contingency looked at me from across the table with expressions somewhere between utter confusion and terror. Hwahnee, our translator, didn’t know what to do. I held up my hands and forced a smile.

“As you can see, our producer is a bit frustrated,” I said evenly.

Behind me, Eric continued to pace back and forth, running his hands through his hair, cursing silently, and periodically throwing murderous glances toward our Korean partners.

“Perhaps we can start over,” I continued. “And maybe you can tell me what you can provide?”

The answer proved to be far less than what we needed or had been promised. That in the end Eric was able to make a great show out of all that still amazes me. – DK

36.PETER HENNING

Peter is a true legend in the sports television business. He has worked on everything from ABC’s Wide World of Sports, The American Sportsman, Major League Baseball, and Ironman just to name a few shows. He helped set the standard that many of us strive to match today. While Peter has clawed his way from JUST a cameraman to being the head honcho of the Ironman television empire, I think Peter will best be remembered for his numerous retirement speeches. He has retired more times then Michael Jordon, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali combined. He claims to be hanging it up for good in 2012 but I’m not going to hold him to it. – TSS

37.LISA LAX

Lisa and her identical twin sister, Nancy Stern, have a company called Lookalike Productions. They were world-class lacrosse players at Tufts University, and they currently produce some of the most watchable films and television of the modern era.

The list of epic shoots that we were lucky enough to be on with Lisa include:

* The Battle of Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics

*Arthur Ashe- an emotional tribute to a great tennis player and one of the finest human beings of all time  (the interview/ therapy session with Arthur’s brother Johnny culminated with him exclaiming, “I told my wife the interview would take just a minute. She’s been circling the block in our car for 3 hours!”) I believe Lisa won an Emmy for that one.

* Ironman- When Lisa invited me to travel to Hawaii for the Ironman World Championships I had no  idea that 19 years later I would have shot over 75 Ironman races and along the way become the DP.

* WNBA- -The inaugural season’s motto, “We’ve Got Next” quickly morphed into “We’ve Got   Cramps”

* In Search of Jorn Utzon– One of our best escapades was the trip that Lisa, Rappin, and I made to Spain in 1999. For the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Dick Ebersol wanted a feature on the architect who designed the iconic Sydney Opera House. There were, however a few problems associated with this assignment. Jorn Utzon the Danish architect, in a major riff with the Australians, quit the job before it was completed. He was living on the island of Majorca. Also, he was a recluse AND we didn’t have his address. In one of the best days of my life we drove all over the island asking questions, following leads, and generally laughing our asses off. We spent a good part of the journey on back roads, gravel trails and waiting. We eventually found Utzon’s house at the end of a gravel road with an amazing ocean view. In a coup for the ages, Lisa talked our way into his house. We were going to get the interview no one could get! He was very gracious in his denying our repeated requests for an interview and after about 15 minutes said, “Thank you for coming. Now let me show you to the door.” I’ve been asked to leave many places but never in a gentler manner. The piece was still a gold medal winner.  Jorn Utzon died in 2008. Tragically, he never saw the Sydney Opera House completed. – TSS

38.BOB BRANDON

In 1980, Bob taught an ENG camera class to the photogs at KVUE (our local ABC affiliate where I was working at the time). One big thing he drove home: “If you want to become a good cameraman, first disconnect your electric zoom!” – JB

39.YASSAR ARAFAT

After Arafat’s sudden change of mind to go to Athens on his Mid-East peace tour in the summer of 1982, Texas Crew is asked to delay their departure for Texas, and stay another two days. Meanwhile, our airline ticket, purchased in Cypriot Pounds, had gone up in value against the Greek Drachma, the difference allowed us to purchase an upgrade – to the Concorde.

