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Written by Jo Pfitzner (Morrie’s daughter)<\/p>\n
\u2018If you survive Morrie, you\u2019ll survive in the industry\u2019<\/p>\n
Jennifer Keyte, Newsreader<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brusque, impatient, rude and bossy, yet gifted, creative and generous.<\/p>\n Modris Pilens was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1928.\u00a0 His father, Janis, a merchant seaman, was frequently away; his mother Anna was chronically unwell.\u00a0 He became independent at an early age.\u00a0 He experienced the 1941 invasion of Latvia by the Germans, and witnessed his Jewish neighbours being taken away.<\/p>\n During his childhood, Pilens found work at the local picture house.\u00a0 He built up his experience to the point where he was co-opted into a Latvian division of the German SS as a war correspondent in the propaganda unit run by Joseph Goebbels. He witnessed how the public was conditioned; had the innate ability to understand people and their motivations. During his service on the Russian front the camera was his conjoined companion, and so began a lifetime of observing the world through the lens.<\/p>\n After the war Pilens emigrated to Australia and quickly assimilated into his new country.\u00a0 His Australian (second) wife Ruth and children, whom he fiercely loved and protected, were not to hear of the horrors of his early years until much later.<\/p>\n After trying his hand at several jobs, Pilens joined the nascent news television scene in the 1950\u2019s. He worked freelance for a while, until joining the newly created Channel 0 (now Channel 10).\u00a0 \u2018They were the early days,\u2019 he recalls. \u2018There were no rules.\u00a0 We made up the rules!\u2019\u00a0 And so they did.\u00a0 Time and time again, former colleagues have shared stories of his creativity, wisdom, cheek and even aggression to get the story.<\/p>\n Pilens\u2019 eccentricities were well known amongst his colleagues: home-made European delicacies, constant op-shop hunting, and frightening the newbies.\u00a0 But his work ethic, skills and high standards were admired.<\/p>\n Donna Meiklejohn-Jenkins recalls; \u2019Some of the things Morrie taught me about on-camera presentation inspired me throughout my career.\u00a0 In fact, I passed many of them on to my students at UQ and QUT. I loved working with Morrie \u2013 always a straight shooter, he had such a kind heart.\u00a0 On cold Melbourne mornings, waiting for something to break on police rounds, he would share his flask of hot black tea and lemon and liverwurst sandwiches.\u2019<\/p>\n Many of Pilens\u2019 former workmates are still in the industry.\u00a0 If they are reading this, they may recall this man with mixed feelings:\u00a0 irritation and admiration; fear and trust, hilarity and tragedy.<\/p>\n News nowadays is a streamlined machine; I doubt there are too many Morries left to enhance its flavor the way he did.\u00a0 Stories are now told as legends.\u00a0 And Morrie features in many of them.<\/p>\n Melbourne personality Eddie McGuire remembers Pilens as his first boss, only half joking when he says \u2018Morrie taught me everything I know; I think (he) is one of the great people of television, a man of great generosity and spirit.\u2019<\/p>\n You may not have heard of this former news cameraman whose camera never blinked, but his influence continues to be felt in the news industry today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Jo Pfitzner (Morrie’s daughter) \u2018If you survive Morrie, you\u2019ll survive in the industry\u2019 Jennifer Keyte, Newsreader Brusque, impatient, rude and bossy, yet gifted, creative and generous. Modris Pilens was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1928.\u00a0 His father, Janis, a merchant seaman, was frequently away; his mother Anna was chronically unwell.\u00a0 He became … <\/p>\n