- Haskell Wexler
Infobox Actor
name = Haskell Wexler, A.S.C.
birthdate = birth date and age|1922|2|6
birthplace =Chicago, Illinois
spouse =Rita Taggart
academyawards = Best Cinematography
1966 "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
1976 "Bound for Glory "Haskell Wexler, A.S.C. (born
February 6 ,1922 inChicago, Illinois ) is anAcademy Award -winning Americancinematographer , and a film producer and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.Early life
Wexler was born in Chicago, Illinois to Simon and Lottie Wexler, who also had Jerrold, Joyce (Isaacs), and Yale. After a year of college at the
University of California, Berkeley and a tour in theUnited States Merchant Marine duringWorld War II , he decided to become a filmmaker despite having no experience in the industry.Film career
He briefly made industrial films in Chicago, then became an assistant cameraman. Wexler worked on documentary features and shorts; low-budget docu-dramas such as 1959's "
The Savage Eye "; television's "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet "; andtelevision commercial s. (He would later found Wexler-Hall, a television commercial production company, withConrad Hall .) In 1963, he served as the cinematographer on his first big-budget film,Elia Kazan 's "America, America ". The film had a stunning look, and Kazan was nominated for a Best Director Academy Award, and Wexler worked steadily in Hollywood thereafter. In 1965, Wexler was cinematographer ofMike Nichols ' screen version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? " . Wexler won an Academy Award for the film's acclaimed black-and-white cinematography in 1967. He won a second Oscar in 1976 for "Bound for Glory", a biography ofWoody Guthrie (whom Wexler had met during his time in the Merchant Marine). "Bound for Glory" was one of the earliest feature films to use thesteadicam in a famous sequence that also incorporated acrane shot . He was also credited as additional cinematographer on "Days of Heaven " in 1978 which won a Best Cinematography Oscar forNestor Almendros .He has worked on documentaries throughout his career. The 1980 documentary "
Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang " earned anEmmy Award while "Interview with My Lai Veterans " won an Academy Award. His most recent documentaries are "Bus Riders' Union " and "Who Needs Sleep ".Wexler has also directed movies. "
Medium Cool ", a film written by Wexler and shot in thecinéma vérité style, is studied by film students all over the world for its breakthrough form. "Medium Cool" was the subject of aBBC documentary, "Look Out Haskell It's Real ". His film "Latino" was chosen for theCannes Film Festival in 1984 and produced byLucasfilm . The film was written and directed by Wexler. Another directing project was "From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks ", an intimate exploration of the life and times ofHarry Bridges , an extraordinary labor leader and social visionary – "a hero or the devil incarnate, it all depends on your point of view". [http://www.theharrybridgesproject.org/film.html]In 1988, he won the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for theJohn Sayles film "Matewan " (for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award), and in 1993, he won a Lifetime Achievement Award from theAmerican Society of Cinematographers . He was awarded a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame , the first cinematographer in 35 years to be so honored, in 1996. His work withBilly Crystal in the 2001HBO film "61* " was nominated for an Emmy.In 2005, he was the subject of a documentary, "
Tell Them Who You Are ", directed by his son,Mark Wexler .In 2007, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Independent Documentary Association and the same from theSociety of Operating Cameramen .He is the step-
uncle of actressesDaryl Hannah andPage Hannah .elected filmography
* "
Mulholland Falls ", 1996
* "Canadian Bacon ", 1995
* "The Secret of Roan Inish ", 1994
* "Blaze", 1989
* "Matewan ", 1987
* "Days of Heaven ",1978
* "Bound for Glory", 1976
* "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975
* "American Graffiti ",1973
* "Medium Cool ", 1969 (also director and screenwriter)
* "The Thomas Crown Affair", 1968
* "In the Heat of the Night", 1967
* "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", 1966
* "The Best Man", 1964
* "America, America ", 1963
* "Face in the Rain ", 1963
* "Angel Baby", 1961
* "Hoodlum Priest ", 1961
* "The Savage Eye ", 1960
* "Stakeout on Dope Street ", 1958 (credited as Mark Jeffrey due to problems with his guild membership)Frequent collaborators
*
John Sayles
*Hal Ashby
*Norman Jewison External links
*
* [http://www.thestickingplace.com/film/lohir.html Article about Haskell Wexler's film Medium Cool]
* [http://www.cameraguild.com/interviews/chat_wexler/wexler_matewan.htm Hasell Wexler, ASC, Focuses on the Making of "Matewan"]
* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1787921,00.html Through a lens darkly, The Guardian Interview, June 2006]
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