Meredith Merle Nicholson (March 11, 1913 – August 18, 2005) 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 ...

. He worked behind the camera on low-budget films of the 1950s, hit television series in the 1960s, and comedies, dramas, and made-for-TV movies in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1953, Nicholson, along with his two sons and three other partners, created the company

Panavision Panavision Inc. is an American motion picture equipment company (law), company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and photographic lens, lenses, based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk a ...

. While working as an administrator there, he was able to take occasional quick jobs as a cameraman. He was eventually forced out of Panavision in 1960, and devoted the rest of his career to filming. Nicholson's first job as cinematographer was working for his friend Richard Cunha on Cunha's second film '' She Demons'' in 1958. This was followed by work on Cunha’s '' Frankenstein's Daughter'' (also in 1958), and '' Missile to the Moon'' in 1959. Nicholson is credited with achieving amazing results on these films, despite severe budget and time limitations. Each of these films was shot in eight days or fewer. This allowed time for Nicholson to also work on the film '' The Decks Ran Red'' at

MGM 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 ...

. After leaving Panavision, Nicholson joined the production crew of the television series ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

''. He also was the cinematographer on the television series '' The Blue Angels'' and two films by Edgar Ulmer, ''

Beyond the Time Barrier ''Beyond the Time Barrier'' is a 1960 American science fiction film. It was released in September 1960 on a double bill with ''The Angry Red Planet''.Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 730 It star ...

'' and '' The Amazing Transparent Man''. He later worked on the more obscure films '' Dangerous Charter'', '' The Devil's Hand'', and '' Escape from Hell Island''. Nicholson’s work after these films was exclusively in television. He worked on the series '' The Fugitive'', ''

Twelve O'Clock High ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film directed by Henry King and based on the novel of the same name by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay Jr. It stars Gregory Peck as Brig. General Frank Savage. Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard ...

'', ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', and '' The Invaders''. In the 1970s he worked on ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

'', ''

Get Christie Love! ''Get Christie Love!'' is an American crime drama TV series starring Teresa Graves as an undercover female detective which originally aired on ABC from January 22, 1974, until April 5, 1975. The starring television role made Graves the second ...

'', ''

Mork & Mindy ''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', " My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extrater ...

'', and '' The Odd Couple''. Nicholson continued to work in television until the late 1980s. The last television series he worked on was ''

My Sister Sam ''My Sister Sam'' is an American television sitcom starring Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer that aired on CBS from October 6, 1986, to April 12, 1988. Synopsis The sitcom follows the lives of a 29-year-old San Francisco freelance photographe ...

'', which ended in 1988. Nicholson died on 18 August 2005. He is survived by his daughter Linda Ahern and two sons.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Meredith Merle 1913 births 2005 deaths American cinematographers Panavision