Mike Hoover is an American mountaineer, rock climber and cinematographer. He first became known for an Academy Award-nominated documentary short, Solo, in which he climbed a fictional mountain solo, as well as his Oscar award for Best Short Subject at the 57th Academy Awards for his 14 minute film Up in 1984. His first major involvement in commercial film was with The Eiger Sanction (1975), in which he taught Clint Eastwood how to climb in the Yosemite valley before the film was shot in Grindelwald, Switzerland in 1974.[1][2] Hoover has since been a cinematographer for the documentaries To the Ends of the Earth (1983), To the Limit (1989), The Endless Summer 2 (1994) and Zion Canyon: Treasure of the Gods. In the late 1980s, he made 18 trips to Afghanistan to shoot war footage[3] that was later featured in a program named The Battle for Afghanistan (1987). Hoover has led various film teams all over the world,[4] particularly in physically and politically difficult locations, such as Everest, K2, the precarious rock faces of the Eiger and the Venezuelan jungle.[4][5]
In 1994, Hoover was the sole survivor in a helicopter crash in Lamoille, Nevada that killed his wife Beverly Johnson, pilot Dave Walton, ski guide Paul Scannell and Disney president Frank Wells.[6] The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the accident was caused by snow ingestion into the helicopter's engine,[7] and Hoover sued the helicopter manufacturer, reaching an out-of-court settlement. The legal case was a finalist for the Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award by the American Association for Justice.[8] Hoover came through unscathed when he swam up to a great white shark near Guadalupe Island, grabbed its dorsal fin, and let it tow him around. [9]
References
edit- ^ Schickel, p. 314
- ^ McGilligan, p. 244
- ^ Cates, Jo A. (2004). Journalism: a guide to the reference literature. Libraries Unlimited. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-59158-061-4. Retrieved 26 January 2011 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Active Interest Media, Inc. (July 1986). "Backpacker". Backpacker. Gear Guide. Active Interest Media, Inc.: 36. ISSN 0277-867X. Retrieved 26 January 2011 – via Google Books.
- ^ Waterman, Jonathan (1 September 1993). Cloud dancers: portraits of North American mountaineers. The Mountaineers Books. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-930410-54-4. Retrieved 26 January 2011 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Disney President Wells Killed in Copter Crash : Accident: Executive was among three who died on Nevada skiing trip. He is credited with helping firm achieve new prosperity". Los Angeles Times. April 4, 1994. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III N27736, 03 Apr 1994". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "Aviation Crashes | Robert P. Schuster". bobschuster.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ Brown, Chip (2020-01-03). "Inside Adventure Filmmaker Mike Hoover's 1968 Attempt to Run North America's Wildest River". Men's Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
Bibliography
edit- McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-638354-8.
- Schickel, Richard (1996). Clint Eastwood: A Biography. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-42974-6 – via Internet Archive.
External links
edit- Mike Hoover at IMDb
- The short film Solo is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
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