| Karl Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 26, 1896 McKeesport, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 25, 1990 (aged 93) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Cinematographer Director Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1914-1960 |
| Parents | William H. Brown (father) |
Karl Brown (December 26, 1896 – March25, 1990) was a pioneer American cinematographer who had a close association with director D. W. Griffith during the early part of his career. Brown also became a noteworthy director and screenwriter.
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Brown's first entertainment-related job, while still in his teens, was working at a development lab for the Kinemacolor Film Company in Los Angeles.[1] After the collapse of Kinemacolor, he worked as a still photographer on The Spoilers. Having become enamored with Griffith's work (especially The Battle at Elderbush Gulch) he became an assistant to G.W. Bitzer as well as a film loader and equipment caretaker.
The most successful film he worked on as cinematographer was The Covered Wagon. Brown's first directorial effort, Stark Love(1927), is today considered a rural cinematic masterpiece. Brown was cinematographer on Wallace Reid's very last film, Thirty Days. In the 1970s Brown was one of the Hollywood pioneers interviewed by Kevin Brownlow for his 1980 television series, Hollywood. In the series Brown talked at length about Reid's addiction and death.[2]