Charles G. Rosher, A.S.C. (17 November 1885 – 15 January 1974) was an English-born

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

who worked from the early days of

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 through the 1950s. He was

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

's favourite cinematographer and a personal friend, shooting all of the films in which she starred from 1918 to 1927, before they had a falling-out during production of '' Coquette'' (1929). He was the first cinematographer to receive an Academy Award, along with Karl Struss, for '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927), and won again for '' The Yearling'' (1946), with Leonard Smith and Arthur Arling. He was also nominated four times.

Biography

Charles Rosher was born in London in 1885. According to an interview of him in the documentary ''The Image Makers: The Adventures of America's Pioneer Cinematographers'', he was originally unhappily studying naval architecture, but enrolled in London Polytechnic's school of photography, photography being a hobby of his. He eventually became an assistant to Richard Speaight, the official photographer of the British royal family. After attending a conference in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

in 1908, he decided to stay in the United States, as the pay was much better and he did not have to wear a

morning coat A tailcoat is a knee-length coat characterised by a rear section of the skirt (known as the ''tails''), with the front of the skirt cut away. The tailcoat shares its historical origins in clothes cut for convenient horse-riding in the Early ...

. He became a

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...

cameraman. In 1910, he went to work for David Horsley in his

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

in New Jersey. Because early film was largely restricted to using daylight, Horsley relocated his production company to Hollywood in 1911, taking Rosher with him, and opened the first movie studio there. This made Rosher the first full-time

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

in Hollywood. In 1913, Rosher went to Mexico to shoot newsreel footage of

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

's rebellion. In January 1919, he was one of the 15 founders of the American Society of Cinematographers and served as the group's first vice-president. In the 1920s, he was one of the more sought-after cinematographers in Hollywood, and was a personal favourite of stars such as

, working with her, first on '' A Little Princess'' (1917), then on all the films she acted in from '' How Could You, Jean?'' (1918) to ''

My Best Girl ''My Best Girl'' is a 1927 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Sam Taylor starring Mary Pickford and Charles "Buddy" Rogers that was produced by Pickford. Rogers later married Pickford. Charles Rosher received an Academy Award ...

'' (1927). However, they had a falling out over the restrictions the sound department wanted to impose in shooting '' Coquette'' (1929), Pickford's first talking picture, and Karl Struss took over the cinematography. His work with Struss on F. W. Murnau's 1927 film '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' is viewed as a milestone in cinematography and won the pair the first Academy Award for cinematography in 1929. He shot five films for producer

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

, including '' Rockabye'' (1932), '' Our Betters'' (1933) and '' Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1936). Rosher worked at several studios, but spent the last 12 years of his career exclusively at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, shooting such films as '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'', '' Kiss Me Kate'', and '' The Yearling''. He was rumoured to have been Anna May Wong's lover when she was 20. Rosher is the father of actress Joan Marsh and cinematographer Charles Rosher Jr. (1935–2015), who filmed ''

3 Women ''3 Women'' is a 1977 American psychological drama film written, produced and directed by Robert Altman and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. Set in a dusty California desert town, it depicts the increasingly bizarre rela ...

'' (1977) and '' A Wedding'' (1978) for

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

, as well as '' Semi-Tough'' (1977), '' The Onion Field'' (1979) and ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

'' (1983).

Death

Rosher died of an accidental fall in Lisbon, Portugal, on 15 January 1974. He was 88 years old.

Awards

* 1929 – Oscar for Best Cinematography, with Karl Struss, for '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' * 1935 – Best Cinematography Oscar nomination for ''

The Affairs of Cellini ''The Affairs of Cellini'' is a 1934 American historical film, historical comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Frank Morgan, Constance Bennett, Fredric March, Fay Wray, and Louis Calhern. It is set in Florence. The film was adapte ...

'' * 1945 – Oscar nomination for '' Kismet'' * 1947 – Best Cinematography Oscar, with Leonard Smith and Arthur E. Arling, for ''The Yearling'' * 1951 – Oscar nomination for ''Annie Get Your Gun'' * 1952 – Oscar nomination for ''Show Boat'' * 1955 and 1957 – George Eastman Award, given by

George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...

for distinguished contribution to the art of film In addition, Rosher received ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan m ...

