Marcia Reed


Marcia Ann Reed, known professionally as Marcia Reed, is the first woman union still photographer in the motion picture industry having joined the International Cinematographers Guild in 1973 as a unit still photographer. She is also the first woman to win a Society of Operating Cameramen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

Early life

Reed was born in 1948 at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles. She is the only child of Josefina Flores and Paul "Dean" Reed. Her mother was with the WAVES based out of Tucson, during World War II. Her father, was a television engineer and unit production manager on television shows. She attended Grant High School in Valley Glen, California and was one of the first female students to take a photography class which led to her interest in becoming a professional photographer.
After high school, Marcia applied to the prestigious Art Center College of Design and was one of the first women accepted into the Photography Program to graduate. For her final assignment, prior to graduating in 1970, Marcia created a Style Book on behind-the-scenes of a typical television production which led to her being offered a chance to be a non-union production photographer for the local television networks beginning in 1971. At that time, she also began working for Lucille Ball at Desilu Studios on a variety of productions.

Career

By March 2, 1973, Reed had her first movie assignment working on the set of the film Rhinoceros with Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel and Director Tom O'Horgan. It was to be the first of two films working with Gene Wilder. Rhinoceros, released in 1974, was the first film to have a woman as the union still photographer.