Irving Higdon (IJM) Passes On

[Spectra]

Hello from Spectra.

Wanted to mention that Irving Higdon passed away on 1/1/13.

To those who did not know him, he ran IJM camera repair center out of Mission Hills, CA. He was once sales rep/distributor for companies such as Elmo and Bell and Howell (Beaulieu) back when times were good in film. His knowledge of 8mm history was vast and he always had stories of its grand past to tell. We were amazed to hear how these companies once filled camera orders in the thousands (and had their share of troubles to go with it).

As some may know, he had a temper at times. He also had his share of trouble with camera repairs towards the end. All things considered he was well liked by us at Spectra. We appreciated his occasional visits to talk film and provide advice.

[Nicholas Kovats]

My condolences.

[David M. Leugers]

Sorry to hear. I have mixed memories of him. I really liked talking with him and he was a resource of information. However, I got burned by him very badly on repairing my Elmo 1012SXL camera. The repair lasted less than one 50ft cartridge of film. I sent it back to him and almost one year went by before he sent it back to me saying it was unrepairable but would not refund my money.

[Tommy]

I remember him telling me he could repair any projector....so I sent him my projector and then he called me back and said it was unrepairable and I owed him a $30. inspection fee plus return shipping.

[MovieStuff]

Same here. I had an old Elmo telecine 16 that needed to be serviced. We have our own shop but no parts. Irv quoted me a price, said he had shelves full of parts, etc. It went to him for basically just a clean up, because it already worked fine, and I was procuring this projector for a customer that wanted one. I just wanted it "like new", as Irv put it. Anyway, the projector came back in terrible shape. It had this huge vibration that, literally, made it move across the table top. So you had to hold your hand on it or surround it with books or things to keep it from vibrating off the counter. And the noise sounded like the fan output of an air conditioner. Just horrid. Anyway, when I called him, Irv said that Elmos were known to be noisy and that's just how it was. I would certainly understand if he couldn't make it better but this thing was hacked. After many phone calls, he said that he didn't, personally, work on the unit and that I should send it back for his personal touch. So I sent it back like 3 times. Every time it came back it was in worse shape than before. The last time it came back the image was vibrating all over the place and the audio no longer worked. So much for the personal touch. I'm sure he was a nice guy but somewhere along the way he lost his magic, I guess, because he had a good reputation at one time.

[aj]

Getting even post mortem? Some commemorating.

What now? File for damages with the family?

[MovieStuff]

Getting even post mortem? Some commemorating.

What now? File for damages with the family?

LOL! Not really. Look, when I die, I want everyone that liked me or hated me to share honest stories about how they knew me. I didn't know Irv on a personal level. I only knew him professionally. Should I say, "What a great guy!" and "He'll be sorely missed." when I couldn't even tell you what he looked like? What else should I speak about other than the only relationship I had with him?

Roger

[marc]

Roger,
I am sure that your business practices will always receive a sterling review. And as far as any of us here are concerned, that is really all that matters. We might fight like cats and dogs sometimes (who doesn't we are all human) but as long as you are supplying the "bacon" we can always forgive and forget!

[David M. Leugers]

Getting even post mortem? Some commemorating.

What now? File for damages with the family?

I am not sure what you mean there Andre. I do not like the connotation that I was "getting even" waiting like a coward until he died and could not defend himself. I did not read anything into others comments either. If you read our comments closely you find sadness in Irv's poor repairs, not a hatred for the man. This is a forum about film making and equipment among other things and my comments were to express my limited experience with him in that regard. I was reacting to the news of his passing, not joining in on a commemoration of Irv Higdon. I hope there are plenty who have many great stories about Irv and the great job he did repairing their equipment you will do that.

[sciolist]

Irv may have been a swell guy, but in the two transactions I had with him I found him to be an extremely poor businessman.

Having noticed his advertising, I contacted him to ask if he could supply replacement belts for a Bolex SM8 projector. He told me he could. What I got, instead, were belts for a Bolex 18-5 projector. “Bolex SM8” was written on the accompanying invoice and “Bolex 18-5” on the plastic packet containing the belts. I contacted Irv about this error, and he blamed it on one of his technicians. I sent the belts back at my expense and, a month later, when I’d neither received the Bolex SM8 belts nor heard anything from Irv, I telephoned him. He said then that he'd call in three days, either to tell me he’d obtained the belts or say he’d be refunding my money. A week later, when he hadn’t called, I telephoned to demand a full refund, including what I’d paid to return the Bolex 18-5 belts that I’d never ordered. I eventually received a partial refund. I got the belts from another supplier and told Irv so. He then asked me to tell him where I got them.

Perhaps a year later I won an eBay auction for some Beaulieu accessory/-ies. Only after I sent payment did I find the seller was Irv Higdon. As I recall, weeks passed without any delivery. I contacted Irv through eBay messaging and was told Irv wasn't available because he was attending a wedding. The person responding claimed he was one of Irv's technicians and that my item(s) would be shipped right away. Another week to ten days went by without any delivery, so I made contact again and was advised Irv was in the hospital having major surgery. Finally, through the intervention of eBay, I got what I'd paid for about a month before.