Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Hugh Colston passed away on 10/8/10

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-10-2010, 08:32 AM:

On Friday, 10/8/10, my friend and colleague, Hugh Colston Jr. died from Cancer. He had barely entered into his fifties.

Now I suspect that most folks here on Film-Tech will not have heard of Hugh as he only worked, in the cinema industry, in the Mid-Atlantic area. However, his greatness far exceeded the location for which he worked.

Hugh was a great many things to a great many people. There were so many sides to him. I only got to know the Film/Technical and Engineering side. I knew of the social, family and Celtic sides but those are not ones that we shared. Upon visiting him in the hospital, it was quite clear. Hugh put an extraordinary effort into everything he did and most everyone that knew him recognized that.

There are people that seem to pass along in this world happy enough to not know what they are doing or to believe to know what they are doing simply because “so and so” , who has been doing this “forever” said so. Hugh was not one of those people. Hugh “got it.” He “had the goods,” as I like to say. He knew not only what he was doing, but why. For some here, it might be easier to compare him to a better known entity, Lonny Jennings…while completely different people, you know when you are talking to someone like Lonny, the information is going to be more than just “I learned this from some old timer.” Hugh had that quality too. Hugh also recognized his limitations though he often pushed himself.

While never attaining his degree in Electrical Engineering, he definitely had the ability and understanding for that and probably many other degrees. Had this industry not come along in his life, I have no doubt that Hugh would have gone one to have a great career in an engineering field.

In the cinema industry, those things he worked on, he was second to none. It could be rebuilding a projector head, wiring up a system (any) or making an AutoCAD drawing. Not only were the end results a functional work of art, but the process in which he did them was too. One of Hugh’s “features” was being a compulsive. When rebuilding a projector, one would think that a photo-op was being staged as everything was laid out perfectly! Every screw was examined for uniformity, cleanliness and, of course, that it would perform its function properly. The compulsiveness help make his CAD drawings the best I've ever worked with…all of the details were there. Of course, there is an overhead to a person that pays that much attention to detail, on everything.

Hugh had several physical handicaps but only one was outwardly apparent (unless you really paid attention)...he stuttered. The rest, though some were often painful (and allowed him to have a legally handicapped parking permit), he merely worked though his day as if everything was fine.

As a co-worker, Hugh was great. If Hugh was on the job with you, you knew you had a partner that was thinking about the job as much as you. Odds are, if you forgot about something, Hugh didn't (and hopefully, you did likewise for him). Hugh was the kind of guy that almost always “exceeded expectations.” If you threw a task at him, what you got back often had a lot of thought put into it and “value added” to what you might have conceived.

As a friend, he asked for so little but gave so much.

Hugh was the kind of person that you felt better about life for having known him and a great sense of loss from his departure. He will be greatly missed.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 10-10-2010, 03:46 PM:

Steve,

Sorry to hear of your loss. The world is a little worse off without the person you described.

Sincerely
KEN

Posted by Robert Koch (Member # 3728) on 10-10-2010, 04:03 PM:

I`m certainly sorry for your loss. What a lovely eulogy you wrote. Made you feel,when you read it, that you knew him personally and being in this business you could feel his admirable traits.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 10-10-2010, 10:50 PM:

Steve, I was just telling someone the other day about Hugh. Having been an individual that I have met & worked with - he will be greatly missed.

I feel honored to have had many a conversation with him. He was a true professional with a very vast knowledge of many different things.

R.I.P. WHO

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-11-2010, 09:46 AM:

This is very sad news. Hugh helped us with the film program at Arisia (a science-fiction convention in the Boston area; see the photo gallery for pictures) for the last few years. He was as Steve described--extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly, which is a rare combination. He will be missed.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 10-11-2010, 01:51 PM:

Steve my sympathies go with you it is hard to loose both a friend and a co worker

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 10-11-2010, 03:05 PM:

Sorry to hear your news, Steve.