Joseph T. Rucker (January 1, 1887 – October 21, 1957) was an American

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 won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

along with Willard Van der Veer at the

3rd Academy Awards The 3rd Academy Awards were held on November 5, 1930, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), awarding films released between August 1, 1929, and July 31, 1930. AMPAS decided to hold the awards in November to move them close ...

in 1930 for

Best Cinematography The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

for the film ''

With Byrd at the South Pole ''With Byrd at the South Pole'' (1930) is a sound part-talkie documentary film about Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd and his 1st quest to the South Pole beginning at the Little America-Exploration Base. In addition to sequences with audible dialogu ...

''. He and Van der Veer won their Oscars for camera work for

Admiral Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

's 1928 and 1930 expeditions to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. In the latter expedition, he and Van der Veer brought back over of raw footage. He spent 40 years of his life as a news cameraman at

Paramount News Paramount News was a newsreel series that was produced by Paramount Pictures from 1927 to 1957. History The Paramount newsreel operation began in 1927 with Emanuel Cohen as an editor. It typically distributed two issues per week to theaters acro ...

and at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In addition to the Byrd expeditions, he is remembered for filming the 1914 opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, the aftermath of the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, the 1927

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, and World War II's Pacific conflict from the .https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748530/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm The Rucker Spur in

was named after him by the

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

Selected filmography

'' (1930)

References

External links

* 1887 births 1957 deaths American cinematographers Artists from Atlanta Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners {{US-cinematographer-stub