  A HUGE HONOR FOR A LOST FRIEND Tonight, the Academy Award for best cinematography was awarded to a man named Conrad C. Hall. "Connie" lived upstairs from me in my building in West Hollywood, prior to my move to Chicago. I only knew him as the nice, older, distinguished-looking gentleman with white hair and a neatly-trimmed beard http://us.imdb.com/EGallery?source=ss&group=0257044&photo=Ss/0257044/CN-173-15A.jpg&path=pgallery&path_key=Hall,%20Conrad%20L. who chatted with me about our mutual love of photography. He invited me up to his apartment once and revealed to me that he was a cinematographer, and showed me his editing equipment. I learned then that he'd won the Academy Award for Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid in 1969. (He worked for years at his craft... he also won for "American Beauty", which I didn't realize. That scene with the girl and all the roses? That was Connie's touch. Amazing! ) I wasn't aware that he'd died several months ago until they announced that he'd won this year's award for The Road to Perdition. I cheered when his name was announced, then was suddenly silenced, with goosebumps, when his son took the stage to emotionally accept the award in Connie's honor.
In Hollywood, 90% of the people I met are "in the industry", in one form or another. I'm humbled to have known such a lovely man, who truly loved his craft and was eager to share his avocation with a young woman, enthusiastic to learn about other people's interests. I'm sorry that Connie did not live to accept his honor in person. [Please send comments to: lax2ord1995@yahoo.com] 
