[1] Born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in the small town of Olds, he was raised principally by his mother after his father returned from military service in the First World War suffering from severe shell shock.
[4] He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1942 to serve in World War II, but spent his entire military career posted to CFB Borden without ever being shipped overseas to fight.
[2] He then returned to the United States to study filmmaking in New York City,[3] and made a number of sponsored advertising films there before returning to Canada in 1954 to begin his long association with the National Film Board of Canada.
[2] He directed a large number of films for the NFB, including the On the Spot and Perspective series, and established the Westminister Films studio with partners Lee Gordon (his wife) and Roy Krost.
[2] With both the NFB and Westminister, he continued throughout his career to work on documentaries, feature films and television productions.