'' magazine's Gold Medal, and the only fellowship awarded by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers.

Filmography

:''* indicates a Pickford film.'' * ''The Indian Raiders'' (1912 short) * ''Early Days in the West'' (1912 short) * ''

Life of Villa ''Life of Villa'' is a 1912 silent film, silent war documentary set during the Mexican Revolution. Though some scenes are re-enacted after it happened, the movie is a real documentary on the struggle of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa to overt ...

'' (1912 documentary) * ''With Pancho Villa in Mexico'' (1913) * ''The Next in Command'' (1914) * ''The Oath of a Viking'' (1914 short) * ''The Mystery of the Poison Pool'' (1914) * ''Santo Icario'' (1914) * ''The Smuggler's Lass'' (1915 short) * ''The Mad Maid of the Forest'' (1915 short) * ''Gene of the Northland'' (1915 short) * '' The Voice in the Fog'' (1915) * '' Blackbirds'' (1915) * ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

'' (1916) * '' The Sowers'' (1916) * '' The Clown'' (1916) * '' Common Ground'' (1916) * '' Anton the Terrible'' (1916) * ''

The Heir to the Hoorah ''The Heir to the Hoorah'' is a surviving 1916 silent film produced by Jesse Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures. It was directed by William C. deMille. A print survives in the Library of Congress. Cast *Thomas Meighan - Joe Lacy *Ani ...

'' (1916) * '' The Plow Girl'' (1916) * '' On Record'' (1917) * '' A Mormon Maid'' (1917) * '' The Primrose Ring'' (1917) * '' At First Sight'' (1917) * '' Hashimura Togo'' (1917) * '' A Little Princess''* (1917), with Walter Stradling * '' The Secret Game'' (1917) * '' The Widow's Might'' (1918) * '' One More American'' (1918) * '' The Honor of His House'' (1918) * '' The White Man's Law'' (1918) * '' How Could You, Jean?''* (1918) * '' Johanna Enlists''* (1918) * '' Too Many Millions'' (1918) * '' The Dub'' (1919) * '' Captain Kidd, Jr.''* (1919) * '' Daddy-Long-Legs''* (1919) * '' The Hoodlum''* (1919) * ''

Heart o' the Hills ''Heart o' the Hills'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Joseph De Grasse and Sidney Franklin, written by Bernard McConville based on John Fox Jr.'s novel of the same name. Plot Jason Honeycutt ( Harold Goodwin) is a young bo ...

''* (1919) * '' Pollyanna''* (1920) * '' Suds''* (1920), with L. William O'Connell * '' The White Circle'' (1920), with Alfred Ortlieb * '' Dinty'' (1920), with David Kesson and Foster Leonard * '' The Love Light''* (1921) * '' Through the Back Door''* (1921) * '' Little Lord Fauntleroy''* (1921) * '' Smilin' Through'' (1922), with J. Roy Hunt * '' Tess of the Storm Country''* (1922) * ''Sant'Ilario'' (1923) * '' Rosita''* (1923) * '' Tiger Rose'' (1923) * '' Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall''* (1924) * '' Three Women'' (1924), with Charles Van Enger * '' Little Annie Rooney''* (1925), with Hal Mohr * '' Sparrows''* (1926), with Hal Mohr * '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (1927) * ''

''* (1927) * '' Tempest'' (1928) * '' Coquette''* (1929) (uncredited) * '' Eternal Love'' (1929), with Oliver T. Marsh * '' The Vagabond Queen'' (1929) * '' Atlantik'' (1929) * ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

'' (1929) * '' The Road Is Fine'' (1930) * '' Knowing Men'' (1930) * '' Two Worlds'' (1930) * '' Zwei Welten'' (1930), with

Mutz Greenbaum Mutz Greenbaum (3 February 1896 – 5 July 1968), sometimes credited as Max Greene or Max Greenbaum, was a German film cinematographer. He was the son of the pioneering film producer Jules Greenbaum who had founded Deutsche Bioscope. He began as ...

