And the sharp shooting priest that saved him
Who was Al Mingalone?
Albert Mingalone started in the film industry in 1920 working for the International Film Service as a photo indexer. In 1928 he moved to the Paramount News company. In a time before daily newscasts on television, people would get their news at the cinema before the movie began.
Mingalone was one of the hard-working cameramen who traveled the country, camera in hand, covering the latest stories. He shot footage at numerous presidential campaigns and prominent sporting events like the World Series and Kentucky Derby.
Throughout his career and into retirement, Mingalone was a member of the National Press Photographers’ Association.
Cigarette Spokesperson
For many years, Mingalone was one of the faces of Camel brand cigarettes. His daring photographic adventures earned his way on to print ads nationwide.
Exciting Assignment
In September of 1937, Al Mingalone arrived at the Old Orchard Country Club in Maine with a crew, numerous cameras, oversized balloons and canisters of hydrogen. It was just another day at the office for Al. His job today was to secure footage of “How it feels to be up in a stratosphere balloon.” With an automatic camera in his hands, the crew strapped him into a regulation parachute harness and filled a handful of balloons.
While it was fun to bounce around the golf course, he wasn’t getting the height he needed for a good shot. Little by little they filled more balloons and tied them to the harness. The balloons had a lift capacity of around five pounds each so it wasn’t until 27 balloons were filled that Mingalone got the desired lift.
Just as he reached his desired height, the safety line that was tied to the bumper of an automobile, snapped. Mingalone floated towards the clouds, still clutching his camera, as the crew, unsure of what to do, jumped in a car and began following him. He was heading towards the ocean.
The weather takes a turn
Around the time that the line snapped, rain started to fall and a dense fog rolled in. While the rain helped in stopping the ascent, the fog made it impossible for Mingalone to know whether he was rising or falling. The wind jerked him around in his harness. Down below, his crew had lost sight of him.
As he struggled with the ropes above, attempting to clip some of them with scissors, his hands cramped up and he dropped his camera down to the earth below. Losing the weight of the camera made him ascend at an alarming rate as the wind shifted, blowing him southward.
The Priest takes Action
Having witnessed the entire ordeal, Reverend James J. Mullen hopped in his automobile, tracked down the drifting cameraman and secured a rifle. From where he secured the rifle is unknown, but he did… and he was a heck of a shot. As Mingalone hung over the city of Biddeford he heard bullets whiz by his head, puncturing the balloons one at a time.
Gradually, as gas escaped from the balloons, Mingalone descended.
The reverend of the Old Orchard Catholic Church continued firing until Mingalone landed softly into a row of shrubs. “I was plenty scared when I got up into the fog and couldn’t tell whether I was going up or down,” Mr. Mingalone said later. “The idea of the trip was to get a regular news picture story of how it feels to be up in a stratosphere balloon. I got some pictures—but they don’t show just how I felt.”
But What About the Camera?
The camera fell over 800 feet into a pit of mud. Once it was recovered and cleaned up, it proved to be in perfect working order. Bell & Howell jumped at the chance to use the story in their new advertising line.
A Long Life
Thanks to the expert rifle skills of a small town reverend, Al Mingalone went on to lead a long, happy life, doing what he loved. He passed away at the age of 86 in 1991, leaving behind four children (one of whom worked in the film industry himself), 17 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
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