Charles Sachs - Titanic Historian

Born in landlocked South Bend, Indiana three months before the landing at Normandy, Charles Ira Sachs went to grade school near the shoreline of the St. Joseph River. He grew up in the summers in the fresh waters of Lake Michigan - both were a long way from the salty North Atlantic Ocean, a place that would become a major part of his future life.

His interest in ocean liner history started in the sixth grade when he discovered a book, printed in 1912, about the loss of the most famous ship since the Ark... the TITANIC. This fascination developed in the eighth grade when, in an English class, he wrote, designed and built the set, and played a captain in a skit. The theme ... "The Greatest Moment in History," his choice was the sinking of the TITANIC. The skit won as the best in the class. A career was beginning. The telling of the TITANIC tales continued in high school, told each semester as an annual oral book report. In his senior year the teacher forced him to read another book. His choice, "Who Destroyed the Hindenberg," which also received an A.

At Indiana University, while studying radio and television, he produced a film about the lost liner that received the highest grade in the class' history. This film helped him get assigned to the Air Force motion picture service in San Bemardio, California where he produced films and took documentary still photography around the world.

After his active tour, Charles moved to Studio City and continued his maritime research. This landed him as consultant on the 45 million dollar feature film "Raise the Titanic." In 1985 film fantasy turned into reality when he helped with research for the expedition that found the TITANIC. In 1987 he was historian for the joint French and American expedition that raised over 1800 relics from the wreck laying 13,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean. In 1991 he joined the Russian, Canadian and American expedition aboard world's largest research vessel, the KELDYSH. The goal was to film the wreck in the giant film process IMAX using the two minisubs called "MIRS" that the Russians operated. The center port of the subs were large enough for the giant IMAX camera. The result was the first IMAX feature length film "Titanica" in which Sachs is a major character. "Titanica" is the biggest hit in IMAX history which Siskel and Ebert gave "Two Thumbs Up!"

In the NBC mini-series "No Greater Love" Charles played a Titanic First Class passenger and was saved. During this period living in the Los Angeles area, Charles rounded the non-profit Oceanic Navigation Research Society, which studies the history of ocean liner travel.

He is editor of the society journal SHIP TO SHORE. He has written articles about maritime history for a wide range of international publications. Pictures from his collections have appeared in National Geographic, Figero, L 'Express, Art and Antiques, Americana, Sea Classics International, Compass and others.

As a maritime historian he has lectured on over 70 cruises about ocean liner history. His collection of over 13,000 liner postcards, thousands of engravings and photographs plus various collectibles brings the history of ocean liner travel alive. His collections, valued at over a million dollars, has taken him on voyages around the world. It is a long way from South Bend, Indiana.

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