The Real Father of Color Motion Pictures

On a lunch break walk from Industrial Light and Magic where I worked, I discovered the history of Leon Douglass who lived in San Rafael, not far from our Lucasfilm movie studio. He was the co-founder of the Victor Talking Machine Company, maker’s of the famous, “his master’s voice” Victrola. Douglass was also holder of 50 or so patents for film and sound recording.

In 1916 he patented a process for filming in what he called, “natural color”. His camera used twin negatives, one of red and one green. In 1918 he made the first American feature film in color starring Ruth Roland with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford as walk-ons.

By 1927 he had sold his interests in Victor and became a very wealthy man living in a 52 room mansion in Menlo Park/Atherton, Ca. The house is now known a Douglas Hall at Menlo College.

He invented zoom lenses, anamorphic lenses, under water cameras, and special effects devices which he leased to Hollywood studios. He also demonstrated and offered his color system to all the Studios in Los Angeles. They refused, and later starting violating his patents.

In 1934 he sued Technicolor, Paramount, Fox, and Disney for $200 million dollars in patent infringement of his color film making process, settling for $20 million. This was a lot of money in 1934.

There is a longer version of this story in my book “Inside The Star Wars Empire: A Memoir” published by Rowman & Littlefield/Lyons Press.

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