William Gibson, 82, filmmaker

Associated Press

HAMILTON, Mont. — William "Bill" Gibson, an independent film producer and director whose work became part of the visitor program at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, has died at his southwestern Montana home.

Gibson died of natural causes Wednesday in Conner, Mont., said his wife, Hattie Hooper-Gibson. He was 82.

He was a combat cameraman during World War II and later filmed many world leaders. In 1981, Gibson and his wife went to Pearl Harbor to make a documentary about the 1941 Japanese attack on the USS Arizona.

Equipped with scuba gear, Gibson filmed the rusting ship where it sank, taking 1,177 men to their graves on the ocean floor.

The 23-minute film, with Gibson the director and his wife the writer, became a fixture in two theaters at the USS Arizona Memorial's visitor center.

Gibson described some of his most exciting assignments when he wrote "No Film in My Camera." The book, published in 2000, describes riots in Indonesia and his coverage of figures such as Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Charles Lindbergh, Albert Schweitzer, Charles DeGaulle, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Gibson also wrote about his work as a consultant to NASA for photographic coverage of Apollo 11.

A memorial service is planned Thursday at St. Francis Catholic Church in Hamilton.

Dowling Funeral Home & Crematory in Hamilton is handling arrangements.