Virgil Miller (December 20, 1886 – October 5, 1974) 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 was the director of photography for 157 films between 1917 and 1956.

Career

Born in Coffeen, Illinois, Miller's credits include ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' (1925), '' Danger - Love at Work'' (1937), '' Mr. Moto Takes a Chance'' (1938), '' The Mummy's Curse'' (1944), ''

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

'' (1952), '' Crazylegs'' (1953), and six

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan ...

films. Miller published his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Splinters from Hollywood Tripods'', in 1964. Prior to working for

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

and, eventually, most other major studios, Miller was a graduate from and a professor at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

teaching physics and electrical engineering. In 1913, Miller became the first director and founder of the electrical department of Universal Studios. Best known for being one of the first to use electrical lights to film indoors and at night.''Splinters from Hollywood Tripods'' In 1915, he filmed on location 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 ...

, California, for the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

; one of the earliest "on location" scenes filmed. He also coordinated very early special effects including filming stampedes, explosions, and shrinking people. He was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...

for the

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

'' in 1952.

Personal life

He was first married to Myrtle Bower. Together they had five boys: Joaquin, Wendell, Harlan "Lee", Lauren, and Donald. He and Myrtle divorced and Miller later remarried. He died in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

on October 5, 1974, and was buried at Oakwood Memorial Park.

Partial filmography

* '' A Stormy Knight'' (1917) * ''

The Man Trap "The Man Trap" is the first broadcast episode of Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, season one of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek''. Written by George Clayton Johnson and directed ...

'' (1917) * '' Brace Up'' (1918) * '' Winner Takes All'' (1918) * '' The Guilt of Silence'' (1918) * '' The Eagle'' (1918) * '' Smashing Through'' (1918) * '' Pink Tights'' (1920) * '' The Silent Barrier'' (1920) * '' Two Kinds of Love'' (1920) * '' Red Courage'' (1921) * ''

Luring Lips ''Luring Lips'' is a 1921 American silent film, silent drama film directed by King Baggot and starring Edith Roberts (actress), Edith Roberts, Ramsey Wallace and William Welsh (actor), William Welsh.Munden p.469 Plot Cast * Edith Roberts (act ...

'' (1921) * ''

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

'' (1921) * '' Sure Fire'' (1921) * '' Man Under Cover'' (1922) * '' The Scrapper'' (1922) * '' Don't Shoot'' (1922) * '' The Lone Hand'' (1922) * '' The Flame of Life'' (1923) * '' The Gentleman from America'' (1923) * '' Shootin' for Love'' (1923) * '' The Thrill Chaser'' (1923) * '' 40-Horse Hawkins'' (1924) * '' The Saddle Hawk'' (1925) * '' California Straight Ahead'' (1925) * '' Let 'er Buck'' (1925) * ''

'' (1925) * '' Broken Hearts of Hollywood'' (1926) * '' The Runaway Express'' (1926) * '' Private Izzy Murphy'' (1926) * '' Under Western Skies'' (1926) * '' Irish Hearts'' (1927) * '' Finders Keepers'' (1928) * '' Stocks and Blondes'' (1928) * '' Young Whirlwind'' (1928) * '' Alex the Great'' (1928) * '' Two Outlaws'' (1928) * '' The Vagabond Cub'' (1929) * '' The Woman I Love'' (1929) * '' Laughing at Death'' (1929) * '' The Garden of Allah'' (1936) * '' Danger - Love at Work'' (1937) * '' Thank You, Mr. Moto'' (1937) * '' Mr. Moto Takes a Chance'' (1938) * '' Charlie Chan in Reno'' (1939) * '' Charlie Chan at Treasure Island'' (1939) * '' The Man Who Wouldn't Talk'' (1940) * '' Murder Over New York'' (1940) * '' Calling Dr. Death'' (1943) * '' The Mummy's Curse'' (1944) * '' The Falcon in San Francisco'' (1945) * '' The Michigan Kid'' (1947) * ''

'' (1952) * '' Murder Without Tears'' (1953) * '' Crazylegs'' (1953)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Virgil 1886 births 1974 deaths American cinematographers Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery