Robbins Barstow, the wonderful father of the home movie revival, has died at home at the age of 91. Barstow's magnificent vintage home movies circulated on the Internet after he began to transfer and upload them: whimsical shorts of Barstow's family vacations in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as movies from Barstow's childhood that recreated popular adventure serials with a lot of verve and humor. Barstow's films were subsequently included in the US National Film Registry, and sparked a national campaign to rescue and disseminate home movies.
Although the film world got to know Robbins through his movies, he also worked as the director of professional development for the Connecticut Educational Association. He was also a founder of the Cetacean Society International, and many of his Barstow Travel Adventures as well as the 1970s sequel to Tarzan and the Rocky Gorge focused on his love for the great whales.
The Barstow family has asked that in lieu of flowers, checks be made out to:
CSI (Barstow Fund)
Mrs. Barbara Kilpatrick
15 Wood Pond Rd.
West Hartford, CT 06107
Rest in peace, Robbins. You were an inspiration to people all over the world.
(Thanks, Molly!)
