Carl Brainard

In his one-and-a-half-hour interview, Carl "Mac" Brainard (1922-2009) speaks about his early years as a technical prodigy when, at age 15, he invented a radio phone which could be used in a car. He discusses his affiliation with various technical aspects of early Los Angeles television, in particular with KTLA's Klaus Landsberg. He recalls becoming an early member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and talks of his commissions to photograph several early Academy events and the first Emmy award prototype. He outlines his other work as a technology innovator: creating a garage door opener, an early television projection set, an early prototype of a mobile phone, and a directional microphone, and later in his career, setting up control rooms for television production. B-roll includes photographs on the sets of local Los Angeles productions, a mobile unit, and the original photo he took of the first Emmy award. Karen Herman conducted the interview on February 24, 2007 in Sedona, AZ.