Gerard J. Weiser, 82, patent lawyer

Gerard J. Weiser, 82, of Center City, a Swiss-born patent lawyer and champion of inventions including the Steadicam, which revolutionized filmmaking, died March 15 after heart surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Mr. Weiser specialized in scientific and technical patents. His clients included Garrett Brown, the Academy Award-winning inventor of the Steadicam, which has been used in hundreds of films. Among the earliest was Rocky, filmed in Philadelphia and released in 1976.

After being turned down three times by the U.S. Patent Office, Mr. Weiser and Brown lugged the strange-looking Steadicam prototype to Washington in 1973. Mr. Weiser asked the examiner if Brown could run through the halls of the Patent Office to show it off.

"I thundered down the long corridor and back again with the Steadicam, and each time more doors opened and dozens of examiners' dusty faces peered out to watch the camera flying weightless and level as if on rails," Brown said in a recent interview.

The amused examiner allowed all of Mr. Weiser's 124 claims for the Steadicam. Later he approved dozens of Brown's inventions represented by Mr. Weiser - including the Skycam.

"For a quarter-century, Gery and I worked together," Brown said. "His tactical brilliance and capacity for detail prevailed. But it was his great spirit and never-give-up attitude - and that sly accent - that are unforgettable. He was more than my friend and counselor, he was my champion."

Mr. Weiser was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and immigrated to America following World War II. After earning a bachelor's in agriculture in 1949 from Pennsylvania State University, he lived in Israel for a year before going to work as a chemist for Rohm & Haas Co. in Philadelphia for five years.

In 1957, Mr. Weiser earned a law degree from Temple University, and worked as a patent lawyer for several large firms in Center City until he retired after a stroke in 1999.

A skier and scuba diver, Mr. Weiser had a special interest in underwater photography. In retirement, he stopped diving, but studied photography at Community College of Philadelphia. He was organizing a photo exhibit shortly before his death.

"Gery was 82 years old, but could run circles around some of the younger students," said Michael J. Joniec, photography instructor at CCP. "He told students about copyright and intellectual property laws and gave them a different point of view."

Mr. Weiser is survived by his wife of 26 years, Maria Leshner; sons Benjamin and Daniel; a daughter, Ellen; and his former wife, Norma Blum Weiser, to whom he was married from 1951 until 1981.  He is also survived by six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. April 13 at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, 300 S. 18th St. Donations may be sent to the American Heart Association, 15120 Collections Center Dr., Chicago, Ill. 60693.