We were back in Austin for Mexican food and margaritas by 5p. Thanks Mr Arafat. – JB

40.MEREDITH WALKER

There are producers who become legends because the television they make is legendary. Meredith Walker is not such a producer. Meredith Walker is a legend because of her uncanny ability to convince her employer that the all expense paid vacations she took us on were actually for the purpose of making television. A weekend at a Hill Country retreat could be passed off as a story about Kinky Friedman, while an afternoon drinking Mint Juleps on the Riverwalk could be a story about the Alamo.  But the granddaddy of them all was the weeklong trip to Panama to cover the handing over of the Canal to the Panamanians. While the three days we actually worked were a chore, we were more than able to recuperate on the secluded beach of an out of the way island where we spent the bulk of our time reading, drinking, and working on our tans. Never before has a producer worked such magic with a corporate AMEX card. – DK

41.ALEX HERRERA

One thing that any experienced ENG soundman always has in his pack is a snack. Alex’s snack of choice were HEB-brand fat-free Saltines. He loved them. Unlike the full-fat version or the name brand version, these crackers were exceptionally crispy – one might even think they tasted stale if they didn’t know any better. But Alex knew better and he knew what he liked. If the day was running long and the producer had decided that eating was just too big of a luxury, one could always look to Alex for a cracker.

After I don’t know how many years of Alex carrying these crackers, we were on a shoot one day and I asked for a saltine. “I don’t have any,” he said.

“What do you mean you don’t have them?” I asked.

“They stopped making them,” he said. “HEB doesn’t carry them anymore. They only have the Premium ones and I don’t like those. They don’t taste the same.”

“That sucks,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said. “It does.”

And something in his eyes told me that I really had no idea just how much it really did – DK

42.ED BRADLEY

As a journalist Ed Bradley’s credentials are impeccable. Each time that we were privileged to work with him he was always a pro, always a gentleman. When he conducted the interview you would never think there was anyone in the room except him and the subject. Then, at twenty nine minutes in he would say “Now we have to do a tape change. Please hold that thought.” He always knew when to do this and was never caught out on an endless answer. At the end of the interview he would say, “Now we are going to do a two shot which is something we do for the editor in case he needs it and I’m going to keep talking to you and you will just keep listening to me and not talk and by the time I have finished saying this the cameraman should be done. Do we have it? ” At which point the answer should have been “yes”.

Immediately after that he would say”Now we will take 30 seconds of room tone which is where we are silent and this also helps the editors.”

I have never worked with anyone else who made it so easy. – Rappin

43.HENRY MILLER

Started the tradition of the “Sound Tech Special” at Mexican restaurants all over the Southwest. The Sound Tech Special is cheese enchiladas in Tex-Mex brown beef sauce. Like the ones served at Dart Bowl and El Patio. If you notice,  approx. 90 to 95% of sound techs will order these delicious little tubes when eating at Mexican places. – JB

44.BEVO

You can’t shoot Texas football without shooting Bevo the iconic mascot of the University of Texas. In 1916 four Texas A&M students kidnapped the UT Longhorn, then called “BO” and branded him with the previous years score 13-0. Texas’ solution? Rebrand 13-0 into BEVO.

In the early 80’s, when The Texas Crew started shooting UT football Bevo wasn’t quite as sedated as he is now on game days. On more then one occasion, we got a little too close to Bevo where a swing of his head would put those longhorns within the “Holy Shit” zone. Of course Baylor used to bring a real bear to football games. We always wondered who would win in a fight? The battle between Bevo and A&M’s collie would be pretty one sided but a bear vs. a longhorn? The Romans would have paid to see that one. – TSS

45.LANCE ARMSTRONG

The first time we met Lance he was living in an 800 sq ft guest-house in central Austin. We hit it off right away. Over the last 17 years The Texas Crew has worked with Lance on countless projects, and I must say it’s been extremely satisfying. To see a young, brash, pavement pounding machine reach the heights of immortality is amazing. Some would argue that his 7 Tour de France victories are his greatest accomplishment. Everyone agrees that his foundation, Livestrong, is his lasting legacy. We at the Texas Crew will always remember Lance for something that took him under 3 seconds to complete. The Texas Crew has been giving out baseball caps for years. On the front is our beloved armadillo (some folks think it’s a rat) and on the back is J.T.F.C. We give people a hat and part of the game is to guess what the J.T.F.C acronym means. If it takes more than a day, we’ll give it up. Yes, there are those who have been stymied. Then, there are the  wise guys who get it in a minute or two, but I’ll never forget the day I gave Lance a hat. He looked at the front turned the hat around and with no hesitation said, “Just The Fuckin’ Crew. I love it”. Under 3 seconds, and the record still stands. So yes, cheer the yellow jerseys and the stage wins but what Lance did when he guessed J.T.F.C. is truly hors categorie. (beyond classification)! – TSS

46.HAROLD DOW

CBS News correspondent Harold Dow’s travel code: “I need to drive a deep breather (large, safe rental car); we are going to eat at a place with cloth napkins; and when ordering appetizers, if it’s good, order two!” – JB

47.WILLIE NELSON

The paths of Willie Nelson and Texas Crew have crossed many times over the years, most usually as an interview conducted on the famous “aromatic ” bus after a show. Wille was always gracious and his handler always diligent about removing unsmoked items from the area, even as the camera was rolling and Willie answering questions.

