Australian film industry veteran Geoff Jackson, whose career has spanned 52 years, will retire on July 1, 2000.

The announcement came from 20th Century Fox International yesterday that Jackson, who is currently regional print manager at Fox Asia/Pacific, would call it a day.

He started his career in 1948 as an office junior and dispatch clerk at British Empire Films, the former distribution arm of Greater Union Organization. In 1953 he was promoted to customs manager responsible for all imports, censorship and related matters. In 1957 he was promoted to contracts controller and by the early 1960s was print controller, a position he held for 20 years.

Jackson moved to Hoyts in 1981 as national print controller, a position he retained when Hoyts teamed with Fox Columbia TriStar in 1989 to form Hoyts Fox Columbia TriStar. When Fox and Columbia split in 1996, Jackson remained with Fox as print manager for the Asia/Pacific region.