comment

On Wednesday, January 30th, Austin filmmaker and Texas Archive of the Moving Image contributor Gordon Wilkison passed away at the age of 82.  As a cinematographer for Austin television station KTBC and Lyndon Baines Johnson, Wilkison made hundreds (if not thousands) of films capturing Austin in the 1960s. He documented John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson visiting San Antonio on November 21, 1963 (one day before the assasination) as well as the tragic shootings from the University Texas Tower by Charles Whitman.  He directed commercials for local businesses and local public affairs programs.   He also captured the visits of numerous dignitaries to the LBJ Ranch and even the cast of Batman at the 1966 movie premiere at Austin's Paramount Theatre.  

More than 200 of Wilkison's films are available to watch at www.texasarchive.org,  and we will continue to make additional films available as we process, digitize, and catalog his massive collection of television news footage. In the meantime, enjoy a few of our favorite films chosen in memory of Gordon Wilkison.

• 
• 
• 
• 

 

1 of 4

I find this film (most likely made up of materials or outs from an Austin television station) of a 1963 NAACP pro-integration march to be one of the most powerful moving images in Gordon Wilkison’s collection, if not in the entire collection of the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Texas isn’t usually mentioned in the national narratives of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.   This film is an important reminder that segregation happened, and that the struggle for equal rights was happening right here in Austin.  - Elizabeth Hansen, Outreach and Education Director

2 of 4

In his role as primary cameraman for Lyndon Johnson when Johnson visited Central Texas during the 1960’s, Mr. Wilkison had many opportunities to film events at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall – especially  barbecues honoring visiting dignitaries, US politicians, and the press.    Shot to be used in local television newscasts, these films are fascinating examples of the style of news images shot long before the advent of the 24-hour news cycle.   In many ways Mr. Wilkison’s news footage introduced Central Texas and its most famous native son to the nation and the world.   Local customs such as giving Stetson hats as gifts, touring the Ranch on horseback, and of course cooking and eating barbecue are recorded in loving detail in films such as LBJ Ranch Barbecue for U.N. Ambassadors (1963), LBJ and Hubert Humphrey Victory Barbecue (1964), Preparation for Barbecue at LBJ's Ranch (1964), and LBJ Ranch Barbecue in Honor of President Ayub Khan (1961).   Perhaps the quaintest of the LBJ Ranch Barbecue series is 1964 Campaign Barbecue at the LBJ Ranch.  While Lady Bird Johnson hosts female members of the press corps, Mr. Wilkison’s camera focuses on Lady Bird and guests adorned in matching bandanas and zooms in on the table decorations. - Susan Dirks, Administrative Coordinator 

 

3 of 4

“Admittedly, Austin is the finest city in America in which to live.” With those immortal words begins one of the most Austin-centric global hotel chain advertisements you are likely to see. While strictly composed of static images of various Hilton hotels around the world, the sickly sweet elevator music in the background combined with narration by Austin's own Cactus Pryor make this ad both charming and funny.- Afsheen Nomai, Technical Director 

 

4 of 4

Gordon Wilkison, director of “Target Austin,” considered this a lost film until TAMI received a video version from one of the film’s stars and was able to reconstruct it along with another copy from the Department of Public Safety collection.  And thank goodness they did! What I love about this film is how it puts the paranoia of the 1960s cold war into perspective for contemporary audiences.  While some of the more panic-infused segments are almost humorous, the mere existence of this film demonstrates the climate of anxiety that gripped the country at the time. Wilkison does an excellent job of mixing scripted scenes with shots of the city to convey the fear experienced by Austinites, and by extension the nation, in the 1960s.  - Christine Alfredson, Curator of “Pieces of the Past” Curated Collection 

Watch more films from the the Gordon Wilkison Collection, and let us know your favorites by commenting!  You can view his obituary and details about his memorial service here.