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George J. Folsey is a Director of Photography and Cinematography American born on 2 july 1898 at New York City (USA)

George J. Folsey

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Birth name George Joseph Folsey
Nationality USA
Birth 2 july 1898 at New York City (USA)
Death 1 november 1988 (at 90 years) at Santa Monica (USA)

George J. Folsey, A.S.C. (July 2, 1898 – November 1, 1988) was an American cinematographer who worked on 162 films between 1919 and his retirement in 1976.

Born George Joseph Folsey in Brooklyn, he was hired by Jesse Louis Lasky to work as an office boy in his newly formed Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in New York City. He earned his first screen credit for His Bridal Night in 1919. Leading lady Alice Brady was so satisfied with the way he photographed her she offered him a contract to shoot all her films. He worked for both Associated First National and Paramount Astoria Studios before relocating to Hollywood and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he spent the bulk of his career.

Folsey's many credits include The Letter, The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, The Great Ziegfeld, A Guy Named Joe, The White Cliffs of Dover, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Clock, The Harvey Girls, Adam's Rib, A Life of Her Own, Million Dollar Mermaid, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Cobweb, Cash McCall, and The Balcony. For television he served as director of photography for various episodes of the ABC series The Fugitive and an NBC special starring figure skater Peggy Fleming, for which he won an Emmy Award for Best Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming.

Folsey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography thirteen times but never won. Eight months before his death he was honored with the first Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the American Society of Cinematographers, for which he served as President in 1956-57.

Folsey's son George, Jr. is a director/producer/editor who has worked on such films as The Three Amigos and the remakes of Cheaper by the Dozen and The Pink Panther.

Folsey died in Santa Monica, California.

Biography

George J. Folsey débute au cinéma en 1915 comme deuxième assistant opérateur, puis en 1919 comme chef opérateur. Il exerce régulièrement cette dernière fonction (sur 160 films en tout, principalement pour la Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) jusqu'en 1963, avant de collaborer à deux dernières réalisations en 1972 et 1976. Il est également acteur (unique apparition à ce titre) dans un film muet sorti en 1921.

Parmi les réalisateurs qu'il assiste, mentionnons Dorothy Arzner (ex. : L'Inconnue du palace en 1937, avec Joan Crawford et Franchot Tone), Frank Borzage (ex. : L'Ensorceleuse en 1938, avec Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas et Margaret Sullavan), George Cukor (ex. : Madame porte la culotte en 1949, avec Spencer Tracy et Katharine Hepburn), Robert Florey (ex. : Noix de coco en 1929, avec les Marx Brothers), Robert Z. Leonard (ex. : Le Grand Ziegfeld en 1936, avec William Powell et Myrna Loy), Vincente Minnelli (ex. : Le Chant du Missouri en 1944, avec Judy Garland et Lucille Bremer), Richard Thorpe (ex. : le western La Vallée de la vengeance en 1951, avec Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker et Joanne Dru), ou encore Fred M. Wilcox (ex. : Planète interdite en 1956, avec Leslie Nielsen et Anne Francis), entre autres.

Pour la télévision, il est directeur de la photographie sur la série Le Fugitif en 1963 et sur un téléfilm en 1968.

Au cours de sa carrière, George J. Folsey obtient treize nominations (voir détails ci-dessous) à l'Oscar de la meilleure photographie, mais n'en gagne aucun.

Il est le père de George Folsey, Jr. (1939-), monteur et producteur de cinéma.