Leonard Smith (April 19, 1894 – October 20, 1947) was a cinematographer
Oscars: 19th Ceremony Winners. who had over 70 film credits from a career that spanned from 1915 to 1946.

Life and career

Smith was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1894. His started as a cinematographer came on the now lost 1915

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

The Battle Cry of Peace ''The Battle Cry of Peace'' is a 1915 American silent War film directed by Wilfrid North and J. Stuart Blackton, one of the founders of Vitagraph Company of America who also wrote the scenario. The film is based on the book ''Defenseless Ameri ...

,'' and went on to have over 73 credits. Smith also occasionally worked in the camera and electrical department. Smith's first Academy Award for Best Cinematography (color) nomination came in 1942, for his work on ''

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

,'' sharing the nomination with William V. Skall. In 1944, he was nominated for ''

Lassie Come Home ''Lassie Come Home'' is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor feature film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was dire ...

.
Oscars: 16th Ceremony Winners'' Smith was again nominated in 1946 for '' National Velvet (film), National Velvet,'' and in 1947, shortly before his death, he received his sole win, for ''

The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was the best-selling n ...

.'' He shared the award with Arthur Arling and

Charles Rosher Charles G. Rosher, A.S.C. (17 November 1885 – 15 January 1974) was an English-born cinematographer who worked from the early days of silent films through the 1950s. He was Mary Pickford's favourite cinematographer and a personal friend, shoo ...

. All of Smith's nominations and wins were in the Color category. Smith served as president of 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 ...

from 1941 until his death on October 20, 1947, at the age of 53.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Leonard 1894 births 1947 deaths American cinematographers Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners