Chris J. Condon (1923 – December 19, 2010), born Christo Dimitri Koudounis, was the inventor of 3D lens used by his company

StereoVision Stereopsis () is the component of depth perception retrieved through binocular vision. Stereopsis is not the only contributor to depth perception, but it is a major one. Binocular vision happens because each eye receives a different image becau ...

, a

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, and founder of

Sierra Pacific Airlines Sierra Pacific Airlines is an American charter airline based in Tucson, Arizona, USA. It operates passenger charters and sub-charters for other airlines, as well as for the United States Forest Service, United States Military and the United Sta ...

Life and career

He was born in

North Chicago, Illinois North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the 2nd largest city by population in the county, after Waukegan. North Chic ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he received four Bronze Battle Stars while working as combat crew and as a cinematographer on

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...

and A-26 aircraft in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Upon his death in 2010, he was buried at

Riverside National Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers , making it the largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administratio ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. After the war, he worked at

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

as a trainee before starting his own business in 1947, Century Precision Optics Company of

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The Nor ...

. With the company, he developed the Tele-Athenar

telephoto A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...

lens which was used by Walt Disney photographers in the

True Life Adventures ''True-Life Adventures'' is a series of short and full-length nature documentary films released by Walt Disney Productions between the years 1948 and 1960. The first seven films released were thirty-minute shorts, with the subsequent seven films ...

series. In 1953, he received his first patent for a 3D projection system. The system replaced the previous method of using two cameras. His invention was inspired by the film '' House of Wax''. He taught at Columbia College Hollywood from 1958 to 1960. He co-wrote the American Cinematographer Manual for the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

with Joseph V. Mascelli in 1963. In 1969, he and his partner

Allan Silliphant Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...

received a patent for the world's first single-camera 3-D motion picture lens and formed the company Magnavision, which later became StereoVision Entertainment. After the success of soft X, eventually the 3D movie ''

The Stewardesses ''The Stewardesses'' is a 1969 American 3D softcore comedy film written and directed by Allan Silliphant (credited onscreen as Alf Silliman Jr.) and starring Christina Hart, Monica Gayle, Paula Erickson and Donna Stanley. Produced on a budget ...

'' was R rated. In 1970, he and Silliphant founded Trans Sierra Airlines, later known as Sierra Pacific Airlines. The airline continued to operate under several newer owners with a fleet of

Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, i ...

prop-jets and

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

jets. In 1972, he received a patent for a special widescreen 3-D camera lens for modern 35mm and 70mm reflex motion picture cameras. During the 1970s, his lenses were used in ''

Andy Warhol's Frankenstein ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' is a 1973 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey. It stars Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren and Arno Juerging. Interiors were filmed at Cinecittà in Rome by a crew of Italian filmmakers. In W ...

'', ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'', and '' Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth''.

Credits

*''

'' (filmed in Stereovision 3D) (1969) *'' The Volcano Creature'' (co-producer) *'' The CIA Girls of Capitol Hill (co-producer) *''

Mr. Howard's Crazy Airline ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

'' (co-producer) *''

The Wild Ride ''The Wild Ride'' is a 1960 American film directed by Harvey Berman and starring Jack Nicholson as a rebellious punk named Johnny, of the Beat generation, who spends his days as an amateur dirt track driver in between partying and troublemakin ...

'' (co-producer and director of 3D photography) *'' The Volcano Creature and Surfer Girls'' (co-producer and director of 3D photography) *''Magda The Gypsy Fortune Teller'' co-produced with Gary Tomsic and Herb Liteman (filmed in Stereovision 3D) (1999) *''

Jaws 3-D ''Jaws 3-D'' (titled ''Jaws III'' in its 2-D form) is a 1983 American thriller film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Lea Thompson and Louis Gossett Jr. It is the second sequel to Steven Spielberg's '' Jaws'' and t ...

'' (Cinematographer and Chief 3-D Consultant) 1983Chris J. Condon - IMDb
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Condon, Chris 1923 births 2010 deaths American cinematographers American aviation businesspeople Burials at Riverside National Cemetery People from Chicago 3D cinema People from North Chicago, Illinois United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II