IEC
#1: Photo by William Kallay
#3: [Right] with dir Joshua Logan - "Camelot" [1966]
RICHARD H. KLINE
Born: 15 November 1926, Los Angeles, CA, USA, as Richard Howard Kline, son of doph Benjamin Harrison Kline [1894-1974].
Died: 7 August 2018, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Education: High School [graduated in 1943]; Sorbonne University, Paris, France [Fine Arts & Art History; 1948-51].
Career: 'I graduated from high school in 1943. The war was still going on, and I knew that I would be drafted into the military service within a year. Many of the film industry's personnel were away and my father urged me to fill an available opening as an assistant cameraman at Columbia Pictures, so that I could possibly qualify for a camera unit when I entered the service. I went to work at Columbia in August 1943. My first picture was 'Cover Girl'. I was a slate boy. I was on 'Cover Girl' for about four months. We filmed on stages 8 and 9 at Columbia, which were next to the camera department. I would go there in-between takes and learn about cameras. After that film, I became a first assistant with cinematographer George Meehan until I went into the Navy in October 1944. My first six months after boot camp I was stationed at the Photo Science Laboratory in Anacostia, D.C. Then, I shipped out to the Asia Pacific area between Shanghai and Hong Kong. I was there until I was discharged in August 1946. I was all set to start college at UCLA when I got a call from Columbia Pictures. You were supposed to have your old job guaranteed for a year after you got out of the service. They asked me to come back to the studio as an assistant cameraman. They had a picture in Acapulco where they needed somebody right away. I remember the exact date, because it was my sister's birthday, September 30, 1946. I left for Acapulco to work on 'The Lady from Shanghai'. I kept working as an assistant in 1947 and 1948. During the late 1940s, the union cracked down and wouldn't let me work. It wasn't anything against me personally. You were in either an A or B category depending on the number of years you were a member. The A category got first preference. I was in B, so I was out of a job. I decided to take advantage of the G.I. Bill of Rights and go to college. I left for France within a few days and spent the next three years studying fine arts and art appreciation at the Sorbonne in France. I returned to Hollywood in 1951, because I had gotten married. Congress had passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which opened the door for me to go back to work. The union did away with the A and B categories, and replaced it with groups one, two and three. I was put in the first group. That gave me top priority for jobs. I worked as an assistant cameraman for about a year at Columbia and then became an operator. I worked with Burnett Guffey, Henry Freulich, Charles Lawton Jr., Ray June and did quite a few films with 'Jimmy' Wong Howe, and all the other cinematographers who were under contract at Columbia Pictures. I also worked with Harry Stradling Sr., Lionel 'Curley' Lindon and Phil Lathrop. My last picture as an operator was with Lathrop on 'The Pink Panther'. We shot it in Rome. I had done a film with John Frankenheimer as an operator. It was a prison picture with Burt Lancaster ['Birdman of Alcatraz']. I got a telegram from John while we were in the last two to three weeks of shooting 'The Pink Panther'. It said, 'I want you to be my cameraman, repeat cameraman, call me immediately.' John offered me the job as cameraman on 'Seven Days In May'. After we finished, I flew home. That's when John told me that he couldn't swing the promotion because of production resistance. He said it was nothing personal. I kind of pouted for about a week until I got a call from the head of the MGM camera department. He said there was a producer who wanted to meet me. I met Bill Froug, who told me that he had done a TV pilot that he wanted me to look at and tell him what I thought. It was for a show called 'Mr. Novak' about a high school teacher. I worked on that show for two years until it was cancelled. I concentrated on shooting a number of pilots that year, so I would be free to return to feature films. I shot a TV pilot that didn't sell, but the studio liked it so much that they had me shoot additional scenes for another two weeks, and made it into a feature. It was called 'Chamber of Horrors'. Josh Logan was preparing to do 'Camelot' at Warner Bros. He happened to see some of the film I was shooting in a projection room at the studio while they were screening it. He liked what he saw and came down to the set where we were shooting. He introduced himself and asked if we could talk. I told him that it wasn't a good time, because we had a schedule to make. He asked if I would come in tomorrow, Saturday, and talk with him. That's how I got to shoot 'Camelot'.' [From the ASC website.]
Was c.asst for 8 years and c.op for 10 years [106 features in 6 years for prod Sam Katzman]. Became doph on the tv-series 'Mr. Novak'.
Was a member of the ASC since 1967.
His uncles Phil Rosen [1888-1951] & Sol Halperin [1902-77] were doph.
