By Bob Shelley
I was in the United States Army for 21 years when I retired as a captain. My field was explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). During my military career, I was appointed to serve in many unique positions that had a security clearance of “top secret,” White House security clearance, and a special clearance of CNWDI (Critical Nuclear Weapons Design Information).
Captain Robert M. Shelley
My White House duties included protection services for the presidents – from Kennedy through Carter and presidential candidates at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968, as well as the Democrat and Republican Conventions in Miami in 1972. I was also tasked with protection of visiting foreign dignitaries such as King Hussein of Jordan and Anwar Sadat of Egypt. And I was involved in three wars/conflicts including Honduras/El Salvador, Vietnam, and Israel/Egypt.
My first exposure to the film industry came while I was still in the Army and stationed at Fort Gillem in Forest Park, Georgia. My unit was contacted by film director Gyneth Markley “Gy” Waldron, in Georgia to film a movie called Moonrunners, starring James Mitchum, Kiel Martin, and Arthur Hunnicutt, about doing work on the feature film. Waldron said he was looking for someone who could use explosives, and he said he wanted to blow up a car, a moonshine still (a job my unit had frequently performed), and a cotton gin.I happily stepped up to help.
“After 50 years at my second career, I can' t think of anything I'd rather do.”
Action!
Waldron said, “I can pay you $100 a day, $25 a day per diem, 12 cents per mile, and pay for your equipment and expendables.” That was huge money to me, especially for doing something that I enjoyed, so I had hit the jackpot. I contacted Bill Adams of Adams Explosives in Atlanta to buy what I needed for the job.
The car explosion the director wanted was a very large explosion, as it turns out. “I want a big fireball, and when it’s done I only want to see the engine, the tires, and the seats left.”
Not a problem. I set about rigging the car to blow up as he wanted. So I laced 50-grain detonating cord on the roof, 30 gallons of gasoline, six sticks of 60% dynamite, and a thermite grenade on the engine. He was pleasantly surprised when I was ready the following day.
He asked if Jim Mitchum could crawl out of the car. Since I had not loaded the detonating charge, I assured him it was safe to have the actor exit the car on-camera. So, with the car on its side, the actor exited the vehicle and started crawling. I observed a cameraman squinting through his fingers and another looking at the rehearsal through a viewfinder.
As the actor reached a point about 20 feet from the car, Waldron said, “Bob, this is where I want you to blow up the car.” At this moment, I realized I knew nothing about making films. I told him that I rigged the car to go away. That everything within a thousand feet of the blast would not be safe.
“Where are you going to be?” Waldron asked. “You see that hill over there?” I answered, pointing to a spot a quarter of a mile away. “That’s where I’m going to be.”
This project turned out to be the pilot for The Dukes of Hazzard. So after retiring from the Army, The Dukes of Hazzard became my first television series to work on.
Using the leave I’d saved up from the Army, I did multiple television shows, industrials, and commercials, including Greased Lightning, starring Richard Pryor, and a film called Whiskey Mountain with Christopher George.
Before long, the film and commercial projects had grown so big that I recruited my Army pals, Sgt. Maj. Vern Hyde and Sgt. First Class Dick Cross, to join me.
Career take two
In 1977, my term was up in the Army. I was told I could stay in the Army at my enlisted rank, retire, or join active reserves. I felt like I’d found my calling in the film industry, and so I retired from the Army and set out to learn and earn a living in the movie business.
I turned to my supplier from Dukes of Hazzard days, Adams Explosives, and went to visit them in an effort to learn more about the tools I would need. The owner showed me a card with pictures of small igniters and detonators from a company called De La Mare Engineering Inc. in San Fernando, California, and explained that they supplied the explosives for the industry.
So I called up De La Mare and spoke with Betty De La Mare, who invited me to visit her. First thing, I hopped a plane to Hollywood.
Betty was a dear, sweet lady who treated me like family. She took me all around California to meet the giants of the industry -- Ira Katz, a chemical engineer with Tri-Ess Sciences in Burbank; Roger George Special Effects in Van Nuys; and a special effects legend, Joe Lombardi, with Special Effects Unlimited in Sun Valley. Each of them welcomed me into the industry, and they were very helpful to me early on in my career.
Betty then took me to a bookstore and picked out several volumes for me to read, and she urged me forward. To this day, I still have the books.
Next, I joined the IATSE local 476 (Chicago) where I was the only member with an explosives license. I did The Dollmaker with Jane Fonda and Code of Silence with Chuck Norris, Bad Boys with Sean Penn, and others. In addition, the production manager from Code of Silence, John Wilson, asked me to go to New York for a “silly” movie, Ghostbusters.
During the 1980s and 1990s, I traveled all over the country, doing westerns in Arizona and New Mexico,
period shows in Georgia and Virginia, action shows in Chicago and Florida, and romances in the Carolinas. I’ve done features in Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, and I’ve traveled to Finland to make snow for a Christmas special -- only to be nearly snowed in when it was time to leave.
Eventually, my wife joined me in the company, and all of my children have worked with me at one time or another. I maintained a special effects/props rental house at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds (later Screen Gems) for some 30 years. Then I moved my operation to Fayetteville, Georgia, in 2011, where we have a full line of special effects equipment to produce rain, snow, smoke, fire, etc. And I also opened a fully equipped mobile effects shop.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with actors such as Burt Reynolds, Chuck Norris, Bill Murray, Jessica Tandy, Gerald McRaney, Steve Martin, Antonio Banderas, Lou Gossett Jr., Jack Black, Denzel Washington, Adam Sandler, Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Rebel Wilson, Dolly Parton, Robin Williams, Bruce Willis, and many others. My crew and I have also been involved in many live shows, including Blue Collar TV, Champions of Magic, and most recently, LEGO Masters.
Still in action
I no longer travel like I once did. But the 2005 Film Tax Incentive brought more projects to Georgia, so now I am able to leave work and go home to sleep in my own bed. The industry has grown so much since then. For years, I’d see the same faces from one project to the next. Now I’m lucky if I recognize a quarter of the crew on set. Although, I am not going to complain about that.
What used to be a small film family has grown quite large. I am very proud to see how far the industry has progressed. As a founding member of IATSE Local 479 and original member of Georgia Production Partnership, I can say that Georgia has some of the most talented people in the business.
Sources and methods have changed a great deal over the years -- most notably in the area of Computer Generated Images (CGI). My initial reaction was negative because the technology was rumored to replace practical special effects with computer generated effects. Yet, my feelings morphed into love/hate. I do not like to see computer generated explosions, rain, and fire, but I do like what computers can do to enhance my practical effects. With this technology, we could have made it look like Jim Mitchum was in the shot instead of the dummy we had to use back in my earliest days working in film.
After 50 years at my second career, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do. My daughter, Lisa, still works with me. I report to our shop for work every day while I wait for the call to prep our next movie. We can be reached at 770-681-0889, for anyone who needs me.
Oh, and that silly show I was called to work on in New York, Ghostbusters, turned out to be a huge blockbuster -- and we just celebrated its 40th anniversary in June.
What a ride, and what an explosive career the film industry has given me!