On a warm spring day we were shooting “behind the scenes” at Willies western town for a music video. We were working for the “Dan Rather Reports” show and Dan had a cameo in the video. Afterwards Dan conducted a soul searching interview with Willie on the deck of his house, overlooking the beautiful Pedernales River valley. Well into the interview I noticed that Willie’s fly was down on his Levis and signaled Jim Bowen who let me know that the shot was tight and wouldn’t embarrass Willie. When we stopped Jim went to Willie and told him about his “exposure” . Willie didn’t miss a beat and said with a quick grin ” I guess that gives new meaning to ‘a hair in the gate’.” – Rappin

48.MIKE DITKA

The first time we met Mike Ditka we interviewed him for NBC’s NFL Live. He was the head coach of Da Bears and it was 3 days before Super Bowl XX. The interview was conducted by…wait for it, Larry King. Yep, Larry King worked for NBC Sports for a season. I remember Coach Ditka as an intense guy but very likable. The Chicago Bears manhandled the New England Patriots 46-10 in that game. In 1988 Ditka was the first tight end to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1992 he left coaching and went to work for NBC’s pre-game show. We always enjoyed working with Coach and there were quite a few laughs along the way. The Dallas Cowboys were set to play the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl. NBC needed features to cover the ever-expanding Super Bowl pregame. EA Sports wanted to hook up with NBC to promote John Madden Football on the Sega platform. Madden debuted in 1988 on an Apple II but in January of 1993 EA was still building Madden into the mega hit it would become. The idea? Have Mike Ditka and OJ Simpson play a game of John Madden Football. What could possibly go wrong? The shoot was scheduled for Chicago and the rec room at Ditka’s house. The folks at EA were great as we figured out how to record the game straight to tape. We shot the interaction between Coach and The Juice using 2 cameras. We spent the morning lighting and blocking out shots. The set looked good and by the time we were ready to roll I felt good about our preparation. There was one VERY big problem however. Neither Ditka nor The Juice were gamers. I’m still not sure how the piece turned out as well as it did.  Saved in post I suppose. The best line of the entire exercise came from Ditka who proclaimed, “I hate kickers!” I guess Madden is just like real football.

Footnote: The following year we did it again. This time we shot the piece at the Georgia Dome and had EA program an “exciting game” and we just played it back. OJ and Ditka hitting buttons that did nothing. It was another chapter in the magic of the television handbook. – TSS

49.PETER KENT

Peter Kent was the consummate foreign correspondent. In a career that spanned 5 decades Peter covered countless wars and skirmishes including the US withdrawal of Vietnam and the fall of Cambodia to the Khmer Rouge. By the time we met up with Peter he was a senior correspondent for NBC out of London. We were lucky enough to learn a great deal from Peter about how to operate in dicey locations. A few of the highlights were, a winters day at Gorky Park in Moscow, covering the growing famine in Ethiopia, a civil war in Eritrea, the Russian pullout of Afghanistan and a cyclone in Bangladesh. We always knew that Peter was a class act and weren’t too surprised when we heard he had been elected to the Canadian Parliament in 2008. – TSS

50.WRIGHT THOMPSON

In November of 2009, Wright did a piece for ESPN.com on the New Orleans Saints. Yep, the paper bags on fans heads were gone and the undefeated Saints were catching the attention of America. “Who Dat” fever was on the rise. The writing on this piece was exceptional as it wasn’t just about a love affair between a city and it’s football team. Nope, this piece went deeper. It wasn’t just about heart, it was about heart and soul. As the Saints marched through the playoffs, ESPN had a brilliant idea. Take the .com piece and put it on the mothership. Producer Kory Kozak called and asked us along for the ride. And what a ride it was. Rappin and I met up with Wright and Kory at a bar in the Garden District frequented by print journalist. (Don’t worry Wright your secret is safe with me!)

