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Leroy G. Phelps

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Leroy G. Phelps
Leroy G. Phelps
BornApril 27, 1892
DiedFebruary 16, 1964(1964-02-16) (aged 71)
NationalityAmerican
Occupationcinematographer
Known forwork with Frank Buck
Spouse(s)Minerva Phelps (divorced 1949)
Elfrida Johnson Phelps

Leroy Garfield Phelps (April 27, 1892 – February 16, 1964) was an American cinematographer who filmed Frank Buck’s second movie, Wild Cargo.

Early career

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Phelps was official photographer of Yale University from 1920 to 1932. A year later, he accompanied Frank Buck to India, Ceylon, Sumatra and Malaya, where he filmed Wild Cargo.

Work with Frank Buck

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While making Wild Cargo, Phelps was nearly crippled by an infection he acquired after scratching himself on a poisonous renghus tree in the jungle. Buck and Phelps were almost trampled by a herd of stampeding water buffalo, and were spared only when the animals changed direction at the last moment.[1] Phelps was cinematographer for some of the sequences in Buck's 1941 film Jungle Cavalcade.[2]

Later career

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Phelps joined the Armand Denis- Leila Roosevelt Expedition to Africa and the Far East, and was associate producer of Wheels Across Africa, Wheels Across India and Dangerous Journey.

South Seas Documentary

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While acting as a civilian pool photographer for the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, Phelps made a documentary film of the inhabitants of Likiep Atoll, which was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress.

Death

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Phelps died at his home in Freeport, Long Island. He is buried in Greenfield Cemetery, Hempstead, Long Island.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Wesley S. Griswold. Stalking Asia's fiercest wildlife with a movie camera involved New Haven photographer in thrilling adventures. Hartford Courant April 8, 1934, p D1
  2. ^ Lehrer, Steven (2006). Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Best of Frank Buck. Texas Tech University Press. pp. x–xi. ISBN 0-89672-582-0.
  3. ^ Leroy G. Phelps, 71, photographer, dies. New York Times. February 18, 1964
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Leroy G. Phelps on the Internet Movie Database [1]