I got an email newsletter today from the Cinematographers Guild of which I have been a proud member for over ten years.
The email informed me of the death of Tim Barry, a camera assistant I had the pleasure of working with over the years. He was very much like me - a surfer, a music lover, a film buff, and an avid reader. Tim was my operator when I moved up to my first union focus pulling job and he was very patient and forgiving of my bumbling and ineptitude. Thanks to Tim I gained the confidence I needed to succeed at what I do for a living. He was an extremely kind, loving, and generous man and his death has hit me hard.
Tim died at age 54 in the surf off Ventura while saving the life of a four year old girl. He held her above water after she was swept into the sea by a 12 foot rogue wave back on December 27th of last year. A surfer took the girl from him and got her to shore but Tim became a victim of the undertow and he didn't make it. What a sad, tragic loss.
The union sent me these links:
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/ve/article/0,1375,VCS_251_5248069,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/27/rescuer.drowns.ap/index.html#
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/states/california/paso_robles/16333240.htm
He will be missed. I'm going to the memorial service at our union on Saturday morning and I'm sure a ton of the membership will turn out to pay homage to a wonderful man.
Tim Barry was a true hero.
