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.

Career

His Hollywood career began in 1909 as a lab assistant with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Chicago. He worked as a lab technician for the American Film Manufacturing Company (known as Flying A), also in Chicago.

Seitz got his first chance to establish himself as lead cameraman in 1916, and he achieved great success with the director Rex Ingram, most famously on the Rudolph Valentino film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921).

Highly regarded by director Billy Wilder, Seitz worked with him on the films noir Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), and Sunset Boulevard (1950), receiving Academy Award nominations for each.

During his career, he received seven nominations for Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In 1929, he served as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (A.S.C.) for one year, and he had been a member since 1923. The A.S.C. named the 2002 Heritage Award after Seitz.

Accolades

  • Look Magazine Award: Cinematography The Lost Weekend; 1946
  • ASC Monthly Film Award: Sunset Blvd.; August 1950
  • George Eastman House Medal of Honor: (Outstanding Contribution to the Art of Motion Pictures 1915–1925); 1955

Nominations

  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, The Divine Lady; 1930. Note: No official nominees had been announced this year.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Cinematography, Black-and-White, Five Graves to Cairo; 1944.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Double Indemnity; 1945.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, The Lost Weekend; 1946.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Sunset Blvd.; 1951.
  • Golden Globes: Golden Globe Award, Best Cinematography, Black and White, Sunset Blvd.; 1951.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Color; When Worlds Collide, shared with: W. Howard Greene; 1952.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Rogue Cop; 1955.

References

  • John F. Seitz at Film Reference
  • John F. Seitz short film clips of his cinematography work at YouTube