Remembering Bob Turner
The last time I saw Bob Turner was shortly after NAB this past April at the local New England Chapter of SMPTE's annual NAB wrap-up. That's our local expert panel discussion about what was at NAB each year, and while Bob wasn't on every panel over the last 15-plus years, it sure seemed like it. Although he'd have been horrified at the thought, it often just felt like his show.
As his readers know, Bob was The Guy in the industry when it came to understanding and analyzing anything postproduction.
That's not a slight against Bob's fellow panelists either, myself among them. Nor was Bob ever anything but gracious and courteous. But he always covered the show so thoroughly, and always spoke about it so gregariously. As his readers know, Bob was The Guy in the industry when it came to understanding and analyzing anything post. Each year at this humble, local event he inadvertently showed why.
Mention Bob Turner's list of personal NAB pick hits to anyone who ever attended that NAB wrap-up, and you'll probably get a smile. The list was extensive, and was always delivered with passion. You might think that reciting a long list of products toward the end of a two-hour panel discussion might push an audience past its collective attentiveness, but that was never the case. Bob's list was like an old E.F. Hutton commercial moment — with the audience completely enrapt.
I've heard more than one joke over the years that the whole meeting could easily have been just Bob and that list, except that no one would want to miss his banter about the rest of the show, both what was good and not so good. (Bob could be critical, of course, but he was invariably positive in tone and spirit.) That's because Bob Turner covered NAB and our industry like no one else. As a 30-year veteran of editing, Bob was a storehouse of knowledge, but he was also inspired by newer digital and nonlinear editing products and workflows, and followed industry changes with aplomb.
Bob was a good journalist because he was passionate about editing, and also because he worked smartly. He was regularly pre-briefed by scores of manufacturers and he had a network of colleagues that regularly visited his personal grapevine. That collection of relationships ultimately made NAB 2005 tolerable for Bob, because for the first time in roughly 25 years he didn't actually go to NAB. He had his doctor's blessing and the plane tickets, but a last-minute anomaly in his cancer treatment canceled the trip.
Yet he still covered the show better than anyone I know. Along with many others, I called him several times from Las Vegas and always learned about something I'd yet to see. We called him from the Video Systems Pick Hits judging, and he offered an insightful list and debated ours, although he often humbly qualified his comments with “but I wasn't there.” And at the SMPTE New England NAB wrap-up, after originally thinking Bob would participate from the audience, we decided to have Bob take his rightful place at the front on the panel. Amazingly, even though he got the show buzz from the blogs and not the booths, and even though his conversations were long-distance and not local, he still proved why he was The Guy.
Still, if you ask me, that wasn't the most amazing thing about that night; nor was his industry acumen the most amazing thing about Bob. Bob Turner was large man and an industry luminary, granted, but he also had a large heart that simply never stopped caring and giving. He had family pride that was the envy of any parent, and he had a large smile and a joy in life that was just fun to be around.
Bob was well into his chemotherapy for lung cancer by that night in April. Yet amazingly, aside from his thinned hair and eyebrows and ever-so-slightly more deliberate manner, you would hardly have known the difference. Even though he was living through the hell of cancer and chemotherapy, he still had his contagious smile, he still had that intoxicating belly laugh, and he still had that generous and gentle spirit. Whatever he was feeling physically, he still was upbeat about technology and about life.
When someone passes away after a bout with a debilitating disease like cancer, it's common to hear sentiments like, “I want to remember him as he was before [the disease got the better of him].” Cancer ultimately took Bob's life, but it never got the best of him, and that night in April was proof.
I have another favorite memory of Bob Turner, also from after he had been diagnosed. It was the first time I'd seen him since his diagnosis in December, and coincidentally at another SMPTE New England meeting in March. Bob walked in wearing his customary navy blue chamois shirt and blue Yale baseball cap for his daughter's college and looked happy as ever. We'd traded emails over the previous months about how his treatment was going, but it was still a surprise to see him at a SMPTE meeting, let alone to see him looking so well. Chemotherapy is a tough fight.
“Hey, Bob, it's great to see you,” I said with a smile. “It's great you could come.” He returned the greeting and added some humble words about getting back to normal. Bolstered by his apparent good humor, I pried, “So how are you doing?”
Bob's answer was classic. He leaned toward me a bit, and in a slightly hushed tone but with plenty of conviction, answered, “I feel like crap.” But even before he had straightened back up there was that wonderfully disarming belly laugh, reminding me and everyone else around that life was good and that we should be enjoying it.
I suppose it's easy to do that when all is well and in comfortable, healthy, and joyful times. Bob did it all the time. That's the Bob Turner I'll remember.
Your comments and remembrances
Bob's colleagues, friends, and readers were invited to remember him by leaving comments on The Cut blog. More can be found at http://blog.videosystems.com/the_cut/.
Bob, you've shared your heart and soul with many of us. Always with a sparkle in your eye (I could tell even in the emails). Always well meaning. Always compassionate. I will miss your positive energy — and your force for goodness in this world.
— Richard Milner
Like many, I miss the old days when both Bob and I wrote for Videography. Frankly, Bob always did research that I was too lazy to do and became a true authority, empowered by his own passion for the video industry about which he cared so much. Ultimately, I think journalism is a service business and Bob consistently performed a real service to his readers. It was never about the deadline or the paycheck, it was about the value that he knew he could and would consistently deliver.
— Jon Leland
I was devastated to hear about Bob's passing, an event I, like so many, had hoped would somehow never happen. He was a friend and colleague for many years, always ready with advice and information, and often a valuable glimpse into his personal insights. It is hard to imagine our industry without his hearty laugh, his vibrant writing style, and the reliability of his probing questions. Bob left his mark, and he will be sorely missed.
— Jay Ankeney
Bob Turner was the editor's editor. Aside from Video Systems, most recently I communicated with Bob while he wrote for Videography and I was editor of Government Video. More than once I was able to pick up the phone and ask him a question or two. He always had a smile or a joke and was always able to cut through the BS. … I shall endeavor the rest of my life to live up to the example he set as a writer, and more importantly as a person. Bob, as you take your chair in that big edit suite in the sky, may your cuts be sharp and your being and family be at peace.
— Tom Patrick McAuliffe
Anyone who has ever met Bob in any personal or professional capacity knows what a great human being he was. His intellect, combined with a boundless curiosity and willingness to learn, made him a great communicator for the industry and a beloved colleague. I will miss Bob and his writing, and my prayers go out to his family.
— Steve Hullfish
Most know [Bob] as a columnist. I worked with him for hundreds of hours, first at Devlin, NYC, and then at Century III, Boston, and later at my facility. Throughout the '80s he was my preferred editor. I've crawled on the floor with his daughter, Amanda, when she was a tot. He was the one who called me up, excited, about a demo he had seen of a product in development by Data Translation. He profoundly affected my sensibilities about the craft of editing and the postproduction process.
— Randy Tinfow
Bob, I'll address this to you. On this earth you were a journalist's journalist, always ready with the critical comment, but never beneath praising something you admired. You were an editor's editor, conveying your love for the craft to your peers and to a new generation. You were a friend to many, touching lives not only professionally but personally as well. And you were an educator, that highest of callings, sharing your knowledge and your insights in The Cut. But Bob, your departure from our midst is the unkindest cut of all. We will miss you.
— Peter Caranicas
Our loss is heaven's gain… The Cut is now published by a higher authority. Look for it in your heart as you recall Bob's spirit and vitality.
— D.W. Leitner
Email Jeff Sauer at jeff@dtvgroup.com.
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