Maurice Prather
Encyclopedia
Maurice William Prather was an American
motion picture and still photographer and film director. He was born in Miami, Florida
, the son of Maurice J. Prather, a mechanic, cabinet maker, and woodworker, and Zora M. Prather, both of them born in Missouri
. Young Maurice Jr. also had a younger sister, Laura Jo, some two years his junior.
The Prather family was living in Kansas City, Missouri
, by 1930, where Maurice Jr.'s father found work at a local business called Greenwood's. By the time he was in his senior year of high school, Maurice Jr. had become interested in photography and had an after-school job as an assistant cameraman and laboratory technician at the Calvin Company
in Kansas City, the largest production company for industrial films in the world. Upon turning 18 in 1944, Prather did not join the armed forces as most American young people were during those wartime days (Prather may have suffered from a physical problem which prevented him from serving in the armed forces). Instead, he found work as a photographer of wartime airplanes for North American Aviation
in Kansas City. In 1945, he became an engineering photographer for Trans World Airlines
(TWA), who for many years had a hub in Kansas City. Still living with his parents in Kansas City, Prather then returned to the Calvin Company as an assistant cameraman for industrial films once again. This was the longest Prather held onto a job during these early days in Kansas City---two years (1946-1948). For some reason, he decided to abandon photography altogether for a one-year stint as a schedule clerk at a Sears-Roebuck department store in Kansas City. In 1949, he decided to get a college education and so enrolled in the journalism program at the University of Kansas
in Lawrence, Kansas
.
While at KU, Prather got a part-time job at the local Centron Corporation
film studio, working as a photographer once again on educational and industrial short films. Prather's college activities included writing for the University Daily Kansan
newspaper at KU and writing and photographing with several other students a "highlight book" of the 1951-52 season of the KU Jayhawks basketball team. Prather completed his journalism degree in June, 1953, and immediately went to work full-time at Centron. Prather put in nearly ten years at Centron, making over one hundred educational and industrial films, many of them prize-winners. Other than motion picture and still photography, he did sound recording on films and after a while began to direct films. It was while at Centron that Prather met his wife, Rozanne, whom he married in the late 1950s. He also first became acquainted with director Herk Harvey
.
In 1959, Centron's camera shop, Mosser-Wolf Cameras, was sold to Prather and several business partners who opened Photon Cameras, a successful camera retail store and portrait studio that Prather served as an owner-operator of until his leaving Lawrence in 1962. In 1961, Prather photographed Carnival of Souls
, Herk Harvey's Lawrence-produced feature film whose groundbreaking cinematography influenced the horror and science fiction film genres, although the movie didn't really find its audience until 1989. By the time Carnival of Souls
was released in late 1962, Prather had left Lawrence with his wife to work as services coordinator and photographer for Horizon Productions, a small, Kansas City-based nontheatrical film production studio. In 1967, Prather moved over to Coleman Film Enterprises, another educational film company, which was headquartered in Shawnee Mission, Kansas
. Prather worked there as a photographer until 1977, when he and his wife (who had by this time had two daughters, Anne and Stefanie), moved to California
where Prather attempted to give a Hollywood filmmaking career a try. He had little success. "My wife and I had lived in California and really didn't feel like moving back there," Prather said in a 2000 interview in Kansas City after the revival of interest in Carnival of Souls
. "I did a lot of movie work and all of the still work for Centron. I prefer to do still photography. I came here to Kansas City [in 1983] and I got out of the motion picture business because it was too expensive. A lot of the stuff I did was food photography. I love food photography. I also did portraits to please myself, not to please the person I was photographing. You get a little old lady saying, 'Make me look like I'm 20 years old.'"
The revival of interest in his old feature film Carnival of Souls
during the 1990s was a pleasant surprise for Prather, but for some reason he did not attend the 1989 reunion of the film's cast and crew in Lawrence, even though he was already listed in the advertisements and programs for the event as one of the featured speakers during the ceremonies. Prather died at the age of 74 on January 9, 2001, at his home in Kansas City, of an unspecified cause, most likely renal failure
. However, Prather will remain well-known and widely-praised for his innovative and creative photography in Carnival of Souls
, as the film continues to be viewed in homes and theaters and aired on television, amazingly, after nearly forty years, when most black-and-white, low-budget films from the 1960s were long forgotten after less than only two or three years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture and still photographer and film director. He was born in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, the son of Maurice J. Prather, a mechanic, cabinet maker, and woodworker, and Zora M. Prather, both of them born in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Young Maurice Jr. also had a younger sister, Laura Jo, some two years his junior.
