The Entertainment Lighting Industry lost another of its pioneers, with the passing of Zeb Cochran on March 18, after a brief illness. Zeb began his career with Vari-Lite in 1983 and was an early innovator in the programming of automated lighting systems. He went on to be instrumental in the marketing of Telescan and Z-Scan moving mirror fixtures, as technology manager for Obie’s Lighting Productions.
Zeb traveled the world throughout his career, applying his creative talents to touring performances by The Police, Motley Crue, Amy Grant, Yes, Neil Young, Toto and The Moody Blues, to name but a few. He also programmed memorable visuals for motion pictures such as Batman and Robin, Showgirls and Pearl Harbor, and supervised large-scale live installations, such as the BMW booth at the LA Auto Show and the lighting of The Gateway Arch in St. Louis in rainbow colors, for the premiere of Ringling Brothers’ The Wizard of Oz on Ice tour. After retiring from life on the road, Zeb spent 25 years as Technical Service Manager for VLPS, Cinelease and, most recently, Morpheus Lights where he was an invaluable contributor to the successful introduction of Ayrton LED fixtures to the US market.