Louis Clyde Stoumen

Who was Louis Clyde Stoumen?

Louis Clyde Stoumen was an American film director and producer. He won two Academy Awards; the first in 1957 for Best Documentary Short Subject, and the second in 1963 for Best Documentary Feature.

He was born in Springtown, Pennsylvania and died in Sonoma County, California.

Stoumen also taught at UCLA Film School. He spoke of his innovation in The True Story of the Civil War. He invented a track for the camera to move back and forth over historic photos and paintings. It also tracked up and down. The technique is often referred to today as "The Ken Burns Effect."

Stoumen also received Colin Higgin's Masters Thesis, a screenplay called Harold and Maude. Stoumen spoke of his enjoyment of the writing, but doubted it would ever be produced. He wasn't unhappy when proven wrong by the film's success.

After his death in 1991, the Stoumen Estate gifted the entire archive of Stoumen's work, including copyright, to the Museum of Photographic Arts. MOPA created a special exhibition and catalog entitled Seduced by Life: The Art of Lou Stoumen in celebration of acquiring the Stoumen Archive. Copyright for Stoumen's work is currently administered by the Museum of Photographic Arts.