Gregg Toland

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Gregg Toland (born May 29, 1904 in Charleston , Illinois , † September 28, 1948 in Santa Monica , California ) was an influential American cinematographer , who was best known for his innovative work on Citizen Kane by Orson Welles .

Life

Toland first attended school, but when he was 15 he went to Hollywood, where he worked as a delivery boy. After a while he took a job as a camera assistant at Al St. John. From 1926 Toland worked at MGM. There he worked as assistant camera to Arthur Edeson . Toland was first mentioned as a cameraman in This is Heaven , by director Alfred Santell , in 1929. With his co-cameraman George Barnes of This is Heaven , Toland developed the Blimp , a noise-dampening housing for cameras. In 1931 Toland became chief cameraman. His work on films like Les Miserables from 1935 or Wuthering Heights from 1939 made Toland a sought-after cameraman. He has worked with directors such as Rouben Mamoulian , John Ford , William Wyler and Richard Boleslawski .

Toland's camera work was based on German Expressionism with its high-contrast scene lighting. To do this, he had various optics made for special images. Toland's work on Citizen Kane , which found its stylistic climax here , was highly praised by critics .

Toland was nominated six times for an Oscar during his most successful creative period between 1935 and 1942 . He won it in 1940 for Sturmhöhe with Laurence Olivier .

Gregg Toland died of heart failure in 1948.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Toland, Gregg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cameraman
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Charleston , Illinois, USA
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 1948
Place of death Santa Monica , California, USA