As I walked into the bar Wright had a bourbon in his hand and a smile on his bearded face. Thinking that Wright’s article was the best piece I’d read in years I was a bit nervous. I didn’t want to F this up. We got into the expectations of the pictures right away, and by the time I finished my second Woodfords I knew we would have a great week.

For the next 3 days we worked our asses off, but I shouldn’t really call it work. We ate and drank our way through New Orleans. “The Soul of New Orleans” is one of my favorite pieces of all time. Check it out on our website.

In my humble opinion Wright is a 5 tool player and barring injury could end up being one of the top storytellers of all time. Yep, he’s that good. – TSS

51.DAN RATHER

While hopping a ride in Matt Franklin’s government issue utility sub, Dan stares at the plebeian interior landscape of federal frugality, and asks if Matt’s super basic radio can receive Country and Western. – JB

52.SHAUN WHITE

On Texas Crew’s first overseas trip in 1981 to the Czechoslovak/Polish border, Shaun could not stop signing his own version of the Texaco Gas song, “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star, the big Red Communist Star!” Oh the memories. – JB

53.STEVE McCARTHY

A grand undertaking such as an Olympic Torch Relay necessitates a grand leader, and there is non-grander than Mr. Steve McCarthy.  As the director of the 2002 and 2004 Olympic Torch Relays, Steve McCarthy led our crew safely across the country, and around the world, carrying the inspirational message of the Olympic flame to peoples far and wide. His confidence and ability to always remain in-charge are best exemplified by these words heard crackling over our walk-talkies somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

“We’re lost,” McCarthy said. “But we’re making good time.” – DK

54.FRANK DeFORD

In October of 1964 my Cardinals beat the Yankees in a 7 game series that made me a baseball fan for life. Mrs. Gagliano looked the other way as I held my transistor radio to my ear during class. I miss the World Series being contested during the day.

That same week, the Sports Illustrated cover was of a torchbearer running the Olympic flame into the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics. The picture made an impression on me, but I started to actually read the articles in SI with interest. Along with most other readers of SI, I looked forward to anything written by Frank Deford. Frank was a hero of mine. I wondered what it would be like to get to cover the greatest sporting events in the world. What a great job. In the spring of 1996 HBO Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel was just starting their second season. I had worked with Kirby Bradley on Inside The NFL and he brought us on board when he became Senior Producer at Real Sports. The assignment came in to shoot a profile on Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets. Cool. And then the bombshell hit. The correspondent would be FRANK DEFORD! THE Frank Deford. The Frank Deford who was a member of the Sportscaster and Sportswriters Hall of Fame! The shoot was a joy and as I recall the piece was pretty darn good too, but getting to work with Frank remains a highlight of my career. He is a true gentleman and a living legend. – TSS

55.OJ SIMPSON

The Juice. Working with OJ at NBC on NFL Live for 5 seasons, between 1989 and 1993 was a blast. We worked with Orenthal James Simpson over 50 times in that span and had some of the most memorable days because of OJ. Kevin Smollen produced The Juice for 3 of those 5 years (Douglas Warshaw 1 year and Al Szymanski 1 year. Billy Matthews would jump in from time to time) Kevin embraced the assignment but was having his patience tested on a daily basis. OJ would typically show up minutes before the scheduled interview and ask, “Smollen, where are the questions?” His relationship with a schedule always put him through the door late and his association with preparation did not exist. “Who you guys got this week?” was the length of his research ability.  In November of 1993 Don Shula was poised to break George Halas’s record of 324 victories by an NFL head coach. Fifteen minutes before the scheduled interview, we couldn’t find OJ. Kevin Smollen asked Billy Matthews if he could try to find him. In the meantime, Shula showed up and was nice enough to push the interview until after practice. A few minutes later Billy walked back in shaking his head. Kevin asked, “Where is he?” Billy holding back laughter proclaimed that he found OJ standing in the Dolphins Equipment Manager, Bobby Monica’s office, naked!  OJ said he needed to take a “quick shower”. In 1990 Jim and Terry traveled to Saudi Arabia with Kevin and OJ for a couple of feature pieces and live cut ins with OJ and the troops watching a Thanksgiving Day game. We had a great week with the troops but were more then ready to get the hell out of the sand  (that no alcohol thing can get old real quick). So, we were at the airport and I tell OJ, ”Man this flight is packed with some heavyweight journalists. There’s Tom Browkaw, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel…” OJ cut me off to inquire, ”Which one is Brokaw?  He works for NBC too, doesn’t he?” And so it went for 5 glorious seasons. I think Jim and Rappin will agree with me when I say we miss those days. For some reason NBC didn’t renew his contract for the ’94 season. Somebody told me he got into some kind of trouble with the law. – TSS

