Colin was born in Hayes just before the outbreak of the second World War. He originally began to train as an accountant before deciding that the profession was not for him and began to look elsewhere. Fortunately he learned enough from accounting training to make him a force to be reckoned with on when filling out timesheets. His father was employed at Pinewood Studios as a rigger and managed to get him a start on the studio staff as a stagehand.
I believe that the first film that he worked on was 'The Beverly Hillbillies', in a career that was to boast over 100 film credits. At the time, with the vast majority of crew being employed by the various studios, the natural progression forward for a stagehand was to become a grip. The films that were being made in Pinewood at the time included the Carry On series and naturally the Bond franchise, both of which he was involved in.
Colin left to pursue a freelance career in the mid 1970s and continued to be busy, including the original Indiana Jones trilogy which he remained very proud to have been involved in. In this time, a partnership with the operator Mike Roberts was formed, which thrived through over 25 major films. There were even occasions when Mike and Colin were engaged on a film before the cameraman.
Colin retired at the end of 2002, leaving a legacy of grips who trained and worked with him during his career who have gone on to be successful key grips themselves.
