M. Carroll Raver, writer, photographer, cinematographer and film director, died on April 9. He was 67.
Early in his career, while at J. Walter Thompson Advertising, New York, he served as a copywriter, producer and director working on television commercials for national clients including Ford and other JWT clients.
Later, as a multi-award winning director/cameraman, he helmed commercials for Hertz, General Motors, the U.S. Army, BMW and others. At the time of his death he had shot film on every continent except for Antarctica.
In addition to his accomplishments behind a camera, he was a painter, sculptor, singer and lover of music of all kinds. He especially loved opera. He was fluent in German.
He had been a resident of Sea Girt, for the past 13 years. Prior to that he lived in New York City.
A native of Carroll County, Md., Raver attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where he was a National Collegiate Athletic Association champion fencer.
He is survived by his third wife, Diane Brown Raver, and their children, Grace, Aimee and William; two children from his first marriage to the former Tina Baensch , Cybele and Kim Boyer; as well as two children from his second marriage to the former Francine Mazer, Nadja and Jacob; and two grandchildren, Natalie and Luke.
He is also survived by his mother, Kathleen Moore Raver, his brother, James, and his sisters, Martha Carlson and Anne.
At press time a memorial service was scheduled at St. Andrews Methodist Church in Spring Lake, N.J ,on April 21 at 11 a.m.
“Conclave” Draws Crowds At The Rome Film Festival Near The Vatican
With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican.
How timely, then, that just across town in Rome, "Conclave," a thriller filled with back-stabbing, manipulative cardinals, quick to toss morality out of the window as they promote their candidate, is a top draw at the Rome Film Festival.
This might be a little too close to home โ literally and figuratively โ for Pope Francis.
Austrian-Swiss director Edward Berger, who directed "All Quiet on the Western Front" (2022), adapted the film from the 2016 novel "Conclave" by Robert Harris. Berger puts an extraordinary Ralph Fiennes in the role of Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, dean of the College of Cardinals responsible for organizing the conclave.
The conclave is the centuries-old tradition in which, on the death of a pope, cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to participate in rounds of voting until they elect a new pontiff. Conclave comes from the Latin "cum clave," meaning "with a key," to indicate the Cardinals are locked in until they have chosen the new leader for the world's 1.3 billion Catholics.
The whole process is conducted under the spectacular frescoed ceiling painted by Michelangelo, and his masterpiece "The Last Judgment" depicting the fate of men heading to heaven or hell covers the wall behind the altar. During the entire process, the prelates are cut off from communicating with the outside world and must live in seclusion inside the Vatican.
Conclaves have a reputation as a no-holds-barred competition as cardinals make backroom deals to elect their favorites in secret ballots.
At the end of each round of voting, the ballots are thrown in a specially constructed stove... Read More