56.GILLIAN HAMBURGER

She is the gold standard of operations management. She is what all managers of productions aspire to. She is cool, calm and collected. She is grace under pressure – she is Gillian Hamburger. – DK

57.JESSE JACKSON

In 1988 Jim and I covered the Iowa caucuses for NBC news. It was fun seeing the process to elect a president from the inside. After Iowa, we moved on to New Hampshire and the first primary. Jesse Jackson had run for President in 1984 but his campaign was a logistic nightmare. That was supposed to change in 1988 because he had a seasoned campaign staff and more importantly he had an airplane! In ’84 the press chased Jesse as best they could, but now the press could travel WITH Jackson just like a big boy campaign. George Bush was Vice President and would hit about 3 campaign stops a day. Michael Dukakis, who would end up as the Democratic nominee, would average 4 stops. It wasn’t unusual for Jesse Jackson to schedule 6 or 7 stops a day. The campaign is responsible for feeding the press on the plane. One day after 4 stops we still hadn’t been given any food. After the next stop in Memphis, still no food for the press but the smell of BBQ came wafting from the first class cabin. Steve Narisi, our NBC field producer, started a petition by the name of “Let My People Eat.” Of course everyone signed it and as Reverend Jackson made his way through the plane pressing the flesh Steve asked if he would join our cause by signing? Jesse laughed and said he’d be glad to sign for a worthy cause. About 30 minutes later Jackson’s campaign manager came to the back of the plane and asked to see the petition. It conveniently disappeared. The next day we got fed 3 times. – TSS

58.STEVEN TYLER

We were shooting for this show that used to be on Discovery called How’d They do That and this segment was on the roadies who built up and tore down the Aerosmith stage every day during their tour. The word was that the guys in Aerosmith weren’t that interested in being filmed, especially Steven Tyler who didn’t want us to reveal that he used a teleprompter onstage because he couldn’t remember the lyrics to his songs.  Just before the show started the producer told me that Steven Tyler said we could get a few seconds with him. I was brought over to him, figuring whatever we got was going to suck because  he didn’t really want to talk to us. I put the camera on him and he said, “Hows that camera in low light situations?”

“Pretty good,” I said.

Before I knew it, he improvised an entire rap about how great his road crew is. In detail he named names and listed everything they do for the band.

I’m still not really a big Aerosmith fan, but that was actually pretty cool. – CP

59.HEATHER ALLAN

In the summer of 1982, The Texas Crew wasn’t even a year old and Jim and Terry were wet behind the ears. We were sent to London by NBC News to cover the British angle on the Falklands war. Everything was new and exciting and everyone had such great stories, one more fascinating then the next. We were given an assignment to go to the MOD (Ministry of Defense) to wait for a press conference updating the status of the war. The producer assigned to us was a South African by the name of Heather Allen. A television crew’s dream-come-true. Heather made every situation an event not to be missed, even a boring press conference. Heather could impart words of wisdom, file the story, plan the party AND party you under the table all with a witty story, a smile, and laugh. Heather went from producer to bureau chief to special event coordinator. No matter if it was Beirut, Beijing, Tibet, San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina or a safari in Africa if H was in charge you were going to have the time of your life. We learned so much from her. Her only questionable foray? She married a cameraman. Our dear friend Maurice Roper, affectionately called Mo Bob. We made him an honorary Texan.- TSS

60.MARK HIGGINS

The client had sent me the list of things they planned to do with Lance for the shoot: a lengthy interview, some portraits, a ride, maybe a second interview in a different location. He followed the email up with an even lengthier conference call where an entire creative team explained the theme behind the shoot, what they were going for aesthetically, and the multitude of messages that they hoped to capture. As always, I listened silently and jotted down notes.

“How does that sound?” they asked.

“Sounds good,” I said. “But it sounds like a long day for Lance. Have you guys spoken to his management about all of this? Seems a bit ambitious.”

There was a moment of silence before a voice I hadn’t heard before answered me.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” she said, hardly hiding her condescension. “We have that taken care of.”

