PHILIP BERK

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, February 13, 1933, Phil was one of seven brothers and a sister. His parents Benjamin and Rebecca were both born in Lithuania and immigrated to South Africa at the turn of the last century... Phil's first job out high school, printing Fox newsreels for South African audiences, led to a trainee position with the Central African Film Unit in Rhodesia, which resulted from his writing an ingenuous letter asking, "Do you have a job for me."... Within months he was directing educational films for Africans. His quick rise suggested he was destined for bigger things, and again fearlessly he applied to UCLA film school where he completed his undergraduate work in three years. At the same time served in numerous editorial positions on the UCLA Daily Bruin.