[on how he got into the movie business] I managed to land a job at the
age of 15 with the Triangle Film Corporation/Kay-Bee; they needed an
assistant cameraman, and of course I knew nothing about it, but they
gave me a job anyway. I got twelve dollars a week. I carried a camera
and held a slate. We loaded the film magazines and the still camera and
carried all of the equipment to the set. My first job as an assistant
was on
Gloria Swanson's first dramatic film. When the company
failed, I went over to Universal, and worked on some of their serials.
After a year they let me become full photographer, on a one-reel
Bert Roach comedy, then I did more comedies and more serials,
while working alternately with [
Erich von Stroheim] on his big
pictures.