Owen Roizman

Owen Roizman
Owen Roizman
Born	September 22, 1936; New York City, U.S.
Died	January 6, 2023 (aged 86); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Cinematographer
Spouse	Mona Lindholm (m. 1964)
Children	1
President of the American Society of Cinematographers
	In office; 1997–1998
Preceded by	Victor J. Kemper
Succeeded by	Woody Omens

Owen Roizman (September 22, 1936 – January 6, 2023) was an American cinematographer. He received five Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, for the films The French Connection (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Network (1976), Tootsie (1982), and Wyatt Earp (1994). He served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was president of the American Society of Cinematographers.

His first feature film was Stop (1970), and several other notable credits include The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Absence of Malice (1981), True Confessions (1981), The Addams Family (1991), and Grand Canyon (1991).^[1] He is known for his "gritty" style and received an Academy Honorary Award in 2017.

Early life

Roizman was raised in Brooklyn,^[2] and as a child, he wanted to be a baseball player, physicist, or mathematician.^[3] He had a tryout with the New York Yankees but contracted polio as a teenager.^[4] His father, Sol, was a cameraman for Movietone News, and upon hearing about the film industry's possible wages, Roizman decided, "I'm going for the money!"^[3] He began working during summer breaks at a camera rental store in New York City and later was an assistant to cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld at MPO Videotronics.^[5]

Career

After creating several television commercials, Roizman made his feature film debut in 1970 with Stop.^[1] His second film, William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971), earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.^[2] The film set the style for many of his future films, with "gritty New York street photography" and available light.^[5]

Throughout the 1970s, he also worked on Play It Again, Sam (1972), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), The Exorcist (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and Network (1976), among others, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography for The Exorcist and Network.^[2] Roizman received two more Academy Award nominations, for Wyatt Earp (1994) and Tootsie (1982). His final film was Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss (1995).^[4]

Roizman was a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2002 to 2011, representing the Cinematographers Branch, and was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). Roizman was ASC president from 1997 to 1998 and served on its board.^[5] He received an Academy Honorary Award at the 9th Governors Awards ceremony in 2017.^[1]

Roizman was known for collaborating with film directors William Friedkin, Sydney Pollack, and Lawrence Kasdan.

Personal life

Roizman lived in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles with his wife, Mona. They had a son, Eric, who became a camera operator.^[6]

Death

Roizman died under hospice care at his home on January 6, 2023, at the age of 86.^[6]

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1970	Stop	Bill Gunn	^[7]
1971	The French Connection	William Friedkin	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography^[6]
1971	The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight	James Goldstone	^[8]
1972	Play It Again, Sam	Herbert Ross	^[6]
	The Heartbreak Kid	Elaine May	^[6]
	Liza with a Z	Bob Fosse	Television film Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie^[7]
1973	The Exorcist	William Friedkin	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography^[6]
1974	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Joseph Sargent	^[9]
1975	The Stepford Wives	Bryan Forbes	^[10]
1975	Three Days of the Condor	Sydney Pollack	^[6]
1976	The Return of a Man Called Horse	Irvin Kershner	^[6]
	Independence	John Huston	^[11]
	Network	Sidney Lumet	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography^[6]
1978	Straight Time	Ulu Grosbard	^[6]
1978	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	Michael Schultz	^[12]
1979	The Electric Horseman	Sydney Pollack	^[6]
1980	The Black Marble	Harold Becker	^[6]
1981	True Confessions	Ulu Grosbard	^[13]
	Absence of Malice	Sydney Pollack	^[6]
	Taps	Harold Becker	^[6]
1982	Tootsie	Sydney Pollack	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography^[6]
1985	Vision Quest	Harold Becker	^[6]
1990	I Love You to Death	Lawrence Kasdan	^[6]
1990	Havana	Sydney Pollack	^[6]
1991	The Addams Family	Barry Sonnenfeld	^[6]
1991	Grand Canyon	Lawrence Kasdan	^[6]
1994	Wyatt Earp		Nominated – A.S.C. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography^[6]
1995	French Kiss		^[6]

Other awards

Year	Award	Category	Result
1997	American Society of Cinematographers	Lifetime Achievement Award	Won^[7]
2000	Palm Springs International Film Festival	Career Achievement Award	Won
2001	Camerimage	Lifetime Achievement Award	Won
2011	Ojai Film Festival	Lifetime Achievement Award (shared with Mitzi Gaynor)	Won^[14]