* '' The Price of Things'' (1930) * '' Atlantis'' (1930) * '' War Nurse'' (1930) * '' Paid'' (1930) * ''Les deux mondes'' (1930) * ''

Dance, Fools, Dance ''Dance, Fools, Dance'' is a 1931 pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama film starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Lester Vail in a story about a reporter investigating the murder of a colleague. Story and dialogue were created by Aurania Rou ...

'' (1931) * '' Laughing Sinners'' (1931) * '' This Modern Age'' (1931) * ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'' (1931) * '' The Beloved Bachelor'' (1931) * '' Husband's Holiday'' (1931) * '' What Price Hollywood?'' (1932) * '' Two Against the World'' (1932) * '' Flaming Gold'' (1932) * '' Rockabye'' (1932) * '' The Past of Mary Holmes'' (1933) * '' Our Betters'' (1933) * '' The Silver Cord'' (1933) * '' Bed of Roses'' (1933) * '' After Tonight'' (1933) * ''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...

'' (1934) * ''

'' (1934) * '' Outcast Lady'' (1934) * '' What Every Woman Knows'' (1934) * '' After Office Hours'' (1935) * '' Call of the Wild'' (1935) * '' Broadway Melody of 1936'' (1935) * '' Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1936) * '' Small Town Girl'' (1936), with Oliver T. Marsh * '' Men Are Not Gods'' (1936) * '' The Woman I Love'' (1937) * '' The Perfect Specimen'' (1937) * '' Hollywood Hotel'' (1937), with George Barnes * '' White Banners'' (1938) * '' Hard to Get'' (1938) * '' Off the Record'' (1939) * '' Yes, My Darling Daughter'' (1939) * '' Hell's Kitchen'' (1939) * '' Espionage Agent'' (1939) * '' A Child Is Born'' (1939) * '' Brother Rat and a Baby'' (1940) * '' Three Cheers for the Irish'' (1940) * '' My Love Came Back'' (1940) * '' Four Mothers'' (1941) * ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Paul Haggis. It is based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' (1941) * ''

One Foot in Heaven ''One Foot in Heaven'' is a 1941 American biographical drama film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser. The film was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobi ...

'' (1941) * '' Mokey'' (1942) * '' Pierre of the Plains'' (1942) * '' Stand By for Action'' (1942) * '' Assignment in Brittany'' (1943) * '' I Dood It'' (1943) (uncredited) * '' Swing Fever'' (1943) * '' Kismet'' (1944) * ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

'' (1945), with George Folsey and Ray June (uncredited) * ''

Yolanda and the Thief ''Yolanda and the Thief'' is a 1945 American Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM musical film, musical-comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country. It stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, and Mildred Natwick, with music by ...

'' (1945) * '' The Yearling'' (1946), with Arthur Arling and Leonard Smith * '' Fiesta'' (1947), with Wilfrid M. Cline and Sidney Wagner * '' Dark Delusion'' (1947) * '' Song of the Thin Man'' (1947) * '' On an Island with You'' (1948) * '' Words and Music'' (1948), with Harry Stradling * '' Neptune's Daughter'' (1949) * '' The Red Danube'' (1949) * '' East Side, West Side'' (1949) * '' Annie Get Your Gun'' (1950) * '' Pagan Love Song'' (1950) * ''

'' (1951) * '' Scaramouche'' (1952) * '' The Story of Three Loves'' (1953) * '' Young Bess'' (1953), with

Harold Rosson Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. (April 6, 1895 – September 6, 1988) was an American cinematographer who worked during the early and classical Hollywood cinema, in a career spanning some 52 years, starting from the silent era in 1915. He is be ...

* '' Kiss Me Kate'' (1953) * '' Jupiter's Darling'' (1955), with Paul C. Vogel

References

External links

*
Biography in the ''New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosher, Charles 1885 births 1974 deaths English cinematographers Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners Film people from London English expatriates in the United States