The Prather family was living in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, by 1930, where Maurice Jr.'s father found work at a local business called Greenwood's. By the time he was in his senior year of high school, Maurice Jr. had become interested in photography and had an after-school job as an assistant cameraman and laboratory technician at the Calvin Company
Calvin Company
The Calvin Company was a Kansas City, Missouri-based educational and industrial film production company that for nearly half a century was the largest and most successful film producer of its type in the United States.-Origins:...
in Kansas City, the largest production company for industrial films in the world. Upon turning 18 in 1944, Prather did not join the armed forces as most American young people were during those wartime days (Prather may have suffered from a physical problem which prevented him from serving in the armed forces). Instead, he found work as a photographer of wartime airplanes for North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
in Kansas City. In 1945, he became an engineering photographer for Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
(TWA), who for many years had a hub in Kansas City. Still living with his parents in Kansas City, Prather then returned to the Calvin Company as an assistant cameraman for industrial films once again. This was the longest Prather held onto a job during these early days in Kansas City---two years (1946-1948). For some reason, he decided to abandon photography altogether for a one-year stint as a schedule clerk at a Sears-Roebuck department store in Kansas City. In 1949, he decided to get a college education and so enrolled in the journalism program at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
.
While at KU, Prather got a part-time job at the local Centron Corporation
Centron Corporation
Centron Corporation was an industrial and educational film production company. Founded in 1947 in Lawrence, Kansas by Arthur H. Wolf and Russell A. Mosser, Centron would come to the forefront of the industrial and educational film companies in the United States. Centron competed with large...
film studio, working as a photographer once again on educational and industrial short films. Prather's college activities included writing for the University Daily Kansan
University Daily Kansan
The University Daily Kansan is an editorially and financially independent student newspaper serving the University of Kansas. It was founded in 1904....
newspaper at KU and writing and photographing with several other students a "highlight book" of the 1951-52 season of the KU Jayhawks basketball team. Prather completed his journalism degree in June, 1953, and immediately went to work full-time at Centron. Prather put in nearly ten years at Centron, making over one hundred educational and industrial films, many of them prize-winners. Other than motion picture and still photography, he did sound recording on films and after a while began to direct films. It was while at Centron that Prather met his wife, Rozanne, whom he married in the late 1950s. He also first became acquainted with director Herk Harvey
Herk Harvey
Harold Arnold "Herk" Harvey was an American film director, actor, and film producer.-Early life:Harvey was born in Windsor, Colorado, the son of Everett and Minnie R. Prewitt Harvey. He grew up in Fort Collins and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the U.S...
.
In 1959, Centron's camera shop, Mosser-Wolf Cameras, was sold to Prather and several business partners who opened Photon Cameras, a successful camera retail store and portrait studio that Prather served as an owner-operator of until his leaving Lawrence in 1962. In 1961, Prather photographed Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a 1962 independent horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the film did not gain widespread attention when originally released, as a B film; today, however, it is a cult classic...
, Herk Harvey's Lawrence-produced feature film whose groundbreaking cinematography influenced the horror and science fiction film genres, although the movie didn't really find its audience until 1989. By the time Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a 1962 independent horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the film did not gain widespread attention when originally released, as a B film; today, however, it is a cult classic...
was released in late 1962, Prather had left Lawrence with his wife to work as services coordinator and photographer for Horizon Productions, a small, Kansas City-based nontheatrical film production studio. In 1967, Prather moved over to Coleman Film Enterprises, another educational film company, which was headquartered in Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Shawnee Mission, Kansas is a name created by the United States Postal Service to describe an area of Johnson County, Kansas that contains numerous towns. Parts of southern Overland Park are not part of Shawnee Mission as they were annexed from unincorporated Stanley and use zip code 66085...
. Prather worked there as a photographer until 1977, when he and his wife (who had by this time had two daughters, Anne and Stefanie), moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where Prather attempted to give a Hollywood filmmaking career a try. He had little success. "My wife and I had lived in California and really didn't feel like moving back there," Prather said in a 2000 interview in Kansas City after the revival of interest in Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a 1962 independent horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the film did not gain widespread attention when originally released, as a B film; today, however, it is a cult classic...
. "I did a lot of movie work and all of the still work for Centron. I prefer to do still photography. I came here to Kansas City [in 1983] and I got out of the motion picture business because it was too expensive. A lot of the stuff I did was food photography. I love food photography. I also did portraits to please myself, not to please the person I was photographing. You get a little old lady saying, 'Make me look like I'm 20 years old.'"
The revival of interest in his old feature film Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a 1962 independent horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the film did not gain widespread attention when originally released, as a B film; today, however, it is a cult classic...
during the 1990s was a pleasant surprise for Prather, but for some reason he did not attend the 1989 reunion of the film's cast and crew in Lawrence, even though he was already listed in the advertisements and programs for the event as one of the featured speakers during the ceremonies. Prather died at the age of 74 on January 9, 2001, at his home in Kansas City, of an unspecified cause, most likely renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
. However, Prather will remain well-known and widely-praised for his innovative and creative photography in Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a 1962 independent horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the film did not gain widespread attention when originally released, as a B film; today, however, it is a cult classic...
, as the film continues to be viewed in homes and theaters and aired on television, amazingly, after nearly forty years, when most black-and-white, low-budget films from the 1960s were long forgotten after less than only two or three years.