John P. Fulton

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John P. Fulton, A.S.C.
Born(1902-11-04)November 4, 1902
Beatrice, Nebraska, United States
DiedJuly 5, 1966(1966-07-05) (aged 63)
Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, London, England, UK
OccupationSpecial effects artist
Years active1928–1966
TitleA.S.C.

John P. Fulton,

special effects supervisor and cinematographer. His work included the parting of the Red Sea scene in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.[1]

Biography

Though Fulton began his adult life as a

traveling matte photography, which would serve him so well for the rest of his career. In time he became a camera operator and acted as cinematographer in his first official credit in 1929 with the early sound drama She Goes to War. His experiments and experience with camerawork eventually lead him to the special effects department at Universal Pictures, assisting in the special effects of the landmark horror film Frankenstein in 1931
. Fulton eventually became head of the special effects department at Universal.

Fulton followed his early success as special effects supervisor with a number of memorable films, many of them of the horror film genre, including John Ford's Air Mail and The Mummy in 1932. The following year he created some of the most astounding effects of the time in The Invisible Man as well as 1935's Bride of Frankenstein. Between other film projects, he worked on the special effects for three sequels to the successful Invisible Man, and received Academy Award nominations for his work in all three films, as well as the 1940 musical The Boys from Syracuse.[2] While on loan to Samuel Goldwyn in 1945, he earned a Special Effects Academy Award for his work in the Danny Kaye fantasy Wonder Man.

In 1953, however, after the death of

A.S.C., he became the head of the special effects department at Paramount Pictures, which led to his work on The Naked Jungle (1954), Elephant Walk (1954), Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), Billy Wilder's Sabrina (1954), and The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954).[1]
Fulton won his second Academy Award for The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

Fulton also became known for his collaborations with

The Ten Commandments
(1956), in which he parted the Red Sea, among other impressive special photographic effects.

After leaving Paramount Pictures in the early '60s, Fulton continued to work until his death in 1966.[1] While working in Spain on Battle of Britain (1969), he contracted a rare infection and died shortly thereafter in a London hospital.

John P. Fulton's body of work includes some 250 films spanning nearly four decades. His daughter Joanne Fulton recalled his life and career in an 18-page interview in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.

Academy Awards - (Special Photographic Effects)

References

  1. ^ a b c d Eder, Bruce (2012). "John P. Fulton". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  2. ^ "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-12.

External links

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