Gerald Finnerman: Difference between revisions

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|044|066|1931|12|17}}

| years_active = 1959-1995

'''Gerald Perry Finnerman''' (17 December 17, 1931 - 6– April 6, 2011) was an American [[cinematographer]] who worked on TV series such as ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]'' and the original ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''. He served as vice president of the [[American Society of Cinematographers]], and won a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie|Outstanding Cinematography in Entertainment Programming for a Special]].

Gerald Finnerman was born on December 17, 1931, in Los Angeles, California.<ref name=american/> He attended [[Hollywood High School]],<ref name=academy>{{cite news|title=Gerald Finnerman, Cinematographer for Star Trek, Many Other Series|url=http://www.emmys.tv/news/2011/gerald-finnerman-cinematographer-star-trek-many-other-series|accessdateaccess-date=February 8, 2013|newspaper=Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences}}</ref> and afterwards went to [[Loyola Marymount University]]<!--Could someone confirm WHICH Loyola University he went to? The likeliest one is the one in Los Angeles, now known as Loyola Marymount, but there's no indication in any of the sources.--> where he majored in abnormal psychology.<ref name=television>{{cite book|last=Winship|first=Michael|title=Television|year=1988|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=9780394564012|pages=[https://archive.org/details/television00wins/page/304 304–312]|url=https://archive.org/details/television00wins/page/304|url-access=registration}}</ref> Finnerman was a combat photographer before joining his father, Perry Finnerman, at Warner Bros., where Perry was contracted as a camera operator (and, later, a cinematographer). After Perry's death at the age of 56, Finnerman began to work with [[Harry Stradling Sr.]] at Warner. Stradling promoted Finnerman from focus puller to camera operator, and in 1964 the two left Warner to become freelancers.<ref name=american>{{cite journal|last=Witmer|first=Jon D.|title=In Memoriam: Gerald Perry Finnerman, ASC, 1931-2011|journal=American Cinematographer|date=July 2011|volume=92|issue=7|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-2393797511/in-memoriam-gerald-perry-finnerman-asc-1931-2011|accessdateaccess-date=February 8, 2013|archive-date=April 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403073955/https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-2393797511/in-memoriam-gerald-perry-finnerman-asc-1931-2011|url-status=dead}} {{Subscription required}}</ref>

They worked together for [[Paramount Pictures]], [[Universal Studios]] and [[Columbia Pictures]] on films such as ''[[Walk, Don't Run (film)|Walk, Don't Run]]'', starring [[Cary Grant]], and the [[Jack Lemmon]] movie ''[[How to Murder Your Wife]]''.<ref name=american/> Finnerman was Stradling's camera operator when he won the [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography]] for [[My Fair Lady (film)|''My Fair Lady'']].<ref name=television /> Stradling recommended him as a [[cinematographer]] to [[Desilu Productions]] for their new [[science fiction]] series, ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'', after [[Harry Stradling Jr.]] turned down the job.<ref name=television />

He was subsequently hired, and, at the age of 32, was one of the youngest cinematographers in Hollywood.<ref name=american/> He later said, "On a show like ''Star Trek'', you have to push the envelope, the result of playing it safe is a diet of [[wikt:pabulum|pabulum]]."<ref name=american/> He used light placements and colored gels as mood lighting. Employing lighting techniques and changing background wall colors, he discovered that a range of effects could be seen on a single set.<ref name=american/> One enhancement he made was the effects for the [[Transporter (Star Trek)|transporter]]; he explained, "I put fixtures in the bottom and fixtures in the top, and [the actors] would stand on them. Then I would have somebody on a dimmer work the visual, the special effect of light going on and off, and then they would zap them."<ref>{{cite web|title=Noted Cinematographer Gerald Perry Finnerman has Died|url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/blog/?tag=gerald-finnerman-interview|publisher=Archive of American Television|date=April 8, 2011|accessdateaccess-date=February 8, 2013}}</ref>

He worked on ''Star Trek'' through most of the three-year run of the series, and afterwards moved on to ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'', another Paramount (and former Desilu) production. He worked on ''[[The Lost Man]]'' starring [[Sidney Poitier]]. In 1969 he was on board a small airplane ([[Piper Pacer]]) airplane with other crew, to scout out locations in Colorado. The plane crashed,<ref>{{cite web|title=NTSB Identification: DEN70A0004|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=6813&key=0|website=National Transportation Safety Board|publisher=NTSB|accessdateaccess-date=1 July 2017}}</ref> and Finnerman was the sole survivor. The injuries he suffered in the crash resulted in him being required to wear a metal full body brace for the following six years.<ref name=american/> He joined the [[American Society of Cinematographers]] in 1970 after being nominated by Stradling. He went on to become vice president of the society.<ref name=american/>

During the '70s1970s and '80s1980s, he earned [[Primetime Emmy Award]] nominations for his work on ''[[Kojak]]'', ''[[From Here to Eternity (miniseries)|From Here to Eternity]]'', and ''[[The Gangster Chronicles]]''. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography in Entertainment Programming for a Special for his work on the television film ''[[Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women]]''.<ref name=american/> In 1985, he began working on ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]'', for which he gained two further Emmy nominations.<ref name=american/> The creator of ''Star Trek'', [[Gene Roddenberry]], invited Finnerman to join the team putting together ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' in 1986, but he turned down the offer.<ref name=academy/> In 1996, he was inducted into the [[Producers Guild Hall of Fame]] for his work on ''Star Trek'',<ref name=american/> and he was nominated by the [[Motion Picture & Television Fund]] for "Philanthropic Man of the Year".<ref name=academy/> He announced his retirement in 2002.<ref name=american/>

{{Reflist|2}}

* {{Memoryalpha|Jerry Finnerman|Gerald Finnerman}}

[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]

[[Category:PeopleLoyola fromMarymount LosUniversity Angelesalumni]]