We are very sad to report the passing of our dear friend Dedo Weigert. Dedo, who was born on November 5, 1938 in Breslau, Germany and recently celebrated his 87th birthday, was best known in our community as a prominent lighting manufacturer and the founder of Dedolight. Prior to that, Dedo had a very long and distinguished career in other areas of the entertainment industry.
At a young age, Dedo began studying theater. He also studied German Literature and Psychology at Munich University before working in theater as an actor, assistant director and director. After some years as a camera assistant on international productions, he became a Director of Photography in 1964, and worked for many years in documentaries as a DP, director and producer in over 40 countries. His work also included some drama, art films, commercials, and a specialization in high-speed cinematography.
In 1981, he introduced high-speed video to Germany and had many other technical developments resulting in over 30 international patents – some for film cameras, but most for lighting technology. Dedo earned over 25 international prizes for his film work and was twice awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as earning an Emmy and several Cinec awards. In addition to being on the advisory board of DCS, he was a member of cinematographic associations including BVK, ACS, RGG, UGC, ASC (associate), and Imago.
The company Dedo Weigert Film GmbH was founded in 1965 for film production, as a rental house, and as one of the major importers of film and video equipment to Germany and several other countries. The company came to be known internationally as Dedolight after one of his more popular luminaires, a small single source focusable tungsten unit with very innovative optics. The company went on to produce all manner of lighting equipment including HMIs, LEDs, and a reflector system known as Lightstream.
See one of the many DCS interviews that we were fortunate to have had with Dedo. This one was from when he was presented with our annual award at the 2019 DCS Cinema Lighting Expo:
I wrote my own memorial tribute to Dedo, business partner but more importantly, friend that appears on my H Jay Margolis Linkedin and elsewhere but James Mather’s one here is without doubt the most fitting.