Arthur J. Ornitz (November 28, 1916 – July 10, 1985) was an American cinematographer.

Early life

Ornitz was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of Sadie (née Lesser) and screenwriter

Samuel Ornitz Samuel Badisch Ornitz (November 15, 1890 – March 10, 1957) was an American screenwriter and novelist from New York City; he was one of the "Hollywood Ten"Obituary '' Variety'', March 13, 1957, page 63. who were blacklisted from the 1950s on by ...

, the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...

blacklistee. He had a brother, Don, who was a photographer. Ornitz studied film at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Career

Ornitz made his directing debut with short film '' Wanted – A Master'' (1936), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (One-Reel). Among other films, he shot films such as '' The Connection'' (1961), ''

A Thousand Clowns ''A Thousand Clowns'' is a 1965 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe and starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, and Barry Gordon. The script was adapted by Herb Gardner from his 1962 play of the same name. The fi ...

'' (1965), ''

Charly Charly may refer to: People * Charly (name) Places * Charly-sur-Marne, in the Aisne department * Charly, Cher, in the Cher department * Charly, Rhône, in the Rhône department * Charly-Oradour, in the Moselle department Other * Operation ...

'' (1968), '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970), ''

The Anderson Tapes ''The Anderson Tapes'' is a 1971 American crime film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Sean Connery and featuring Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, Ralph Meeker, Garrett Morris, Margaret Hamilton, and Alan King. The screenplay by Frank Pie ...

'', '' Minnie and Moskowitz'' (both 1971), ''

Serpico ''Serpico'' is a 1973 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book written by Peter Maas, with the assistan ...

'' (1973), '' Death Wish'' (1974), ''

Next Stop, Greenwich Village ''Next Stop, Greenwich Village'' is a 1976 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky, featuring Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, and Christopher Walken. Plot The film takes place in 1953. Larry ...

'' (1976), ''

An Unmarried Woman ''An Unmarried Woman'' is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, and Cliff Gorman. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Pi ...

'' (1978), and '' Hanky Panky'' (1982).

Death

Ornitz died of cancer at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York, on July 10, 1985. He was survived by his mother, his wife and a son. Ornitz's son, Kim H. Ornitz, is a sound mixer.

References

External links

* 1916 births 1985 deaths American cinematographers Deaths from cancer in New York (state) People from Manhattan Mass media people from New York City {{US-cinematographer-stub 20th-century American Jews