Appeared in the doc 'Cinematographer Style' [2005, Jon Fauer; ph: J. Fauer, Jeff Laszlo, Brian Heller & David Morgan].
Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1967] for 'Camelot'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1976] for 'King Kong'; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [2005].
[1] with dir Robert Wise [2] - "The Andromeda Strain" [1970] - photo Thys Ockersen Archive
| FILMS | |
|---|---|
|
1966 |
Chamber of Horrors [Hy Averback] c; unsold pilot for tv-series 'House of Wax'; expanded to a feature length film |
|
1966 |
Camelot [Joshua Logan] p (+ 70bu)/c; sfx: Robie Robinson (superv) & Johnny Borgese |
|
1967 |
Hang 'Em High [Ted Post] c; cph: Leonard South |
[Right] with actor Tony Curtis and Richard Fleischer [left] - "The Boston Strangler"
|
1968 |
The Boston Strangler [Richard Fleischer] p/c; 2uc: William Kelly; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott, John C. Caldwell & Art Cruickshank |
|
1968 |
Gaily, Gaily/Chicago, Chicago [Norman Jewison] c |
|
1968 |
A Dream of Kings [Daniel Mann] c |
|
1969 |
The Moonshine War [Richard Quine] p/c; filmed 1969-70 |
[Right] with Robert Wise - "The Andromeda Strain"
|
1970 |
The Andromeda Strain [Robert Wise] p (+ 70bu)/c; spec pfx: Douglas Trumbull & James Shourt; matte superv: Albert Whitlock |
|
1971 |
Kotch [Jack Lemmon] c |
|
1971 |
Hammersmith Is Out [Peter Ustinov] c |
|
1971 |
When the Legends Die [Stuart Millar] c |
|
1971 |
The Mechanic/Killer of Killers [Michael Winner] c; ph European seq: Robert Paynter; filmed 1971-72 |
|
1972 |
The Harrad Experiment [Ted Post] c |
|
1972 |
Black Gunn [Robert Hartford-Davis] c |
|
1972 |
Soylent Green [Richard Fleischer] p/c; spec pfx: Robert Hoag & Matthew Yuricich; spec vfx: Augie Lohman |
|
1973 |
Battle for the Planet of the Apes [J. Lee Thompson] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott |
|
1973 |
The Don Is Dead/Beautiful But Deadly/The Deadly Kiss [Richard Fleischer] c |
|
1973 |
The Terminal Man [Mike Hodges] c |
|
1973 |
Mr. Majestyk [Richard Fleischer] c |
|
1974 |
Mandingo [Richard Fleischer (replaced Michael Campus)] c |
|
1974 |
Harrad Summer/Love All Summer/Student Union [Steven H. Stern] c |
|
1975 |
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?/Kill My Wife Please [Steven H. Stern] c |
|
1975 |
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood [Michael Winner] c |
|
1976 |
King Kong [John Guillermin] p/c; add pfx: Harold E. Wellman; pfx superv: Frank Van der Veer; designer/engineer/constructor ('Kong'): Carlo Rambaldi |
|
1976 |
That's Action! [G. David Schine] b&w-c; doc/110m |
|
1977 |
Who'll Stop the Rain/Dog Soldiers [Karel Reisz] c; addph: Ronnie Taylor & (uncred) Hiro Narita |
|
1977 |
The Fury [Brian De Palma] c |
|
1977 |
Tilt [Rudy Durand] c |
|
1978 |
Firepower [Michael Winner] c; 2uc; ph: Robert Paynter & Dick Kratina |
|
1978 |
Star Trek - The Motion Picture [Robert Wise] p (+ 70bu)/c; 2uc: Bernie Abramson; addph: Jim Dickson, Bruce Logan & Charles F. Wheeler; vfx ph: Robert Elswit, Thomas Hollister, Greg Kimble, Ron Nathan & Michael Sweeney; spec pfx superv: John Dykstra; optical ph: Mark Freund; 'The Director's Edition' was released in 2001 |
|
1979 |
Lovespell/Tristan and Isolde/Summer of the Falcon [Tom Donovan] c |
|
1979 |
Touched by Love/To Elvis, with Love [Gus Trikonis] c |
|
1980 |
The Competition [Joel Oliansky] c |
|
1980 |
Body Heat [Lawrence Kasdan] c; filmed 1980-81 |
|
1981 |
Death Wish II [Michael Winner] c; cph: Thomas Del Ruth |
