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| Self-portrait - 2014 |
He studied History of Fine Arts and practical application of Graphic Arts and Photography in Vienna and earned a Master of Photography Certificate in 1950.
Beginning in 1940 Nassau worked on various feature film and documentary productions in Austria. Among these was the production of the award winning film, 'The Third Man,' directed by Carol Reed and starring Orson Welles.
He produced a number of documentaries in Austria using some of the newly introduced colour processes for 35 mm film. After 1956 when Austria began television broadcasts, he worked on many productions in news and documentary subjects..
In 1959, in response to an invitation by Eric Durschmid, he came to Canada and worked for the CBC and also for CTV. He also worked on television productions in the USA for a year.
In 1969 Nassau was appointed Director of Audio-Visual Resources at Waterloo Lutheran University (later, Wilfrid Laurier University). He was one of the founders of TELECOLLEGE, one of the first applications of television in distance education. He also taught media related courses at WLU. He founded the collection of historical photographic and technical media equipment at WLU, which is now divided between the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the collections Of Ryerson University and Niagara College.
After receiving a Masters Degree in Near Eastern Archaeology from WLU in 1980, Nassau worked on many film and video projects and began serious studies of ancient glass which resulted in his thesis, 'History and Technology of Roman Glass.' He was appointed a member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, (CSC) and a member of the Society of Film and Television Engineers (SMPTE). He also is a charter member of the Photo Historical Society Of Canada (PHSC).
1991 Wilhelm E. Nassau was awarded an honorary doctorate from WLU.
Since retiring from WLU, he has been an active volunteer at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, where he presently acts as archivist and restorer and conservator of artefacts, as well as photographing various events.
