Cameraman To Comedian

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19134, 1 October 1936, Page 13

Cameraman To Comedian

ryiYID Oliver will be seen on the screen soon as a comedian in motion pictures, and, although his faco may be new to most cinema entlmpLasts, his work is well known to them. David Oliver has been the head cameraman for an American newsreel for many years. Recently assigned to photograph several big winners of the Irish sweepstakes, Oliver took a series of scenes in which fire winners all told how glad they were. The monotony of such statements inspired him to include in the newsreel a shot of himself, as a loser, in which he expressed his disappointment. Ho made the statement sound sQ/comical, that he repeated his little “act” when filming the annual Easter fashion parade in New York, and again at the Kentucky Derby. Introduced to audiences as “John Q. Dobp,” Oliver's appearances met with an hilarious reception—so much so that his employers decided to contract his services as a feature comedian. So now David Oliver has lost his job as news cameraman, but has signed a seven-year contract at a substantial inefease in salary to come from behind -the camera.