|
1982 |
Man, Woman and Child [Dick Richards] c; cph: Jean Tournier |
|
1982 |
Breathless [Jim McBride] c; add seq ph: Bobby Byrne; remake of 'À bout de souffle' (1959, Jean-Luc Godard; ph: Raoul Coutard) |
|
1982 |
Deal of the Century [William Friedkin] c; filmed 1982-83 |
|
1983 |
All of Me [Carl Reiner] c |
|
1984 |
Hard to Hold [Larry Peerce] c |
|
1984 |
Touch and Go [Robert Mandel] c; 2uc: Gregory Lundsgaard |
|
1984 |
The Man with One Red Shoe [Stan Dragoti] p/c; 2uc: Jack Priestley |
|
1985 |
Howard the Duck/Howard... A New Breed of Hero [Willard Huyck] c; 2uc: Bobby Byrne; vfx matte ph: Wade Childress; stop motion ph: Terry Chostner & Patrick McArdle; filmed 1985-86 |
|
1988 |
My Stepmother Is an Alien [Richard Benjamin] c |
|
1989 |
Downtown [Richard Benjamin] c; 2uc: Robert C. Thomas |
|
1990 |
Double Impact [Sheldon Lettich] c; 2uc: John McCallum |
|
1995 |
Meet Wally Sparks [Peter Baldwin] c; addph: Robert Leveen |
|
2000 |
The Return of the Thief of Bagdad [Gordon Hessler (English version) & Suresh Krishna (Indian version)] scheduled for August start; status unknown (prod started in August 1999 under dir Douchan Gersi, who was replaced when new producer took over; some footage was shot) |
| TELEVISION | |
|---|---|
|
1960 |
Shotgun Slade [ep #45 'Dead Man's Tale' dir by Franklin Adreon] 78-part western series/b&w, 1959-61; 2nd season, 1960-61 (39 ep) |
With dir Michael O'Herlihy [left] - "Mr. Novak"
|
1963 |
Mr. Novak [all ep dir by various] 60-part school drama series/b&w, 1963-65 (NBC-tv); 1st season (30 ep), 1963-64 |
|
1964 |
Mr. Novak [all ep dir by various] 2nd season (30 ep), 1964-65; see 1963 |
|
1965 |
The F.B.I. [ep dir by various] 240-part police drama series, 1965-74 (ABC-tv) |
|
1965 |
12 O'Clock High/Twelve O'Clock High [ep #54 'Twenty-Fifth Mission' dir by Lawrence Dobkin] 78-part war drama series/b&w-c, 1964-67 (ABC-tv); 2nd season/b&w, 1965-66; other ph: Frank V. Phillips, George T. Clemens & Kenneth Peach |
|
1965 |
Honey West [ep #3 'The Abominable Snowman' dir by Paul Wendkos, #5 'Live a Little... Kill a Little' dir by Murray Golden & #8 'In the Bag' dir by Seymour Robbie] 30-part detective series/b&w, 1965-66 (ABC-tv) |
|
1965 |
The Monkees [pilot 'Here Come The Monkees' dir by Mike Elliot] b&w-c; followed by 58-part sitcom series, 1966-68 (NBC-tv) |
|
1966 |
T.H.E. Cat (Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat) [pilot/ep #1 'To Kill a Priest' dir by Boris Sagal] 26-part adventure series, 1966-67 (NBC-tv); other ph: Leonard South, Jack A. Marta, George T. Clemens & Charles Straumer |
|
1966 |
The Mouse That Roared [Jack Arnold] pilot; for CBS-tv |
|
1966 |
Animal Farm [?] pilot |
|
1966 |
Pet Set [?] pilot |
|
1974 |
Kate McShane [Marvin Chomsky] tvm (1975); followed by 8-part legal drama series, 1975 (CBS-tv) |
|
1981 |
Coming Out of the Ice [Waris Hussein] tvm |
|
1995 |
[LaVyrle Spencer's] Home Song [Nancy Malone] tvm |
| FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR [on 200 feature films & shorts] | |
|---|---|
|
1943 |
The Return of the Vampire [Lew Landers] c.asst; ph: John Stumar & L.W. O'Connell |
|
1943 |
None Shall Escape [André De Toth] c.asst; ph: Lee Garmes |
|
1943 |
Cover Girl [Charles Vidor] clapper boy; ph: Rudolph Maté & Allen M. Davey |
|
1943 |
Klondike Kate [William Castle] c.asst; ph: John Stumar |
|
1943 |
Address Unknown [William Cameron Menzies] c.asst; ph: Rudolph Maté |
|
1944 |
A Song to Remember [Charles Vidor] c.asst; ph: Tony Gaudio & Allen M. Davey |
