Jean Wade Turner
Jean Wade Turner, the associate editor of American Cinematographer magazine for close to a decade ending in 1991, passed away recently after a brief illness. Jean's contributions to this magazine and its parent organization, the ASC, were legion.
Jean's upbringing in Depression-era Montana formed her worldview, but she was anything but old-fashioned. A mile-wide independent streak a characteristic common in the American West among those of her generation gave Jean the confidence and industriousness to take on any job.
And work she did. In many cases, it was work that had not previously been considered women's work. Prior to World War II, you could have found Jean in Denver, Colorado, hanging by a strap from "high-rise" buildings, washing the windows. Later, she worked as a photographer for the Armed Forces at an Air Force base in La Junta, Colorado. Her job was to arrive first on the scene of test- flight crashes and document the carnage photographically. With her then-husband, newspaperman Tom Wade, she worked at a range of small-town newspapers in the West. Jean did it all: photographer, reporter, editorial page writer-editor, copy editor and news editor.
Eventually she settled in at the Amarillo, Texas Daily News and Globe Times, where she became one of the first female news editors in the country. The job consisted of overseeing a mixed crew of writers, ranging from college interns to old pros; making sure they delivered the goods on time; editing the resulting mass of copy; writing headlines; and arranging articles in their proper places amid the ads to meet the late-night deadlines.
Jean crafted a long, successful career in Amarillo, raised her children, Nora and Thomas Kent, and was widowed in 1974. Then, at a time when most people would opt to stay put, Jean made another audacious move in 1979 pulling up the stakes completely and moving to Hollywood. Measured in miles, the distance is not that great, but culturally it was akin to moving to another planet. The reasons for the move were many, but the most important was George Turner, Jean's new husband. While working on his book The Making of King Kong, George had met Linwood Dunn, ASC. Dunn knew talent when he saw it, and offered the Turners work.
Soon, Jean's talents were being put to use at the American Society of Cinematographers headquarters on North Orange Drive, a block from the famous Grauman's (now Mann's) Chinese Theater. Before long, her title was associate editor of American Cinematographer magazine, but she never hesitated to take on many duties that are not even hinted at by that title. For a time she handled all advertising, display as well as classified. Her work involved dealing with printers and other vendors, the securing of copyrights, paying contributors, preparing monthly reports to the editorial committee, and obtaining estimates. She was also an assignment editor who hired freelance writers to cover stories that could not be handled by in-house personnel.
Besides her magazine duties, Jean was a publicity director for the ASC and AC who wrote and disseminated reams of press releases. Between issues of the magazine, Jean was the driving force and keen-eyed editor behind many of the ASC's most popular books, including the sixth edition of the American Cinematographer Manual, the American Cinematographer Video Manual, The Cinema of Adventure, Romance and and Terror, the ASC Treasury of Visual Effects, and Special Effects: Wire, Tape and Rubber-Band Style.
Jean was also a charter member of the ASC Awards Committee, the valiant group which brings us the Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography. More than a decade ago, there were many naysayers. Jean’s determination and hard work helped make the dream a realtiy. This year’s event was attended by more than 1,400 people, and the show is now known as “biggest night of the year” for cinematography.
In 1991, Jean left ASC and American Cinematographer to spend more time with her family, especially her newborn grandson, Benjamin Lee. Characteristically, she didn’t sit still long. Soon she was an integral part of yet another publication, The Basix, a startup newsletter for the leisure entertainment industry. Not surprisingly, The Basix became a widely read, successfull publication. When she died, Jean was also associate editor of the Urban Land Institute’s Entertainment Zone, for which she penned monthly stories on real estate and entertainment.
For more than a decade, Jan Turner served the world of cinematography above and beyond the call of duty. Each time we pick up American Cinematogrpaher, look up some information about a lens in the Film Manual, or enjoy an evening with motion picture photography’s brightest lights, we owe her a debt of gratitutde. Thanks, Jean.
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