San Diego City College film professor Kathy McCurdy died on Nov. 3.
“Kathy was a wealth of information,” RTVF Department Chair Laura Castaneda said via email. “She loved her students, and she loved passing on her knowledge about the film industry.”
McCurdy started her career as a production assistant at the San Diego Zoo, from there worked as a production manager and production coordinator Kaiser Permanente where she would stay for 10 years.
McCurdy was a prominent member of the San Diego Film Commission, which she joined in 1994. While with the commission, McCurdy made the move from an assistant director for TV films to being a director of feature length films.
Being a director opened the door for McCurdy to be actively involved with films being shot on location in San Diego include box office hits such as “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy,” according to her Amazon.com page profile.
McCurdy was also a published author. She released “Shoot on Location: The Logistics of Filming on Location Whatever Your Budget or Experience” in February 2011, which serves as “the complete step-by-step guide to filming on location — any location.”
According to Castaneda, McCurdy started working at City College in 2012 and helped develop the curriculum for RTVF 111, Production on Location.
Castaneda also said that McCurdy lost her husband last December and decided to take a semester off.
“She became ill shortly after, but didn’t reveal how sick she really was,” Castaneda said via email. “I really believe she was fighting hard to get back in business.”
