Cecil E. Rhode (July 7, 1902 – December 3, 1979) was an American wildlife photographer, film producer and journalist known for his work about wildlife in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, particularly in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

''. Active professionally from 1933 until his death, Rhode was best known for bringing wide exposure to the public about the wilds of Alaska. While Rhode's primary income was from film and photography, he also made a significant portion of his living from panning for gold and from selling crabs and other game. Rhode was the older brother of Leo Franklin Rhode (1908–2002), who came to Alaska with Cecil in 1933 and also settled on the Kenai Peninsula. Leo Rhode served as a business, civic and political leader in

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

for many decades. In 1952, Rhode visited the McNeil River and recognized its ecological importance. He visited again in 1954, gathering photographs that led to his August 1954 feature article ''When Giant Bears Go Fishing'' in ''National Geographic'' as well as the September 1955 ''Outdoor Life'' ''I lived with the Bears''. While Rhode published a trove of pictures and descriptions for these and other publications, he refused to disclose the specific location in print. For the next year he lobbied for the McNeil River to be set aside as a protected reserve, which was accomplished in 1955. The mountain overlooking his Cooper Landing home of 42 years was named

Cecil Rhode Mountain Cecil Rhode Mountain is a mountain summit located in the Kenai Mountains, on the Kenai Peninsula in the state of Alaska. The mountain is situated in Chugach National Forest, south of Anchorage, and south of Cooper Landing, Alaska. This peak is ...

in 1981. His colored movies were described by the National Park Service as the "finest and most authentic game pictures ever filmed in Alaska". He also filmed the documentary ''Great Bear Trout'' in the Great Bear Lake, which featured his catch of a 62 pound trout. Among his films were ''Alaska Afield'', ''Great Bear Trout'', ''Alaskan Angling'', and ''Alaskan Game Trails''.

References

1902 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male journalists Journalists from North Dakota National Geographic Society People from Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska People from Renville County, North Dakota Photographers from Alaska Photographers from North Dakota Writers from Alaska Writers from North Dakota {{Alaska-bio-stub