Obituaries
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Peter Mole
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Peter
Mole, President of Mole-Richardson Co. of Hollywood, died August 2, 1960,
at La Jolla, Calif., at the age of 68. He was Past President of the SMPTE
(1951-52) and recipient of the Progress Medal (1948). He was
born in Termini, Sicily, Italy, in 1891 and came to the United States in
1907. He became a naturalized citizen in 1930. He was graduated an electrical
engineer from Union College in 1915 and from 1915 until 1923 he was design
engineer for General Electric Co. where he was active in the development
of the General Electric searchlight and a high-intensity rotating carbon-arc
theater projection lamp. In 1923
he left General Electric and moved to California where he was General Manager
of Creco, Inc., and soon became interested in motion-picture studio lighting,
first with the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in the electrical department.
After receiving
his groundwork training in actual production, he went to work for a motion-picture
studio lighting equipment manufacturer. With his technical background plus
experience in the studios he was prepared to enter the field of the manufacture
of specialized equipment for an industry that was growing so fast its requirements
changed almost from month to month. He soon joined forces with Elmer C.
Richardson, another design engineer, and Fielding C. Coates, a studio chief
electrician, and formed the Mole-Richardson Company. The citation
accompanying the Progress Medal on the occasion of the presentation noted:
"Mr. Mole's success in his chosen field is not due entirely to his ability
to organize and operate an engineering and manufacturing organization to
meet the needs of a unique industry. He has an unusual insight into the
intangibles created by the art form in motion-picture production. He knows
that engineering perfection must not transcend utilization in an industry
where dramatic effect is the end result; yet he has been able to design
and produce highly specialized lighting tools which satisfy both the artist
and the engineer ... "Mr. Mole
and his organization have pioneered in the development of lighting equipment
during each of the successive stages in the advance of motion-picture lighting
practice for more than twenty years. The wide use of their products manifests
the success of their efforts and achievement. Future lighting developments
that are currently being studied undoubtedly will reflect the benefits of
Mr. Mole's experience as new and improved lighting becomes available for
studio use. "It is
fitting to note that Mr. Mole's organization has been the recipient of four
Certificate Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,
together with recognition by the United Nations Conference on International
Organization. He was
the author of a number of papers published in the Journal (and earlier in
the Transactions), one of the earliest being "The Use of Incandescent Equipment
in Motion Picture Photography," in the April 1928 Transactions.