Charles Bryant Lang Jr., A.S.C. (March 27, 1902 – April 3, 1998)''In Memoriam''
from the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

website was an American cinematographer.

Early life and career

Lang was born in Bluff, Utah, in 1902. His father, Charles B. Lang Sr., was a photographer and explorer of cliff ruins in Utah and the southwestern United States. Early in his career, he worked with the Akeley camera, a gyroscope-mounted "pancake" camera designed by Carl Akeley for outdoor action shots. Lang's first credits were as co-cinematographer on the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s ''The Night Patrol'' (1926) and ''The Loves of Ricardo'' (1927). After completing '' Tom Sawyer'' for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

in 1930, he continued working at the studio for more than twenty years. The style of lighting he introduced in ''

A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the a ...

'' became heavily identified with all of Paramount's films during the 1930s and 1940s, though he occasionally worked for other studios, for instance on ''

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ''The Ghost and Mrs. Muir'' is a 1947 American supernatural romantic fantasy film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and is based on a 1945 novel written by Josephine Leslie under the pseudonym ...

'' (1947). In 1951, he began the second phase of his career, this time as a free-lance cinematographer. His credits include '' The Big Heat'' (1953) with

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

and

Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and prematurely white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Although initially typecast as th ...

, '' Sabrina'' (1954) with

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

and

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

, '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957) with

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

and

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

, '' The Matchmaker'' (1958), ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

'' (1959) with

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

and

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

, ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...

'' (1960) with

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

, ''

One-Eyed Jacks ''One-Eyed Jacks'' is a 1961 American Western film directed by and starring Marlon Brando, his only directorial credit. Brando portrays the lead character Rio, and Karl Malden plays his partner, "Dad" Longworth. The supporting cast features Pin ...

'' (1961) with

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

, '' How the West Was Won'' (1962) in

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35 mm movie film, 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, Subtended angle, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked pr ...

, '' Charade'' (1963) with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

and

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

, ''

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker (screenwriter), Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, ...

'' (1969), and ''

Butterflies Are Free ''Butterflies Are Free'' is a 1972 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Milton Katselas from a screenplay by Leonard Gershe, based on Gershe's 1969 play. The film stars Goldie Hawn, Eileen Heckart, and Edward Albert. It follows ...

'' (1972). Lang received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

in 1991, for a career which included at least 114 feature films.

Personal life

Lang married Hylah Lang in 1925, and stayed married until her death in 1982. They had one child: Judy Lang, who became an actress. Judy's daughter, Katherine Kelly Lang is also an actress, best known for her role as Brooke Logan Forrester on the CBS soap opera ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

''.

Death

On April 3, 1998, Lang died at the age of 96, after suffering from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Academy Awards

Lang won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

the second time he was nominated, early in his career; he received a total of 18 nominations, tying with

Leon Shamroy Leon Shamroy, A.S.C. (July 16, 1901 – July 7, 1974) was an American film cinematographer known for his work in 20th Century Fox motion pictures shot in Technicolor. He and Charles Lang share the record for most Oscar nominations for Cinematog ...

for the most

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...

nominations.

Wins

* ''

'' (1932)

Nominations

Lang also received Oscar nominations for the following films: * '' The Right to Love'' (1930) * '' Arise, My Love'' (1940) * '' Sundown'' (1941) * '' So Proudly We Hail!'' (1943) * '' The Uninvited'' (1944) * ''

'' (1947) * ''

A Foreign Affair ''A Foreign Affair'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich and John Lund. The screenplay by Charles Brackett, Wilder and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by ...

'' (1948) * '' Sudden Fear'' (1952) * '' Sabrina'' (1954) * ''

Queen Bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are develope ...

'' (1955) * '' Separate Tables'' (1958) * ''

'' (1959) * '' The Facts of Life'' (1960) * ''

'' (1961) * '' How the West Was Won'' (1962)Nominated at the 36th Academy Awards in 1964 * ''

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1972)

References

External links

*
Charles Lang
at the Directory of Great Cinematographers (NL) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Charles 1902 births 1998 deaths American cinematographers Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners People from San Juan County, Utah Deaths from pneumonia in California