May 11, 2008

1956 Hungarian Revolution Film Maker Dies: Joseph Miko, 87

One hero falls. RIP, Joseph Miko

Joseph Miko, 87; filmed the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, then had to flee
Los Angeles Times
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Joseph S. Miko, a former cameraman whose extensive footage of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution was smuggled out of Budapest and is considered a significant piece of the documentary record of the historic national uprising against Soviet oppression, has died. He was 87.

see: http://hungarianbookstore.com/Hungary-1956.htm

Miko died of blood cancer April 28 at UCLA Medical Center, said his son, Joe.

A retired owner of camera and electronics stores in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach, Miko was forced to flee Hungary with his family after capturing the short-lived revolution on film.

see: Imre Nagy's Daughter Dies: Died, Child of Hungary's 1956 revolution prime minister

Some of the footage that Miko shot of the massive crowds of demonstrators and fighting in the streets of Budapest was shown on "The 20th Century," a CBS documentary series narrated by Walter Cronkite. More than four decades later, Miko and his footage were featured in a segment of the four-part History Channel special "Caught on Film."

Miko's footage, which he stored in his garage for decades before donating 177 minutes' worth to the Hungarian National Film Archive in 1993, has also been used in the recent documentaries"Freedom's Fury" and "Torn From the Flag."

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