THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE CAMERA

[allaboutlana]

Another new thread: Similar to the thread where we listed directors etc. alphabetically, but this is more active and hopefully more interesting. This encompasses all people who put their work, time, patience and blood, sweat and tears into getting the cameras rolling: writers, cinematographers, editors, directors, co-directors, special effects, costumes, sound dept. etc. It can be a quick piece of trivia or something like the Do You Know Me? thread; anything that lets those playing learn about the people behind the camera, who they were, what they did best and how it contributed to film:

 

As a boy, his childhood dream was that he wanted to be a boxer. But when he became disinterested in it in his teens, he moved to L.A. and was an assistant to a photographer and was promptly fired when he was caught making passport photos for a friend. He had to be a busboy at a hotel to make ends meet and went to the movies on Sundays. Through an acquaintance with a cameraman, he was encouraged to work in the movies. One of his first jobs was picking up the nitrate from the cutting room floor of the editor?s room. When DeMille needed a bird to act like it was singing, our young man put chewing gum in its beak, which made it look like it was singing, when it was only trying to dislodge the gum. He received a 50% raise, and was given the title of ?Fourth Assistant Cameraman.? When a famous actress at the time asked if he could get her pale blue eyes to show up on the screen, he said he could and she made him her personal cameraman. Through trial and error, he accomplished it and was soon in demand as a top cinematographer. Also having been a director of photography, he would become respected as an innovative cameraman, using techniques to draw the viewer into the boxing ring and in the bullfighting arena. For one of his favorite assignments, his study were the Pennsylvania coal fields. He was famous for using the movie?s landscape to his advantage in creating mood, especially in black and white. A stand out of his work is a movie about a guy who's a jerk of whom no one likes. A two-time Oscar winner for cinematography, he was too ill to work on The Godfather, but he remains the best in his field and was a man who could master all he put his mind to.

 

Do you know him?

 

Edited by: allaboutlana on Feb 21, 2011 2:52 PM

[Leanox]

James Wong Howe

[allaboutlana]

Yes, it is James Wong Howe. Your turn, and you don?t have to be as elaborate as I was. Just share some trivia about those behind the camera, with us guessing who. And, thanks for playing!

[Leanox]

I posted this on another thread, without any reply:

 

Cinematographer who invented a light with the aim of reducing blemishes and wrinkles on the subject.

[cujas]

I replied Ted Tetzlaff on the other thread.

[Leanox]

Not Tetzlaff.

This cinematographer named a compact spotlight after his wife.

[lavenderblue19]

Lucien Ballard ?- Named the "obbie"- for Merle Oberon his wife. Good question, btw.

[Leanox]

Correct!

 

Your turn lav.

[lavenderblue19]

Thanks.

 

Joan Crawford discovered this talented man while he was working in NY. He followed her back to Hollywood and MGM where he worked for over 40 years. He was a trusted confidant to many stars and changed and enhanced the images of many stars. He is considered the greatest in his field. Can you name this talented,loved and respected man?

 

Edited by: lavenderblue19 on Feb 26, 2011 10:21 AM

[Leanox]

George Hurrell ?

[lavenderblue19]

Sorry, no. Good guess, though. He worked his magic on the stars before they were in front of any camera.

[MilesArcher]

Would that be hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff? He is credited with turning Lucille Ball into a redhead and giving Claudette Colbert her bangs.

[lavenderblue19]

Hey Miles- where have you been? - You are Correct. Sydney Guilaroff, considered to be the greatest of all hairstylists. He also gave Dorothy her pig tails, and Grace Kelly had him do her hair for her wedding to the Prince. Great work, your thread, and hope you're back more often.

[MilesArcher]

Thanks, Lavender. I've had some computer troubles and ended up getting a new modem, but I'm back now. Now, do you know about this man, who also made the stars look good? Jack came to America in the 1920's with the goal of becoming an actor in New York. That was a struggle, but he had some artistic talent, and to make ends meet, he worked painting murals on backdrop scenery and helping with costume designs. He became friends and roommates with another young performer named Cary Grant. Cary, who needed money too, got a job as a stilt walker at Coney Island, Jack made his costume. He became well known in the theater business and in the early thirties he followed Cary to Hollywood and worked for many years as a costume designer for several studios, but primarily for one. Jack was not his real name, but he did use his real name in movie credits, with one slight change. Do you know him?

[cujas]

I sure do--and I love his "little" hats--Travis Banton.

 

Oh, the studio was Paramount.

 

Edited by: cujas on Feb 28, 2011 2:24 PM

[Leanox]

Cujas, is there a clue available?

[MilesArcher]

Sorry, cujas, Travis Banton is incorrect, although he and Jack were contemporaries and were both alcoholics. Travis Banton was an American. Jack came from Australia. His father was a tailor and he taught Jack how to make clothes. Jack's father was born on the Isle Of Man, and Jack's real first name was the same as a king of Man. Although Jack worked for a lot of studios, he is probably most closely associated with Warner Bros. Ok, now do you know Jack?

[lavenderblue19]

Loved his costumes- 3X Oscar winner Orry-Kelly ?

[MilesArcher]

Yes, His real name was Orry George Kelly. He used a heifen in his screen credits as Orry-Kelly. Jack was just a childhood nickname that stayed with him to adulthood. Since he was a gay man and had roomed with Cary Grant, rumors circulated that Cary might also be gay. As the late Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story". Your turn, lavender.

[lavenderblue19]

Thanks, Miles. Yeah, Randolph Scott too. We'll never really know for sure, but Cary and Tyrone could still have any woman they wanted and probably did.

 

 

His beginnings were very humble, born into a poor Jewish Russian-Polish family. When he went to Hollywood he made his mark. He gave an actress at the time her pucker. A genius, who definitely improved the look of Hollywood. He was given an Honorary Oscar. Too bad that decades later, a relative would "smear" his name. Can you name this icon?

[MilesArcher]

Could it be Max Factor?

[lavenderblue19]

Yes, Max Factor. He changed the complexion of Hollywood. ( sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun). He gave Clara Bow that plucker. He worked on all the stars at that time. Invented foundation to tone down Valentino's skin. What an empire a poor Jewish boy built! Great work Miles, back to you.

[MilesArcher]

Thanks. Remember what Archie Bunker said about baseball's Jackie Robinson, "He changed the whole complexion of the game". There was another make-up artist who actually played himself in a movie. Ironically, there was a song in the movie with the line "If you want to be an actor, see Mister Factor. He'll make your kisser look good". Can you name this make-up artist and the movie he was in, as well as the song that I just referred to?

[Leanox]

"Hooray for Hollywood," lyrics by Johnny Mercer, from *Hollywood Hotel* (1937).

Perc Westmore, of the famous Westmore family, portrayed himself.

 

Edited by: Leanox on Mar 3, 2011 6:35 PM

[MilesArcher]

Correct, Leanox. In the movie, he had to make waitress Rosemary Lane look like movie star Lola Lane. It wasn't much of a stretch, because they were real life sisters who looked quite a bit alike. Your turn now, Leanox.