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Joseph Francis Biroc, ASC (February 12, 1903 – September 7, 1996) was an American cinematographer. He was born in New York City and began working in films at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. After working there for approximately six years, he moved to Los Angeles. Once in Southern California, Biroc worked at the RKO Pictures movie studio. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and filmed the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. In 1950, Biroc left RKO Pictures and freelanced on projects at various studios. In addition to his film work, which included It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), Biroc worked on various television series, including the Adventures of Superman and Wonder Woman. He frequently collaborated with film director Robert Aldrich.
Joseph Biroc | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Francis Biroc February 12, 1903 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 7, 1996 (aged 93) |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Years active | 1927–1989 |
Biroc won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for The Towering Inferno (1974), which he shared with Fred J. Koenekamp, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, one for the TV movie Brian's Song and one for the series Casablanca.[citation needed]
Early life
editJoseph Francis Biroc was born on February 12, 1903, in New York City, New York.[1] He developed a passion about film in his childhood.[2] He saw his "first movie in 1910 on a vacant lot five blocks from his home" and knew from then he wanted to spend the rest of his life making movies.[3]
Career
editAt the age of fifteen, with his uncle's help, Biroc began his career in film as a film lab technician with Paragon Labs in Fort Lee, New Jersey in 1918. The apprenticeship marked the beginning of a series of jobs at numerous laboratories for Biroc – which was then a required step for aspiring cinematographers.[4]
Two years later, he started working at Craftsman Labs in New York from 1920 to 1923 and shortly for Goldwyn Pictures in Culver City, California in 1923. After his time at Goldwyn Pictures, Biroc returned to New York and took a job as film printer for Famous Players–Lasky, where he was shortly after promoted to assistant cameraman. After Famous Players–Lasky shut down in 1927, Biroc moved to Los Angeles to work for United Artists prior to moving to RKO to work as a camera operator. Biroc started at RKO by serving as assistant to cinematographers Leo Tover, Robert De Grasse, and Edward Cronjager. During his time at RKO, Biroc worked on Cimarron (1931), Swing Time (1936), and Shall We Dance (1937). He also worked on A Woman Rebels (1936), Sylvia Scarlett (1935), and Five Came Back (1939)[2] (among others), but received no screen credit as RKO hardly credited camera operators. His last work before World War II was for Bombardier (1943).
In 1943, Biroc began his career as a motion picture cameraman in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Two years later, he filmed the brutalities at the Dachau concentration camp in Germany while serving as captain of the sixth detachment alongside George Stevens's Special Motion Picture Coverage Unit. The end of the war marked a significant period in Biroc's life as he achieved the rank of captain and eventually, the rank of major. He also obtained his first credit as cinematographer for It's A Wonderful Life (1946). Following this, Biroc “served as cinematographer for the first 3-D American feature length film in color” titled Bwana Devil (1952).
In 1952, Biroc began his association with producer-director Robert Aldrich, starting with shooting an episode of The Doctor and moving onto films such as Attack (1956), World for Ransom (1954), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte for which Biroc received his first Oscar nomination, The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), and The Longest Yard (1974). Biroc also “shot film for network television early on, such as musical shorts featuring Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, and Louis Armstrong"[2] – a feat considered rare for cameramen during the time period. During the majority of the 1950s, Biroc focused on television – both black and white and color. Biroc concluded his career in the 1970s and 1980s with work on television movies, specials, and miniseries.[citation needed]
Legacy
editIt's A Wonderful Life (1946)
editBiroc worked alongside four-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Joseph Walker in filming It's A Wonderful Life (1946) and achieved his first on-screen credit for his contribution.[2]
Bwana Devil (1952)
editBiroc was the cinematographer for the first feature-length 3-D color film in history, Bwana Devil (1952). He writes in an article for the American Cinematographer, “while other 3-D systems have employed dual cameras, none have pursued the theory that the 3-D cameras should see and record the scene exactly as the human eyes see it.” (336, August 1952). He goes on to explain how Natural Vision, the corporation he worked with, provided a different experience with 3-D pictures as it induced no eye strain.[5]
Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)
editBiroc wrote an article for American Cinematographer where he explained the process behind filming the series Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977). In the article he mentions how the producers of the movie wanted the sets to look like actual locations, so each set had to have a big ceiling on it. He also mentions how he achieved a widespread shot for a scene – “we used a hospital chair as a dolly…we put a board across the handles of the wheelchair and the camera operator sat on the board.”[6]
Hammett (1982)
editBiroc worked with director Wim Wenders and producers Fred Roos, Ronald Colby, and Don Guest to achieve a classic lighting look for Hammett (1982). He stated in an interview with Richard Patterson for American Cinematographer, “Actually the way I photograph is the way they photographed 40, 50, 60, 80 years ago. It's just basic lighting and basic photography.”[7]
Personal life
editBiroc “was survived by one sister, Agnes Kronmeyer [who passed away in 2017] of Cranford, NJ, and four grandchildren.”[3]
Filmography
editFilm
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Dick Tracy | 5 episodes |
| 1952 | China Smith | Episode: "Straight Settlement" |
| Four Star Playhouse | Episode: "The Officer and the Lady" | |
| 1953 | I'm the Law | 14 episodes |
| 1954 | The Mickey Rooney Show | 5 episodes |
| Dear Phoebe | Episode: "The Christmas Show" | |
| The Lone Wolf | 3 episodes | |
| Police Call | Episode: "Montreal" | |
| 1954-55 | Treasury Men in Action | 12 episodes |
| 1955 | The Man Behind the Badge | Episode: "The Case of the Hunted Hobo" |
| My Friend Flicka | Episode: "The Stranger" | |
| Screen Directors Playhouse | Episode: "The Final Tribute" | |
| 1955-56 | TV Reader's Digest | 3 episodes |
| 1956 | General Electric Summer Originals | Episode: "It's Sunny Again" |
| 1956-58 | Adventures of Superman | 26 episodes |
| 1957 | General Electric Theater | Episode: "Mr. Kensington's Finest Hour" |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Episode: "Silent Witness" | |
| 1957-58 | Playhouse 90 | 3 episodes |
| 1958 | The Thin Man | Episode: "Unlucky Lucky Numbers" |
| Hey, Jeannie! | Episode: "The Landlord" | |
| Alcoa Theatre | 2 episodes | |
| 1959 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Episode: "Checkmate" |
| Richard Diamond, Private Detective | 4 episodes | |
| The David Niven Show | Episode: "The Twist of the Key" | |
| The Detectives | Episode: "The Streger Affair" | |
| 1959-60 | Hotel de Paree | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Episode: "Escape" |
| Goodyear Theatre | Episode: "Author at Work" | |
| 1960-61 | Checkmate | 3 episodes |
| 1962-63 | Empire | 4 episodes |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Episode: "The Vulcan Affair" |
| 1972 | Ghost Story | Episode: "The New House" |
| 1976 | The Moneychangers | Miniseries
Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1977 | Washington: Behind Closed Doors | |
| 1978 | Little Women | |
| 1980 | Scruples | Miniseries |
| 1983 | Casablanca | 5 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series |
| 1985 | A Death in California | Miniseries
Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie |
| Hell Town | Episode: "Father of Hell Town" |
Television films
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Cavalry Patrol | Failed pilot |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Superpup | |
| 1971 | Brian's Song | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1972 | Gidget Gets Married | |
| Playmates | ||
| The Crooked Hearts | ||
| 1974 | Wonder Woman | Failed pilot |
| Honky Tonk | ||
| Thursday's Game | ||
| 1977 | SST: Death Flight | |
| 1978 | A Family Upside Down | Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie |
| The Clone Master | ||
| 1980 | Kenny Rogers as The Gambler | |
| 1982 | Desperate Lives | |
| 1984 | The Jerk, Too | |
| 1986 | Outrage! | |
| A Winner Never Quits | ||
| 1987 | Time Out for Dad |
Refs:[1]
Awards and nominations
edit- Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black & White) nomination (1964; b&w) for Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
- Emmy Award (1972) for Brian's Song
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography - ABC Movie of the Week (1972)[8]
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography won (1974; shared) for The Towering Inferno
- Emmy Award nomination (1977) for The Moneychangers [Part 1]
- Emmy Award nomination (1978) for Washington: Behind Closed Doors [Part 1] & A Family Upside Down
- Emmy Award nomination (1979) for Little Women [Part 2]
- Emmy Award nomination (1980) for Kenny Rogers as the Gambler
- Emmy Award (1983) for Casablanca [episode The Master Builder's Woman]
- Emmy Award nomination (1985) for A Death in California
- ASC Lifetime Achievement Award (1988)[9]
Bibliography and further reading
edit- "Hollywood Launches 3-D Production," in American Cinematographer(Hollywood), August 1952.
- "Photographing Washington: Behind Closed Doors," in American Cinematographer(Hollywood), November 1977.
- American Cinematographer(Hollywood), July 1981.
- Focus on Film(London), no. 13, 1973.
- Patterson, R., on Hammettin American Cinematographer(Hollywood), November 1982.
- Basinger, Jeanine, in TheIt's a Wonderful Life Book, 1987.
- American Cinematographer(Hollywood), March 1989.
- Obituary, in American Cinematographer(Hollywood), November 1996.
- Obituary, in Cinefantastique(Forest Park), vol. 28, no. 6, 1996.
References
edit- ^ a b "JOSEPH F. BIROC". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ^ a b c d "Special Collections". Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ^ a b "In Memoriam: Joseph Biroc". American Cinematographer: 112. 1996.
- ^ "Joseph F. Biroc, ASC (1903-1996)". www.afcinema.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ^ "Hollywood Launches 3-D Film Production". American Cinematographer: 336–340. 1952.
- ^ "Photographing Washington: Behind Closed Doors". American Cinematographer. 1977.
- ^ "Classic Lighting for Hammett". American Cinematographer: 1168–1169. 1982.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ "Index to Motion Picture Credits - Joseph Biroc". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
External links
edit- Joseph Biroc at the Internet Movie Database
- Joseph Biroc papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- Biography/film work