Bob Walters

name: Robert Walters
nickname: Bob

Bob Walters is listed as the photographer of "It's A Bear" in Joseph McBride's Frank Capra - The Catastrophe Of Success. This credit does not appear in IMDb, but it's pretty clear that the Sennett photographer listed there as Robert Walters is the same guy. IMDb equates this Robert Walters with a cinematographer from the teens named R. W. Walter, who also worked for Sennett. Hopefully, they're the same person, since I've included the R. W. Walter credits in this filmography.

1916

Assuming R. W. Walter and Robert Walters are the same person, then we can conclude that he began working for Mack Sennett by the end of this year. During this period, Sennett was part of the Triangle company.

1917

By the middle of this year, the R. W. Walter credits dry up, and we don't see him again for another three years.

A Dishonest Burglar (photographer): Feb. 17, 1917 - Triangle - Jack Dillon series; Credited as R. W. Walter.
Done In Oil (photographer): Feb. 25, 1917 - Triangle - 1 reel; Credited as R. W. Walter.
Twin Troubles (photographer): May 20, 1917 - Triangle - 1 reel - Jack Dillon series; Credited as R. W. Walter.
Aired In Court (photographer): July 2, 1917 - Sennett/Triangle - 1 reel - Jack Dillon series; Credited as R. W. Walter.

1920

By the end of this year, Walter turns up in the Sennett credits again, but is listed as Robert Walters. By this time, Sennett was releasing his product through Paramount.

1921

Dabbling In Art (co-photographer): Jan. 9, 1921 - Sennett/Paramount - 2 reels; ©Dec. 5, 1920.
Sweetheart Days (co-photographer): Mar. 20, 1921 - Sennett/Paramount - 2 reels; ©Mar. 4, 1921.
Astray From The Steerage (co-photographer): Apr. 24, 1921 - Sennett/Paramount - 2 reels - Billy Bevan series; ©Apr. 24, 1921.
Call A Cop (co-photographer): June 26, 1921 - Sennett/First National - 2 reels; ©July 5, 1921.

1922

The Crossroads Of New York (co-photographer): May 21, 1922 - Sennett/First National - 6 reels; ©July 9, 1922.
Home Made Movies (co-photographer): July 15, 1922 - Sennett/First National - 2 reels - Ben Turpin series; ©Aug. 29, 1922.

1923

After switching distribution several times within the span of a couple of years, Sennett finally settled on Pathé midway through this year. Walters' tenure at Sennett ended in the latter half of this year, and he took a job at the Hal Roach studio by December. We only know of one Roach credit for him (so far), which is the Our Gang short "It's A Bear."

Suzanna (co-photographer): Feb. 15, 1923 - Sennett/Allied - 8 reels - Mabel Normand feature; ©Jan. 4, 1923.
The Shriek Of Araby (co-photographer): Mar. 5, 1923 - Sennett/Allied - 5 reels - Ben Turpin feature; ©Apr. 1, 1923. Distributor also listed as UA.
Asleep At The Switch (co-photographer): Oct. 14, 1923 - Sennett/Pathé - 2 reels - Ben Turpin series; ©Sep. 24, 1923.

1924

The filming for "It's A Bear" spanned most of December of 1923 and part of January of 1924. Photography credit in the film itself went to Frank Young, who probably shot the retakes in March, the reason being that he had been Stan Laurel's regular photographer and wouldn't have been available for the earlier dates. The fact that Young received sole credit may be an indication that Walters had left the Roach studio by the time of the film's copyright date at the end of June. Eventually, he ended up back at the Sennett studio, but his next credit was still over a year away, so perhaps he did something else in the interim.

26. Commencement Day (co-photographer): May 4, 1924 - Roach/Pathé - 2 reels - prod. A-26 - Our Gang series; Filmed Nov. 9 to Dec. 6, 1923, Jan. 7 to 11, and Jan. 26, 1924. ©May 12, 1924. This credits derives from Walters' payroll status as the Our Gang cameraman in early Jan. 1924.
27. It's A Bear (uncredited co-photographer): July 27, 1924 - Roach/Pathé - 2 reels - prod. A-27 - Our Gang series; Filmed Dec. 10 to 26, 1923, Jan. 2 to 7, Jan. 12, and Mar. 7 to 12, 1924. ©June 30, 1924.

1925

Walters' final known credit occurs during this year, and afterwards, his filmography goes blank.

1961

Days Of Thrills And Laughter (archival): Mar. 16, 1961 - Youngson/20th Century-Fox - 93 min. - compilation feature; ©Mar. 21, 1961. Includes footage from "Asleep At The Switch."

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