|
1944 |
Rough, Tough and Ready/Men of the Deep [Del Lord] c.asst; ph: George Meehan |
|
1946 |
The Lady from Shanghai [Orson Welles] c.asst; ph: Charles Lawton Jr. & (uncred) Rudolph Maté & Joseph Walker |
|
1946 |
To the Ends of the Earth [Robert Stevenson & (uncred) Sidney Buchman] c.asst; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1947 |
It Had to Be You [Don Hartman & Rudolph Maté] c.asst; ph: Vincent Farrar & Rudolph Maté |
|
1949 |
Prison Warden [Seymour Friedman] c.op; ph: Henry Freulich |
|
1949 |
Cow Town [John English] c.asst; ph: William Bradford |
|
1949 |
The Petty Girl [Henry Levin] c.asst; ph: William Snyder |
|
1950 |
The Harlem Globetrotters [Phil Brown & (basketball seq) Will Jason] c.asst; ph: Philip Tannura |
|
1950 |
The Magic Carpet [Lew Landers] c.asst; ph: Ellis W. Carter |
|
1951 |
I Love Lucy [Marc Daniels; tv-series] c.asst; ph: Karl Freund |
|
1952 |
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show [various; tv-series] c.asst; ph: ? |
|
1954 |
Pirates of Tripoli [Felix E. Feist] c.op; ph: Henry Freulich |
|
1954 |
New Orleans Uncensored/Riot on Pier 6 [William Castle] c.op; ph: Henry Freulich |
|
1954 |
It Came from Beneath the Sea [Robert Gordon] c.op; ph: Henry Freulich |
|
1955 |
Count Three and Pray/The Calico Pony [George Sherman] c.asst; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1955 |
Three Stripes in the Sun [Richard Murphy] c.asst; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1955 |
Hot Blood/Bad Blood [Nicholas Ray] c.asst; ph: Ray June |
|
1955 |
Storm Center [Daniel Taradash] c.asst; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1955 |
Around the World in Eighty Days [Michael Anderson] co-c.op; ph: Lionel Lindon |
|
1955 |
The Harder They Fall [Mark Robson] c.asst; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1956 |
Rock Around the Clock [Fred F. Sears] c.op; ph: Benjamin H. Kline |
|
1956 |
Nightfall [Jacques Tourneur] c.op; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1956 |
The Old Man and the Sea [John Sturges (July-August 1957) & (uncred) Fred Zinnemann (April-July 1956)] c.op; ph: James Wong Howe |
|
1956 |
Hellcats of the Navy [Nathan Juran] c.op; ph: Irving Lippman |
|
1957 |
Jeanne Eagels [George Sidney] c.op; ph: Robert Planck |
|
1957 |
Pal Joey [George Sidney] c.op; ph: Harold Lipstein |
|
1957 |
Escape from San Quentin [Fred F. Sears] c.op; ph: Benjamin H. Kline |
|
1958 |
The Last Hurrah [John Ford] co-c.op; ph: Charles Lawton Jr. |
|
1958 |
Bell Book and Candle [Richard Quine] c.op; ph: James Wong Howe |
|
1958 |
Face of a Fugitive [Paul Wendkos] c.op; ph: Wilfrid M. Cline |
|
1958 |
The Last Angry Man [Daniel Mann] c.op; ph: James Wong Howe |
|
1959 |
Battle of the Coral Sea [Paul Wendkos] c.op; ph: Wilfrid M. Cline |
|
1959 |
The Mountain Road [Daniel Mann] c.op; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1959 |
Elmer Gantry [Richard Brooks] co-c.op; ph: John Alton |
|
1959 |
Let No Man Write My Epitaph [Philip Leacock] c.op; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1960 |
The Wackiest Ship in the Army [Richard Murphy] c.op; ph: Charles Lawton Jr. |
|
1960 |
A Raisin in the Sun [Daniel Petrie] c.op; ph: Charles Lawton Jr. |
|
1961 |
Experiment in Terror [Blake Edwards] c.op; ph: Philip Lathrop |
|
1962 |
Days of Wine and Roses [Blake Edwards] c.op; ph: Philip Lathrop |
|
1962 |
Birdman of Alcatraz [John Frankenheimer] c.op; ph: Burnett Guffey |
|
1963 |
The Pink Panther [Blake Edwards] c.op; ph: Philip Lathrop |
