Eye on Actors, Not Copter, ‘Twilight’ Technician Says

Special-effects technician James Camomile testified Wednesday that his concern for the safety of the three actors on the set during a “Twilight Zone” filming sequence resulted in his failure to keep track of a helicopter’s position as he triggered a series of special-effects explosives.

Camomile, ending three days of dramatic testimony, said that rather than repeatedly glancing up at the helicopter as he should have done, he focused on actor Vic Morrow and two child actors to be sure they remained a safe distance from the explosives.

The three perished when the helicopter, struck by the explosives Camomile had triggered, spun wildly out of the sky and crashed on them during the filming of a mock Vietnam battle.

Film director John Landis and four associates on the 1982 film are on trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the actors’ deaths.

“My attention was primarily focused on Vic and the children,” Camomile testified, “(because of) the possibility that the children may have tried to break free or run or get back into the village area where the mortars were.”

Outside court, James Neal, Landis’ attorney, said the defense was “helped enormously” by Camomile’s testimony because he indicated that “there was a safe plan (for the filming); it was well-rehearsed and then certain unforeseen events occurred, one of which was that a special-effects expert failed to view the area to make sure it was safe before he set off the special effect.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea Purwin D’Agostino countered that her case was bolstered by Camomile, to whom the prosecution has granted immunity, because he testified that special effects are inherently dangerous. In focusing on the actors, rather than on the helicopter, D’Agostino added, “he did what any special-effects man would have done in his position.”