I knew that tone, and even without ever having met her, I knew that person. More importantly, I knew who we were to her – JTFC – just the f***ing crew – and so I politely said thanks and goodbye and later, as I put the call sheet together and looked back over the schedule they’d sent me and the notes I’d taken, I thought it may be worth shooting it over to Mark for his thoughts.

My phone rang only a few minutes after sending the email.

“It’s Higgins,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Did you get that email?”

“Yeah,” he said, flatly. “Forget that. No way that’s happening. They get fifteen minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes, huh?” I said. “Sounds good.”

“No problem,” he said. “Tell the boys I’ll meet them there -and it will be a short day.”

When doing shoots with a world-class athlete and cultural icon, sometimes it pays to know the man in front of “the man” even when you are only JTFC. – DK

61.RUSS McCARROLL

What do I miss most about Russ McCarroll no longer working the field? I’ll tell you what I don’t miss – I don’t miss him picking out all the cashews from the cans of mixed nuts in the production office. – DK

62.BILLY GIBBBONS

While learning to surfboard behind David Daniels’ 26′ Cabin Cruiser on Lake Austin, Billy almost gets his beard caught in David’s ski rope trying to hang ten. – JB

63.GEORGE LUCAS

It usually starts with, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like George Lucas?” One year at the World Series of Poker two players bet $100 that I was/wasn’t George Lucas. I questioned the losers sanity, but hey, I see a resemblance just not enough to bet on it. In 2008 I traveled to Hainan Island for the first Ironman to be staged in China. The race was being held only two days after Typhoon Haqupit’s eye passed over the island. Race day was hot and steamy. Brutal conditions for athletes and camera crews, but a great day with huge crowds along the route. I was traveling solo, and post race my driver deposited me on the curb of the Haikou International Airport for a 7am flight. I was getting ready to roll my 8 cases of camera gear into the terminal when a taxi pulled up and a guy in his mid twenties jumped out. I looked over at him and his eyes got big. In very good English he exclaimed, “George Lucas! I can’t believe it! I love your films. Star Wars is my favorite of all time. I’ve watched all the films so many times…my family won’t believe it…I love Yoda”. This guy was fired up!!! I started to tell him that it was a big mistake that I’d never even met George Lucas, but he was soooo excited. I finally spoke the only word that would come out of my mouth during the entire encounter, “picture?” He started speaking rapidly to the disinterested taxi driver who reluctantly took the guys camera and snapped a picture of him with GEORGE LUCAS! He shook my hand and as he ran into the terminal he turned and said, “Wow, George Lucas.” I get a chuckle thinking that somewhere in the world is an 8X10 of that meeting, proudly displayed on a living room wall. When this camera thing no longer works for me I’m going to consider a career as a George Lucas impersonator.  – TSS

64.SHAQ

We have worked with Shaq since his rookie year in Orlando. Named one of the top 50 players of all time he is a lock for the Hall of Fame. We’ve done countless interviews with Shaq but the most fun we ever had was shooting an episode of an ESPN series called The Life. Shaq was playing with the Lakers and agreed to let us tail him for 4 days. Besides shooting the usual game and practice footage he gave us full access to an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, a book signing on Sunset, hanging at his house, signing his tax return, ride along on the way to a game, a look at the garage that customized all of Shaq’s car collection, and a tour of his offices.  The highlight of the shoot was during an afternoon ride along. I was lucky enough to be rolling when he had a flat tire. A lot of superstars would have stayed in their car until the cavalry arrived but not Shaq. He jumped out of his car and sat down at a bus stop bench. Word spread like wildfire. Within 10 minutes 50 people surrounded him, and a few even had basketballs. He signed for everyone, joking and smiling the whole time. One of our favorite guys to hang with, Shaq is just a big kid at heart. – TSS

65.ED SABOL

Ed Sabol was a salesman in the early 60’s. He didn’t care much for sales and having filmed some of his son Steve’s football games had a vision. The idea would be to treat football as theatre, ballet, a thing of beauty. He formed Blair Motion Pictures in 1962 and his first big contract was to film the 1962 NFL Championship Game between the NY Giants and the Green Bay Packers. You might say it went pretty well. In 1964, along with his son Steve, Blair Motion Pictures became NFL Films. NFL Films quickly evolved into the gold standard of sports photography. We had the honor of interviewing Ed and Steve for a segment of HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. – TSS