Karl Struss Biography (1886-1981)

Full name, Karl Fischer Struss; born November 30, 1886, in New York, NY; diedDecember 16, 1981, in Santa Monica, CA; father an owner of a bonnet-wire factory; married Ethel Wall, 1921. Career: Cinematographer. Famous Players-Lasky, Hollywood, CA, began as still photographer, became camera operator,1919-22; cinematographer, beginning in 1922; Pictorial Photographers of America, cofounder. Still photography exhibited throughout his career, including ashow at University of Michigan. Worked in family bonnet-wire factory, 1903-14; studio photographer, New York City, 1914-17. Military service: Served 1917-19. Awards, Honors: Shared Academy Award, best cinematography(with Charles Rosher), 1927, for Sunrise; Academy Award nominations, best cinematography, 1928, for Drums of Love, 1931, for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and 1932, for The Sign of the Cross; shared Academy Award nomination, best color cinematography (with Wilfred M. Cline and WilliamE. Snyder), 1941, for Aloma of the South Seas..

Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Occupation
Cinematographer
Birth Details
November 30, 1886
New York, New York, United States
Death Details
December 16, 1981
Santa Monica, California, United States

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Film Work
  • Cinematographer, Unless Otherwise Noted
  • Something to Think About,1920
  • The Affairs of Anatol,1921
  • (With others) Fool's Paradise,1921
  • (With others) Minnie,1922
  • The Law and the Woman,1922
  • (With others) Saturday Night,1922
  • (With others) Fools First,1922
  • Rich Men's Wives,1922
  • Thorns and Orange Blossoms,1922
  • Poor Men's Wives,1923
  • The Hero,1923
  • Daughters of the Rich,1923
  • Mothers-in-Law,1923
  • Maytime,1923
  • Poisoned Paradise(also known as Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo), 1924
  • Legend of Hollywood,1924
  • White Man,1924
  • Idle Tongues,1924
  • The Winding Stair,1925
  • (With others) Sparrows,1926
  • Hell's 400,1926
  • Meet the Prince,1926
  • Forever After,1926
  • (With others) Ben-Hur(also known as Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ), 1926
  • Babe Comes Home,1927
  • (With Charles Rosher) Sunrise(also known as Sunrise: A Song ofTwo Humans), 1927
  • (With others) Drums of Love, United Artists, 1928
  • Night Watch,1928
  • (With others) The Battles of the Sexes,1928
  • Lady of the Pavements,1929
  • Coquette,1929
  • The Taming of the Shrew,1929
  • Lummox,1930
  • (With others) Be Yourself!,1930
  • One Romantic Night,1930
  • The Bad One,1930
  • (With others) Danger Lights,1930
  • Abraham Lincoln,1930
  • Women Love Once,1931
  • Up Pops the Devil,1931
  • The Road to Reno,1931
  • Murder by the Clock,1931
  • Kiki,1931
  • Skippy,1931
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,1931
  • World and the Flesh,1932
  • Two Kinds of Women,1932
  • The Sign of the Cross, Paramount, 1932
  • The Man from Yesterday,1932
  • Guilty as Hell(also known as Guilty as Charged), 1932
  • Forgotten Commandments,1932
  • Dancers in the Dark,1932
  • Woman Accused,1933
  • The Torch Singer(also known as Broadway Singer), 1933
  • The Story of Temple Drake,1933
  • Island of Lost Souls,1933
  • Girl Missing,1933
  • The Girl in 419(also known as Identity Unknown), 1933
  • Disgraced!,1933
  • Tonight Is Ours,1933
  • The Pursuit of Happiness,1934
  • Here Is My Heart,1934
  • Four Frightened People,1934
  • Belle of the Nineties,1934
  • Two for Tonight,1935
  • Goin' to Town,1935
  • Too Many Parents,1936
  • Preview Murder Mystery,1936
  • Hollywood Boulevard,1936
  • Anything Goes(also known as Tops Is the Limit), 1936
  • Rhythm on the Range,1936
  • Go West Young Man,1936
  • Thunder Trail(also known as Thunder Pass), 1937
  • Mountain Music,1937
  • Let's Make a Million,1937
  • Double or Nothing,1937
  • Waikiki Wedding,1937
  • Every Day's a Holiday,1937
  • Thanks for the Memory,1938
  • Sing You Sinners,1938
  • Zenobia(also known as Elephants Never Forget), 1939
  • The Star Maker,1939
  • Some Like It Hot(also known as Rhythm Romance), 1939
  • Paris Honeymoon,1939
  • Island of Lost Men,1939
  • The Great Dictator, United Artists, 1940
  • Caught in the Draft,1941
  • (With Wilfred M. Cline and William E. Snyder) Aloma of the South Seas, Paramount, 1941
  • Journey into Fear,1942
  • (With others) Riding High(also known as Melody Inn), 1943
  • (With others) Happy Go Lucky,1943
  • Rainbow Island,1944
  • And the Angels Sing,1944
  • Second unit photographer, For Whom the Bell Tolls,1944
  • Bring On the Girls,1945
  • Tarzan and the Leopard Woman,1946
  • Suspense,1946
  • Mr. Ace,1946
  • (With others) The Macomber Affair,1947
  • Heaven Only Knows(also known as Montana Mike), 1947
  • Siren of Atlantis,1948
  • The Dude Goes West,1948
  • Call of the Forest,1949
  • Bad Boy(also known as The Story of Danny Lester), 1949
  • Tarzan's Magic Fountain,1949
  • Rocketship X-M(also known as Expedition Moon), 1950
  • The Return of Jesse James,1950
  • It's a Small World,1950
  • The Texan Meets Calamity Jane,1950
  • Father's Wild Game,1950
  • Tarzan's Peril(also known as Tarzan and the Jungle Goddess), 1951
  • Tarzan's Savage Fury(also known as Tarzan, the Hunted),1952
  • Lady Possessed,1952
  • Rose of Cimarron,1952
  • "The Secret Shame," Face to Face,1952
  • Limelight,1952
  • (With others) Un Turco Napoletano,1953
  • Tarzan and the She-Devil,1953
  • (With others) Il Piu Comico Spettacolo del Mondo,1953
  • (With others) Due Notti con Cleopatra(also known as Two Nightswith Cleopatra), 1953
  • (With others) Cavalleria Rusticana(also known as Fatal Desire), 1953
  • Mesa of Lost Women(also known as Lost Women and Lost Women of Zarpa), 1953
  • (Camera operator, with others) Attila(also known as Attila theHun and Attila, il Flagello di Dio), Embassy Picture Corp., 1955
  • Mohawk,1956
  • She Devil,1957
  • Kronos(also known as Kronos, Destroyer of the Universe), Twentieth Century- Fox, 1957
  • The Deerslayer, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1957
  • The Rawhide Trail,1958
  • Machete,1958
  • The Hot Angel,1958
  • The Fly, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958
  • The Sad Horse,1959
  • The Rebel Set(also known as Beatsville), 1959
  • Counterplot,1959
  • The Alligator People, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1959
  • Here Come the Jets, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1959
  • Television Work
  • Cinematographer
  • Broken Arrow,1950
  • My Friend Flicka,1957
  • WRITINGS
  • Author of the catalog Pictured with the Struss Pictorial Lens,[NewYork City], 1915. Contributor to books, including Sources of Light, edited by Charles Higham, [London], 1970. Contributor of articles and photographs to periodicals, including American Cinematographer, American Photography, and Journal of Popular Film.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

    Books:
    • International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, November, 1996,Volume 4: Writers and Production Artists, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1993, pp. 724-26.
    Periodicals:
    • Afterimage, p. 7.*

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