Aloha Hal 1940-2006
Surf Filmmaker Hal Jepsen Passes On by SURFER Staff
Filmmaker Hal Jepsen passed away on February 2, 2006 at the age of 66.
Hal was born in 1940 in Los Angeles, California and began surfing at 17. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA in 1968, and became a real estate agent before producing his first surf film "Cosmic Children" in 1970. Jepsen's best known work showcased Hawaiian surfers Jeff Hakman and Barry Kanaiaupuni in their prime. Jepsen followed with three more full-length surf movies, "A Sea for Yourself" in 1973 along with "Super Session" in 1975 and "We Got Surf" in 1981. In 1978 he branched out into skateboarding with the film "Skateboard Madness," staring Stacy Peralta. In 1997, his filmmaking accomplishments were profiled in The Surfers Journal's 50 Years of Surfing on Film series for the Outdoor Life Network.
Jepson was the first surf filmmaker to really integrate and edit contemporary music to footage, setting the soundtrack template for virtually all surf films to follow. Hendrix, Cream, the Chambers Brothers, The Stones--if it was on Jepson's 8-track, it was in the movie.
Transitioning from the MacGillivray-Freeman, Dale Davis, John Severson era, his 1970 film The Cosmic Children was the first New Wave shortboard surf movie, establishing itself as the "Momentum" of its era.
Jepson was the first (and just about the only) surf filmaker to shoot the Ranch, editing the sequence of J Riddle, George Trafton and Davey Hilton that launched a 1000 Boston Whalers. Epic Malibu and Topanga Point footage also set his films apart from
His 1973 film Super Session, with its up-to-date segments featuring Larry "Rubberman" Bertlemann, some of the very first urethane wheel skateboard action, and a remarkable Australian sequence featuring a young Rabbit Bartholomew and the incredible Michael Peterson, reinvigorated interest in high-performance small wave surfing, signaling a switch away from the "all Pipeline, all the time" format of many of the period's films.
Hal is survived by his younger brother Robert.
His funeral is at 5:00 pm, Saturday, February 18th at Saint Anne's
Church, 701 West St., Oceanside.
Paddle out the following Sunday, February 26th at 11:00 am at Buccaneer
Beach, 1500 S. Pacific St., Oceanside.
Funeral February 18th at 5:00 pm
Directions to St. Anne's:
Exit Interstate 5 at Oceanside Blvd. Head west to Ditmar Street (light
at top of the hill). Right on Ditmar for approx .3 mile to West Street.
Left on West to St. Anne's Church.
Paddle out February 26th at 11:00 am
Directions to Buccaneer Beach:
Exit I-5 at Oceanside Blvd. Head west approx .8 mile to end at Pacific
Street. Left on S. Pacific Street. Go south approx .3 mile to Buccaneer
Park at 1500 S. Pacific Street. Free parking in lot on east side of
Pacific.
. Listen to this post
posted by NeoN @ 2/07/2006 06:01:00 AM
3 Comments:
dennis dragon here...
even tho i hadn't seen Hal in a few years b4 his death, i will always remember him as a dude who let me "do my thing", musically speaking. i was the musical director/producer on most of his films and respect him for allowing me to slot pretty much whatever i wanted in the segs.
c-u on the next wave, Hal!
d.d.
Julian Pena, Jr. here...Yes Hal was very open to input. Especially with Skateboard Madness. Originally I was producing clay animation with Mike McKinney in San Diego. When we met Hal he said do something crazy and we did. After we finished Mike went on to Will Vinton's studio in Portland and I joined Hal with the balance of the live production, mainly because I thought Craig was also going to be involved. But when I got there I was told he left.
There were actually two versions of Skateboard Madness. The one that is currently distributed and one I had cut minus the Mellow Cat story. The shorter version I edited focused on the four skaters styles and how competitive skating affected their attitudes about it all. They were athletes with not one ounce of fat tissue. But it didn't fly with the investors. So life went on without me after it was done. Hal believed in every body who would step forward to give their all. He cared about people and wasn't a mean spirited person. He was a good guy in what had to be a brutal business. In our last conversation a year before he past away we discussed a new film about my version that was scrapped. Some of it would be used in the new millenium version and would be called "Four-Wheel Ride, Return to Madness".
Fate had other plans. Ride on Jep...you did your best. There are more waves to ride.
-JP,JR.
Kurt Lederman send his best wishes too!
I just found this post two years after Jep's passing and I'm in tears. Hal was my mentor for everything film related.
That guy could light, expose and shoot without a meter but more importantly everything he did just came naturally to him.
Things that would give other operators and DP's fits never phased Hal. Even though I haven't shot surf since, I still owe most of my shooting know how and style to working with Hal Jepsen.
And Hal had one thing most film and video producers lack...patience.
I guess waiting on tasty waves will do that to a person.
I miss you dearly my friend.
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