Floyd Crosby | |
|---|---|
| Born | Floyd Delafield Crosby December 12, 1899 West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | September 30, 1985(1985-09-30) (aged 85) Ojai, California, United States |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingDavid Crosby |
| Relatives |
|
Floyd Delafield Crosby,ASC (December 12, 1899 – September 30, 1985)[1] was an Americancinematographer. He won theAcademy Award for Best Cinematography in 1931 forTabu: A Story of the South Seas, his debut film, before going on to shoot over 120 productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Crosby worked with such directors asFred Zinnemann. Beginning in the 1950's, he was the regular cinematographer forRoger Corman, totaling 21 films together.
Crosby was also the father of singer-songwriterDavid Crosby.
Floyd Delafield Crosby was born and raised inWest Philadelphia, the son of Julia Floyd (née Delafield) and Frederick Van Schoonhoven Crosby.[2] Through his maternal grandmother, he was descended from the prominentVan Rensselaer family.[3] His maternal grandfather was Dr. Francis Delafield.[4] His maternal uncle wasEdward Henry Delafield (1880–1955).[5]
Crosby worked at theNew York Stock Exchange, before enrolling in theNew York Institute of Photography.[6]
In 1927, he was hired by marine biologistWilliam Beebe as a cameraman for his expedition toHaiti.[6] The expedition would establish Crosby as a top documentary cameraman,[6] befriendingRobert J. Flaherty. In 1929, Flaherty hired Crosby to shoot the ethnographic filmTabu: A Story of the South Seas, directed byF. W. Murnau. It was Crosby's first photography credit on a feature film, and earned himBest Cinematography at the4th Academy Awards.
Crosby subsequently filmed theBedaux expedition in 1934, and shot other documentaries for the likes ofPare Lorentz andJoris Ivens.[6] He served as a cinematographer for theU.S. Army Air Corpsfilm wing, and madeflight training films inWorld War II. He left the Air Corps in 1946.[citation needed] His disinterest in studio politics dissuaded him from working on traditional feature films, and he remained a somewhat fringe figure until 1951, whenRobert Rossen hired him to shootThe Brave Bulls.[6] The following year, he shotHigh Noon (1952) for directorFred Zinnemann, which went on to win fourAcademy Awards. Crosby won aGolden Globe Award for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White).
In the following years, Crosby worked primarily withB-movie directorRoger Corman. Beginning withFive Guns West (1955), the two worked on a total of 21 films between 1955 and 1967. Crosby also shot many other films for Corman'sAmerican International Pictures. Some sources claimed Crosby was relegated to working on B-movies because he had beenblacklisted, though Corman denied this, stating Crosby's simply disliked traditional studio politics.[6]
In 1973, he participated in an oral history sponsored by theAmerican Film Institute, part of which dealt with his work onTabu: A Story of the South Seas.[7]
On December 11, 1930,[4] he married AliphVan Cortlandt Whitehead. She was the daughter of John Brinton Whitehead.[3] Together, they had two children:
Crosby divorced in 1960 and married Betty Cormack Andrews in the same year. He retired in 1972 toOjai, California.[2]
Crosby died in Ojai at the age of 85, in 1985.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
