A fond farewell to film industry legend (From Borehamwood Times)

A fond farewell to film industry legend

6:31pm Thursday 25th May 2006

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Legendary cameraman Bob Stilwell, described as one of the best loved people in the British film industry, has died from cancer at the age of 68.

In a career spanning four decades, he worked with some of the biggest names in the business on dozens of films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Neil Stilwell, Bob's elder brother, who lives in Alexandra Road, Borehamwood, recalled his brother's colourful life.

"Everything he touched turned to gold," he said. "He was a personal friend of all the stars, Peter O'Toole, Julie Christie, Omar Sharif he worked with almost every star you can name.

"I remember Omar Sharif coming over to Bob one day and asking him if he could get him a game of cricket, so he took him over to Mill Hill CC and turned up for the match with Omar Sharif, no one could believe it but that's how it was in Borehamwood in those days, we were used to seeing stars walking down the street.

"He was definitely a one-off, and he was cheerful right to the end. When he knew he was ill he said to us that he had enjoyed every single day he had gone to work, he had got to travel the world, meet lots of interesting people and he was always happy, always laughing and smiling."

Mike Fox from the Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT), of which Bob was a founder member said: "He was a wonderful, wonderful guy and one of the best loved people in the British film industry, it's a great loss."

Born in 1937, the second son of Winifred and Percy Stilwell, and brought up in Borehamwood, Bob was immersed in films from a young age.

His father was a props man at MGM Studios in the 1930s and his brother Jim also became a cameraman. He got his first job in the industry at the age of 15 at the Associated British Picture Corporation studios as a post boy and began training as a cameraman under the watchful eye of Harold Payne.

At 17 he worked on his first film The Dam Busters as a clapper boy, quickly followed by Moby Dick. He was the subject of an article in the Borehamwood Post in February 1955, headlined Bob is on his way' after he had got his lucky break on the set of For Better or Worse.

After two years' national service he returned to work at the studios in Borehamwood, getting a job on the camera crew for David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia and built up a close relationship with the famous director and the film's star Peter O' Toole.

Over the next 40 years Bob worked on almost every major motion picture produced in this country, including Doctor Zhivago, Lord Jim, Beckett, Chaplin, A Hard Days Night and Raiders of the Lost Ark where he was the only cameraman willing to film the famous rats scene.

Trevor Coop, GBCT chairman, said: "He was nothing short of legendary. If you asked anyone in the industry to give you a list of the best first assistant cameras in the second half of the 20th century he would be in the top two or three.

"He was one of those guys without a single enemy in the world, tremendously well-liked and he was brilliant at his job."

Over the years he worked as a cameraman and crew member on numerous films and was involved in documenting major sporting events such as the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, football World Cups, and Wimbledon finals. He was a keen sportsman himself, excelling at schoolboy level in football and cricket and later playing for Boreham Wood FC, where he scored a hat-trick on his debut.

Working on the set of Escape to Victory, he organised a kickaround between the camera crew and the film's stars, Pele and Bobby Moore. He was forced to give up football due to knee problems at the age of 20 but went onto become an accomplished golfer.

In 2002 Bob left Borehamwood and retired with his wife Doreen to Dorset. He fought a short but brave battle against cancer and died peacefully on May 10. He leaves two daughters, two sons and four grandchildren. His funeral in Southborne today is expected to attract hundreds of mourners.

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