Schultz was honored with the The Society of Operating Cameramen's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 for his work as a Mobile Camera Platform Operator. The “American Cinematography Magazine" highlighted Mr. Schultz's work on the films Le Mans and Jonathan Livingston Seagull in articles published during the 1970s.
His most notable work was the landmark car chase scene in Bullitt. Schultz's innovative camera mounts were able to withstand the great force exerted during the classic chase scene. His work, more than the driving itself made the scene the classic it remains today. Actor Steve McQueen never forgot Schultz's expertise and called on him to design the camera rigs for his racing film Le Mans.
Schultz worked on nearly 100 feature films during his career. He worked once again with Steve McQueen and director director Sam Peckinpah on Junior Bonner and The Getaway. Schultz's many credits include The Big Country, The Searchers, West Side Story, The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, the original version of The Manchurian Candidate, Witness for the Prosecution, Seven Days in May, Irma La Douce, the original version of The Thomas Crown Affair, Fletch Lives, Critical Condition, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Fletch, National Lampoon's Vacation, Mr. Mom, The Final Countdown, Up in Smoke, and Sidney Pollack's The Yakuza.
Gaylin P. Schultz a native of Los Angeles, was born June 19, 1926 and passed away July 1, 2008 after a lengthy fight with lymphoma, at the age of 82. A graduate of John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, Schultz served his country in the U.S. Navy during both WWII and the Korean War, working in a submarine optic shop.
Upon his return, his father Walter E. Schultz helped him obtain a job at Samuel Goldwyn Studios in 1953. Gaylin spent 52 years in the film industry, many of them as key grip and was best known for his ground breaking camera mount work in the car chase scene in Bullitt with Steve McQueen. He became known for his innovative, state of the art camera mounts and was continually busy. His work became an industry standard and was far ahead of its time.
Services will be held Saturday, July 12, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. in the Church of the Recessional, Forest Lawn, Glendale.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
