Robert J. Godfrey
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Robert Godfrey was a mountain climber, photographer, photojournalist, independent filmmaker, teacher, and writer. He was born in Selby in Yorkshire, England, July 12, 1941. His school years went to school at St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, Selby, and Read School, Drax. He studied mechanical engineering at York Technical College in England and received his Higher National Certificate in 1958.
He began his mountaineering career once he started working for the British Mountaineering Association in Zermatt, Switzerland for four years, followed by two years with the Outward Bound School in Ullswater, England. In 1966 he completed a teaching certificate at London University and two years later left England for the United States to join the staff of the Outward Bound Mountain School in Colorado for the summer. Further study in Colorado led him to complete an M.A. in Physical Education in 1969 at Colorado State University and a PhD in Education (Research and Statistical Methodology) in 1972 at the University of Northern Colorado (formerly Colorado State Teachers College).
From 1971 to 1973, he was an associate professor at Prescott College in Arizona, and from 1973 to 1975, he was an adjunct professor half time at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in the School of Education's Experiential Education program. His involvement with Colorado Outward Bound continued on a half-time basis.
Godfrey chose a new direction in 1975 to combine his mountaineering and photography talents when he submitted a proposal to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for $100,000 to make a documentary of two climbers ascending the northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, California. Once PBS accepted the proposal, he was able to get Robert Redford to narrate the film he named Free Climb. After this, he formed Robert Godfrey Productions in 1975 to become a full-time professional filmmaker. He produced and directed From the Heart, The College that Wouldn't Die, Chance of a Lifetime, Territory in Conflict, and Sherpa, during the next several years. He was cinematographer for the Colorado segment of a PBS special On Company Business, director of photography for Concert in the Sky, and second unit director for Dear Desperado, a 35mm independent feature film. He won several film awards for Sherpa and Free Climb.
Between 1978 and 1983 Godfrey also completed work on three books: Climb!, Outward Bound: Schools of the Possible, and Beyond the Vertical. He distributed his books and films under his business ventures Alpine House and Alpine Films. He also wrote several magazine articles which were complemented by his photographs. He had one photography exhibition in 1975, "The Paradox of Wilderness," which he showed in Colorado Springs, Aspen, and Boulder, Colorado and at the Modernage Gallery in New York.
In 1985, he joined Steven Vannoy of Vannoy Talent Agency in Denver, Colorado to form the Screenwest Development Partnership with entertainment attorneys Bill Immerman and Bob Kaplan. Under this partnership, Godfrey worked on Bareback Rider, Park Ranger, and Robe's End. Godfrey was active in film production at the time of his death on June 6, 1988. Shortly before his death, Godfrey had learned that he had Parkinson's disease.
He began his mountaineering career once he started working for the British Mountaineering Association in Zermatt, Switzerland for four years, followed by two years with the Outward Bound School in Ullswater, England. In 1966 he completed a teaching certificate at London University and two years later left England for the United States to join the staff of the Outward Bound Mountain School in Colorado for the summer. Further study in Colorado led him to complete an M.A. in Physical Education in 1969 at Colorado State University and a PhD in Education (Research and Statistical Methodology) in 1972 at the University of Northern Colorado (formerly Colorado State Teachers College).
From 1971 to 1973, he was an associate professor at Prescott College in Arizona, and from 1973 to 1975, he was an adjunct professor half time at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in the School of Education's Experiential Education program. His involvement with Colorado Outward Bound continued on a half-time basis.
Godfrey chose a new direction in 1975 to combine his mountaineering and photography talents when he submitted a proposal to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for $100,000 to make a documentary of two climbers ascending the northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley, California. Once PBS accepted the proposal, he was able to get Robert Redford to narrate the film he named Free Climb. After this, he formed Robert Godfrey Productions in 1975 to become a full-time professional filmmaker. He produced and directed From the Heart, The College that Wouldn't Die, Chance of a Lifetime, Territory in Conflict, and Sherpa, during the next several years. He was cinematographer for the Colorado segment of a PBS special On Company Business, director of photography for Concert in the Sky, and second unit director for Dear Desperado, a 35mm independent feature film. He won several film awards for Sherpa and Free Climb.
Between 1978 and 1983 Godfrey also completed work on three books: Climb!, Outward Bound: Schools of the Possible, and Beyond the Vertical. He distributed his books and films under his business ventures Alpine House and Alpine Films. He also wrote several magazine articles which were complemented by his photographs. He had one photography exhibition in 1975, "The Paradox of Wilderness," which he showed in Colorado Springs, Aspen, and Boulder, Colorado and at the Modernage Gallery in New York.
In 1985, he joined Steven Vannoy of Vannoy Talent Agency in Denver, Colorado to form the Screenwest Development Partnership with entertainment attorneys Bill Immerman and Bob Kaplan. Under this partnership, Godfrey worked on Bareback Rider, Park Ranger, and Robe's End. Godfrey was active in film production at the time of his death on June 6, 1988. Shortly before his death, Godfrey had learned that he had Parkinson's disease.