Biography

Bret started writing film reviews at the L.A. Daily News at 23. He later produced videos in American Sign Language to train interpreters for the deaf, perhaps the first sign language training videos.

Studied Cinematography at American Film Institute and eclectic film school Sherwood Oaks Experimental College. He worked his way through that school, being mentored on the way by filmmakers such as Martin Scorcese, Jack Lemmon, Paul Newman, Malcolm McDowell, D/P Matt Leonetti (Poltergeist) and others.

First industry post production editing was cutting actors' demos, commercials, etc. David Hasselhoff, Angus Scrim (Phantasm) Ned Romero (I Will Fight No More Forever) producer Al Ruddy (The Godfather).

Managed two post production companies, Aberdeen Video and Midtown Video, owned by Mel Stuart (Willy Wonka director), Jack Haley, Jr. and others. He preferred editing/shooting and spent two years cutting celebrity interviews with Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Donald Sutherland and others for Hollywood Stars on Showtime.

Later became Senior Video Editor at independent video distributor Image Entertainment. While there helped in the first surround sound for home video, working closely with Dolby and Lucasfilm THX. Edited special features (behind the scenes, making of and audio commentaries) for The Star Wars Trilogy, Toy Story, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and others.

While at Image started restoring classic films of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Citizen Kane, King Kong and came to specialize in film restoration for Image, Criterion Collection, Flicker Alley, Film Preservation Associates and others.

In February, 2016 Moana of the South Seas (AKA Moana with Sound) played at the Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles and film festivals worldwide. Bret had to match archival film to a prerecorded soundtrack, quite the opposite of normal editing.

Bret's most recent restorations are Blu-rays A Page of Madness and Early Women Filmmakers. Both were nominated for Best 2018 DVD at the Italian Film Festival Il Cinema Ritrovato.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bret Hampton

Son and nephew of former Disney animators George (Roy) and Bill Hampton, Bret grew up in an artistic family. His dad Roy was a prolific Western Artist, known for official portraits of John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Ben Johnson. Some of his work resides at the Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Olaf Wieghorst Museum. Bret's son Shane Ryan is an independent filmmaker and actor.

In his twenties, Bret worked with disabled children in special education and became a sign language interpreter and helped setup casting opportunities for deaf actors.

Father of actor and filmmaker Shane Ryan-Reid.