Butch Calderwood unpublished autobiography

MLMSS 11872

fonds

probably 2010s

9670899

0.03 metres of textual material (1 folder)

Butch Calderwood was born in Australia before moving to England in the early 1950s where he found a job in radio with the BBC's overseas service.

Following this, Calderwood took a film training course, learning the role of a news camera operator. He returned to Australia in the late 1950s and worked as a news camera operator for Channel 7 in Sydney, and later for the ABC. In early 1962 he headed back to England and took a role with the BBC, leading to Panorama, a leading current affairs program.

He spent the following 20 years at the cutting edge of international news, travelling the world in pursuit of the biggest stories.

During his career he covered conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Northern Ireland , Africa and the Middle East and met political figures such as Richard Nixon, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King and Mao Zedong.

In 2003 he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his contributions to cinematography.

Butch Calderwood died in 2021.

References:
Library acquisition file
Butch Calderwood papers, approximately 1952-1993; MLMSS 8317 , MLOH 654
Wong, Luke. "Cinematographer recalls days of lights, camera and plenty of action." ABC Local. Accessed 17/04/2023. https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/04/3260773.htm

240 page unbound manuscript autobiography of cinematographer Butch Calderwood. Notable events covered by Calderwood include the Malcolm X rally in New York in 1965 and being on location during the Vietnam War. According to the donor the manuscript was edited by Robin Campbell-Huff.

In copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy copyright holder

The oral history recordings titled 'Memoirs by Butch Calderwood', held at the Library at MLOH 654, and this manuscript may be related.

The manuscript is undated. The last date mentioned in the manuscript is 2011.