He was known as the 'Ant Man of Altadena'. A graduate in zoology and
entomology from the University of Arizona, Robert Heggie Crandall was
an enthusiastic amateur entomologist from childhood (dubbed 'the Spider
Boy' in his home town). In his lifetime, he amassed a vast collection
of over half a million (catalogued) insect specimens, housed in 445
drawers. An old Admiral fridge in his home contained parasitic wasps
and a tub in his bathroom was home to a Gila monster. A giant toad
inhabiting the toilet scared the odd visitor.
The eccentric and single-minded Crandall was also a gifted
photographer, an early exponent of close-ups in nature documentary
filmmaking, using custom built zoom lenses. He conceived the original
idea for Walt Disney's Oscar-winning
masterpiece
Die Wüste lebt (1953) and
served as one of its chief cinematographers. He also did special
effects work on one of the better Hollywood creature features,
Alarm für Sperrzone 7 (1957)
(a giant prehistoric sea snail!).
A tiny bee, 'Perdita Crandalli', is named in his honour.
