Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he teamed with producer George Pal.

Career

Haskin was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, where his father was employed as a schoolteacher. Both Haskins' mother and father were natives of California. Haskin was raised primarily in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Byron served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He graduated from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. He went out to Hollywood in 1917 and became the apprentice of cameraman H. Lyman Broening. He was hired as the cinematographer in 1922 for ''

Hurricane's Gal ''Hurricane's Gal'' is a 1922 American silent film, silent adventure film produced, written and directed by Allen Holubar and starring his wife Dorothy Phillips. It was distributed through Associated First National Pictures. Plot Cast *Doroth ...

''. In his early career, he was also a special effects artist, with a number of credits on Warner Bros. films, eventually becoming the head of the studio's special effects department (1937–1945). During his tenure there, he earned four Oscar nominations for his effects work, all shared with Nathan Levinson: * '' The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' (1939) * '' The Sea Hawk'' (1940) * '' The Sea Wolf'' (1941) * '' Desperate Journey'' (1942) In 1938, he and the Warner Bros. special effects department were awarded a Academy Award for Technical Achievement for developing a rear-projection system useful in effects photography. In the late 1940s, he returned to directing, having directed four films in 1927. He helmed two film-noir thrillers: '' I Walk Alone'' (1947), starring Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott and Kirk Douglas, and '' Too Late for Tears'' (1949), starring Lizabeth Scott. Hal B. Wallis had previously sent the then-unknown Lancaster to audition for Haskin; this led to him being signed by Wallis and cast as the male lead in '' The Killers'' (1946), the role which made him a star. Amongst Haskin's other prominent films as director was '' Treasure Island'' (1950), one of Walt Disney's earliest live-action features. Following ''The War of the Worlds'', he continued his collaboration with George Pal with ''

The Naked Jungle ''The Naked Jungle'' is a 1954 American adventure film directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker. Telling the story of an attack of army ants on a Brazilian cocoa plantation, it was based on the 1937 short st ...

'' (1954), '' Conquest of Space'' (1955), and '' The Power'' (1968). His other significant film is the science fiction adventure '' Robinson Crusoe on Mars'' (1964). Haskin also worked as a cinematographer and producer, as well as an occasional visual effects artist, notably doing the animation of photos of ships patterned after the Martian ships in ''War of the Worlds'' for his later film ''Robinson Crusoe on Mars''. While not science-fiction, but important for the special effects, he directed the treasure-hunt thriller '' September Storm'', one of the only films produced in Stereo-Vision, a short-lived process which combined widescreen, similar to CinemaScope or Panavision, and 3D, one of the first to do so with underwater sequences. His career in television included directing six episodes of '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–65), including the episodes " The Architects of Fear" (1963) and " Demon with a Glass Hand" (1964). He also co-produced the original ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' pilot episode, " The Cage" (1965). He retired in 1968. Haskin appeared as an interviewee in a documentary series '' Hollywood'' (1980), about the silent film era, which was co-produced by

Kevin Brownlow Kevin Brownlow (born Robert Kevin Brownlow; 2 June 1938) is a British film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor. He is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era, having become inter ...

. Haskin died of lung cancer in Montecito, California, six days before his 85th birthday.

Personal life

Haskin was married twice. He was survived by his second wife, the former Terry Gates; and a daughter from his first marriage, Shirley Flynn. His daughter married actor Joe Flynn.

Selected filmography

Cinematographer

Director

:''Complete listing.''

Special effects

References

Sources

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haskin, Byron 1899 births 1984 deaths Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners American cinematographers American television directors Artists from Portland, Oregon Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery Deaths from lung cancer in California Film directors from Oregon Filmmakers from Portland, Oregon Film producers from Oregon Hugo Award winners Military personnel from Oregon Military personnel from Portland, Oregon American science fiction film directors American special effects people United States Navy personnel of World War I