Joseph F. Biroc

Joseph Francis Biroc, A.S.C. (February 12, 1903 - September 7, 1996) was a highly successful film and television cinematographer. Biroc, born in New York City, began working in film at Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. After working for about six years with that company, he moved to Los Angeles after working for Paramount's Long Island Studios. Once there he began working with RKO Pictures. During World War II, while serving with the Army Signal Corps, he filmed the liberation of Paris in 1944. By 1950, Biroc left RKO and, much in demand, began working on a number of films in various genres and for different film studios. In addition to many films, including the classic It's a Wonderful Life, Biroc also worked on television including Adventures of Superman and Wonder Woman.

He was a frequent collaborator with director Robert Aldrich.

Partial filmography

• The Rescue (1929)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
• On Our Merry Way (1948)
• The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)
• Without Warning! (1952)
• The Glass Wall (1953)
• Attack (1956)
• Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
• Viva Las Vegas (1964)
• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
• The Killing of Sister George (1968)
• Too Late the Hero (1970)
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
• The Grissom Gang (1971)
• Ulzana's Raid (1972)
• Blazing Saddles (1974)
• The Longest Yard (1974)
• Shanks (1974)
• Hustle (1975)
• The Choirboys (1977)
• Airplane! (1980)

Awards

• Academy Award nominated (1964; black and white) for Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte;
• Emmy Award (1971/2) for Brian's Song;
• Academy Award (1974; shared) for The Towering Inferno;
• Emmy Award nomination (1976/7) for The Moneychangers [Part 1];
• Emmy Award nomination (1977/8) for Washington: Behind Closed Doors [Part 1] & A Family Upside Down;
• Emmy Award nomination (1978/9) for Little Women [Part 2];
• Emmy Award nomination (1979/80) for Kenny Rogers as the Gambler;
• Emmy Award (1983) for Casablanca [episode The Master Builder's Woman];
• ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [1988].

External links

• Biography/film work