John F. Seitz
Camera
🎂 1892-06-23
John Francis Seitz, A.S.C. (June 23, 1892 – February 27, 1979) was an American cinematographer and inventor. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Seitz's Hollywood career began in 1909 as a lab assistant with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Chicago. He went to work as a lab technician for the American Film Manufacturing Company (known as "Flying A"), also in Chicago. In 1916, during the silent era, he established himself, achieving great successes with the Rudolph Valentino film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Highly regarded by director Billy Wilder, Seitz worked with him on the film noirs Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), and Sunset Blvd. (1950), receiving Academy Award nominations for each. In 1929, he served a year as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (A.S.C.) for which he had been a member since 1923. The A.S.C. named its 2002 Heritage Award after Seitz. Besides one Golden Globe and seven Oscar nominations, he also received the Look Magazine Award for The Lost Weekend, the A.S.C. Award for Sunset Blvd., and was among the winners of the inaugural George Award from the George Eastman House for outstanding contributions to the art of cinema for the years 1915 to 1925. He retired in 1960 and devoted himself to photographic inventions, for which he held 18 patents. An example of one Seitz invention is the matte shot: a large painting is photographed separately and later added to a scene to expand it, add effects, and/or create a sense of depth in backgrounds. He was also noted for his innovations with low-key lighting, which enhanced the film noir style. A widower, he married screenwriter Marie Boyle in 1934 who raised his daughter Margaret Alice Marhoefer and later gave birth to a son, John Lawrence Seitz.
Camera (155)
Director of Photography
1933
Director of Photography
1950
Director of Photography
1944
Director of Photography
1923
Director of Photography
1945
Director of Photography
1921
Director of Photography
1948
Director of Photography
1940
Additional Photography
1951
Director of Photography
1951
Director of Photography
1942
Director of Photography
1953
Director of Photography
1941
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1949
Director of Photography
1944
Director of Photography
1948
Director of Photography
1959
Director of Photography
1952
Director of Photography
1954
Director of Photography
1942
Director of Photography
1952
Director of Photography
1958
Director of Photography
1950
Director of Photography
1944
Director of Photography
1955
Director of Photography
1959
Director of Photography
1954
Director of Photography
1943
Director of Photography
1948
Director of Photography
1957
Director of Photography
1958
Director of Photography
1956
Director of Photography
1946
Director of Photography
1938
Director of Photography
1944
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1955
Director of Photography
1952
Director of Photography
1960
Director of Photography
1928
Director of Photography
1938
Director of Photography
1936
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1940
Director of Photography
1953
Director of Photography
1934
Director of Photography
1928
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1950
Director of Photography
1952
Director of Photography
1946
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1956
Director of Photography
1937
Director of Photography
1934
Director of Photography
1936
Director of Photography
1945
Director of Photography
1942
Director of Photography
1928
Director of Photography
1947
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1953
Director of Photography
1922
Director of Photography
1921
Director of Photography
1936
Director of Photography
1937
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1938
Director of Photography
1951
Director of Photography
1947
Director of Photography
1955
Director of Photography
1948
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1933
Director of Photography
1932
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1937
Director of Photography
1942
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1932
Director of Photography
1946
Director of Photography
1927
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1926
Director of Photography
1917
Director of Photography
1944
Director of Photography
1940
Director of Photography
1946
Director of Photography
1932
Director of Photography
1935
Director of Photography
1921
Director of Photography
1938
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1932
Director of Photography
1924
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1928
Director of Photography
1954
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1936
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1928
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1920
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1950
Director of Photography
1933
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1938
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1934
Director of Photography
1933
Director of Photography
1926
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1933
Director of Photography
1917
Director of Photography
1917
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1949
Director of Photography
1924
Director of Photography
1918
Director of Photography
1931
Director of Photography
1918
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1934
Director of Photography
1928
Director of Photography
1932
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1929
Director of Photography
1937
Director of Photography
1939
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1923
Director of Photography
1920
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1930
Director of Photography
1917
Director of Photography
1922
Director of Photography
1916
Director of Photography
1919
Director of Photography
1917
Director of Photography
1922
Director of Photography
1916
Director of Photography
1924
Director of Photography
1918
Director of Photography
1917
Director of Photography
1920
