Nicholas Musuraca(1892-1975)
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Art Department
Italian-born Nicholas Musuraca's first job in the film business was as
a chauffeur to early pioneering producer/director
J. Stuart Blackton. Having a knack
for photography, he worked behind the cameras in a variety of jobs
before finally becoming a cinematographer (or, as they were called in
those days, "lighting cameraman"). Musuraca spent most of his career at
RKO Pictures, where he became known as a master of lighting--he was
once admiringly described by a fellow cameraman as "a painter with
light"--and was largely responsible for the gritty, moody camerawork
that became that studio's signature. He was nominated for an Academy
Award for his work on
I Remember Mama (1948). After
leaving RKO in the late '50s he worked for a short period at Warner
Bros., but then joined Desilu Studios and spent the remainder of his
career in television.
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