William H. Clothier

William H. Clothier, A.S.C. (February 21, 1903 – January 7, 1996) was an American cinematographer.

Biography

Born in Decatur, Illinois, Clothier entered the film industry painting sets at Warner Bros., and at the end of the silent era began photographing such films as Wings (1927) and Ernst Lubitsch's The Patriot (1928). Between 1933 and 1938, he worked in Spain, where he was imprisoned during the Spanish Civil War. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force during World War II, during which he flew seventeen missions on the Memphis Belle.^[1]

In 1955, Clothier filmed The Sea Chase, his first project as Director of Photography with John Wayne, after which the actor signed him to a contract with his Batjac Productions. The two went on to collaborate on 21 more films, including John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He retired in 1972 after filming The Train Robbers for Burt Kennedy.

Clothier was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography for The Alamo (1960) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). His work on numerous Westerns earned him the 1973 Heritage Award from the Cowboy Hall of Fame, and he received the American Society of Cinematographers President's Award in 1995.

Additional filmography

• King Kong (1933)
• Corner in Madrid (1936)
• Fort Apache (1948)
• Once a Thief (1950)
• Island in the Sky (1953)
• The High and the Mighty (1954)
• The Track of the Cat (1954)
• Ring of Fear (1954)
• Sea Chase (1955)
• Blood Alley (1955)
• Gun the Man Down (1956)
• Man in the Vault (1956)
• Good-bye, My Lady (1956)
• Seven Men from Now (1956)
• Dragoon Wells Massacre (1957)
• Escort West (1958)
• China Doll (1958)
• Darby's Rangers (1958)
• The Horse Soldiers (1959)
• The Alamo (1960)
• The Comancheros (1961)
• Merrill's Marauders (1962)
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
• McLintock! (1963)
• Donovan's Reef (1963)
• A Distant Trumpet (1964)
• Shenandoah (1965)
• The Rare Breed (1966)
• Stagecoach (1966)
• The Way West (1967)
• The Devil's Brigade (1968)
• Firecreek (1968)
• Bandolero! (1968)
• Hellfighters (1968)
• The Undefeated (1969)
• The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
• Chisum (1970)
• Rio Lobo (1970)
• Big Jake (1971)
• The Train Robbers (1973)

Misc.

• The Big Stampede - Camera Operator (1932)
• Island in the Sky - Aerial Cameraman (1953)
• The High and the Mighty - Aerial Photography (1954)
• Cheyenne - episode - Fury at Rio Hondo - Director of Photography (1956)
• Jet Pilot - Aerial Photographer (uncredited) (originally filmed in 1949 but not released until 1957) (1957)
• The Hollywood Greats - episode - John Wayne - Himself (1984)
• John Wayne's The Alamo - Video Documentary - Himself (1992)

References

1. ↑ Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers

External links

• William H. Clothier at the Internet Movie Database
• William H. Clothier at FilmReference.com