Charles Cowles(1923-2006)
- Visual Effects
Chuck served in the United States Navy as Aviation Mechanic, from
6-3-41 to 1-12-47 (Honorably discharged). He joined the Navy at the age
of 17 during the depression, learned to be an airplane mechanic, and at
age 18 was on a ship bound for Pearl Harbor, when it was bombed by the
Japanese on December 7, 1941, and arrived after the attack. Chuck then
became a tail gunner in the Pacific; he remained stationed in the
Pacific at New Caledonia and then at Guadalcanal, being one of the
troops who stormed the beaches to set up the facilities for the Allied
forces. Chuck helped set up the airbases including in Okinawa, and
their maintenance shops, and repaired and maintained aircraft, and as
the needed arose, doubled as a tail gunner. He was in Okinawa,
preparing for the invasion of Japan, when he heard of the bomb attack
on Japan, and that the war was over. Chuck joined the International
Cinematographers Guild Local 600. Chuck worked as a cameraman and in
special effects. He created a stir when his handwriting was on the
Birds, and also worked for Technicolor, 20th Century, Universal, MGM,
Disney, Warner Brothers, Pacific Title, Richard Edlund. He worked on
such films as Ghost Busters, 2010, The Birds, Brainstorm, Tora Tora
Tora, Voyage, Planet of the Apes, Bladerunner, and the TV shows Star
Trek, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, Battle Star Galactica
and Rawhide. He retired to the Motion Picture & Television Fund's
retirement cottages in Woodland Hills.