In Honor of a Friend

Don Dohler, the producer for Timewarp Films, passed away on December 2, 2006 from cancer. He was 60.

Don was my producer, my mentor, my friend.

I'll miss working with him on film projects, his greatest passion. No matter how much he wanted to take a break, or wait to see how a recently completed project would fair in the market, he couldn't help nurturing a new movie concept. I guess it didn't help that he knew so many people that loved talking with him about movies. How could he not be inspired, or inspire us.

I'll miss our weekly hour+ chats on the phone--which are not uncommon for either of us separately, so imagine the two of us together. My wife, of course, never had to imagine, since I always seemed to get on the phone with Don 15 minutes before dinner, forcing her, groaning, to keep the pork cutlets warm for another 45 minutes.

I'll miss his honesty. A straight shooter, he always said what he meant, and never shied away from what he meant. In the creative business, the worst thing you can do is tell people how good their creation is when it really sucks. If I want someone to tell me my effect is great no matter what, I'll ask my mother (my wife's a straight-shooter too,God bless her). Don always told me the truth, the constructive truth. Even if he didn't know exactly what was wrong, he could still point me down the right path. I'll really miss that.

But, most of all, I'll miss my friend. I hope he's at peace.

Don worked as the managing editor for the Times Herald in Baltimore County. They posted a wonderful article about him:
http://www.timesheraldnews.com/2006/12/08/times-herald-editor-don-dohler-dies-at-60/