Local 600 Offers Condolences to Friends and Family of Local 600 Director of Photography Morris Bleckman Local 600 offers condolences to the friends and family of Local 600 Director of Photography Morris Bleckman, 86, who died Sunday, Sept. 23, at his home in Hallandale, Fla., of complications from Parkinson's disease. A news cameraman for WBBM-TV in the early 1950s, Bleckman saw the need for a processing laboratory that could quickly develop film for all of the city's TV stations. With equipment from a friend who developed film for horse races, he started Cinema Processors in Chicago in 1956. In addition to filling the needs of the city’s Television market, Bleckman was also mentor to young people interested in photography and he offered them an opportunity to learn the craft. Isadore Bleckman said. "A kid walking into that lab would be treated like he was a Hollywood cameraman." Local 600 President Steven Poster recalled the important role Bleckman played in his own life. “Morrie was my mentor from the age of 14. The day I met him was the day I became interested in cinematography. He was the reason I got in to the union,” Poster said. “And he’s the reason I’m an active union member today. When I got into the union Morrie made me promise to go to every union meeting for a year – and to keep my mouth shut. He told me to listen and learn. That’s when we had meetings every month in Chicago. I followed his advice and from that time on I became an active member.” I and many others will miss him tremendously. He was a very wonderful mentor who I was blessed to have known.” When Mr. Bleckman first saw video in the early 1970s, he knew the days of film were numbered. He updated his equipment and changed his business' name to Cinema Video Processors. "These guys were like cowboys when it came to the motorcycle," Mr. Bleckman's younger brother Isadore told the Chicago Tribune. Isadore worked at the lab from 1958 to 1963 and went on to work as the cameraman for Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" series. Mr. Bleckman retired in the early 1990s. In 1994, he was named a member of the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame. Longtime residents of Lincolnwood, Mr. Bleckman and his wife moved to Florida about five years ago. Mr. Bleckman is also survived by a second brother, Jack. |
