Lucien Ballard
Lucien Ballard | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | October 1, 1988 | (aged 80)
Occupation | Cinematographer |
Years active | 1929–1978 |
Spouses | Margaret McLellan
(m. 1928; div. 1944)Inez Ethel Pokorny (m. 1949) |
Children | 4 |
Lucien Ballard
Biography
Ballard was born in Miami, Oklahoma in 1908. His mother Ada was Cherokee and Lucien is listed on the Dawes Rolls as 1/16th Cherokee by Blood.[1][2] He attended the University of Oklahoma and the University of Pennsylvania[3] and after graduating, he became a surveyor.[4]
Ballard began working on films at
Ballard filmed
In 1941's Howard Hughes film The Outlaw, Hughes cast Jane Russell in the lead and had numerous shots of her cleavage, which got the attention of the Hollywood censors. The film was shot in 1940 and 1941 but took five years to be released to selected theaters. Ballard was the camera man for the screen tests, did some of the second unit work for director Howard Hawks, and assisted cinematographer Gregg Toland on the first unit crew.[3] He also filmed Laura (1944) for Rouben Mamoulian until Otto Preminger took over as director.[3]
On Morocco, Ballard had also worked with
After working with Budd Boetticher on The Magnificent Matador (1955), they worked together on six feature films, including The Killer Is Loose (1956), Buchanan Rides Alone (1958),The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), A Time for Dying (1969) and Arruza (1971)[3] as well as the television show Maverick (1957) and the documentary My Kingdom For... (1985).
He made The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) and The Desert Rats (1953) for Robert Wise; Return of the Texan (1952) and Susan Slade (1961) with Delmer Daves; three films with Raoul Walsh including The King and Four Queens (1956) and Band of Angels (1957); and three films with Roy Ward Baker, including Inferno (1953), often considered the best shot color 3D film of the era.[3] He also worked with Stanley Kubrick on The Killing (1956).[3]
Ballard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for The Caretakers (1963).[3]
Another relationship of importance was with Sam Peckinpah. They worked together on The Westerner (1960 television series), Ride the High Country (1962), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), The Getaway (1972), and Junior Bonner (1972). He won the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Cinematography for The Wild Bunch.[6]
He also formed a partnership with Tom Gries making five films, including Will Penny (1968) and Breakheart Pass (1976).[3] His last feature film was Joan Rivers' Rabbit Test (1978)[3] starring Billy Crystal in his film debut.
Ballard died at the age of 80 in 1988, two days after being involved in a car accident near his home in Indian Wells, California.[7][3]
Personal life
Ballard had been married before Oberon and was married for a third time in 1949 to Inez Pokorny, a world traveler and photographer who is sometimes credited as the first woman to explore the Amazon River from the Atlantic to the Pacific,[8] who was killed in an automobile accident in 1982.[3] He had two sons,[3] Christopher and Anthony. Ballard also had two daughters, Zoe and Pamela from his first marriage to Margaret J McLellan.
Partial filmography
- Crime and Punishment 1935
- The King Steps Out, 1936
- The Final Hour
- Craig's Wife, 1936
- The Devil's Playground, 1937
- Racketeers in Exile, 1937
- Penitentiary, 1938
- Rio Grande (1938)
- The Lone Wolf in Paris, 1938
- Squadron of Honor (1938)
- The Thundering West, 1939
- Texas Stampede (1939)
- Let Us Live!, 1939
- Wild Geese Calling, 1941
- The Lodger, 1944
- This Love of Ours, 1945
- Temptation, 1946
- Berlin Express, 1948
- Night Song, 1948
- Fixed Bayonets!, 1951
- The House on Telegraph Hill, 1951
- Don't Bother to Knock, 1952
- Diplomatic Courier, 1952
- Return of the Texan, 1952
- Night Without Sleep, 1953
- Inferno, 1953
- The Desert Rats, 1953
- Prince Valiant, 1954
- The Magnificent Matador, 1955
- The King and Four Queens, 1956
- The Killing, 1956
- A Kiss Before Dying, 1956
- The Killer Is Loose, 1956
- Band of Angels, 1957
- Buchanan Rides Alone, 1958
- Murder by Contract, 1958
- The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond, 1960
- Marines, Let's Go, 1961
- Susan Slade, 1961
- The Parent Trap, 1961
- Ride the High Country, 1962
- The Caretakers, 1963
- The Sons of Katie Elder, 1965
- Nevada Smith, 1966
- Hour of the Gun, 1967
- Will Penny, 1968
- The Party, 1968
- The Wild Bunch, 1969
- A Time for Dying, 1969
- True Grit, 1969
- The Ballad of Cable Hogue, 1970
- The Hawaiians, 1970
- Elvis: That's the Way It Is, 1970
- Arruza, 1971
- The Getaway, 1972
- Junior Bonner, 1972
- Lady Ice, 1973
- Breakout, 1975
- Breakheart Pass, 1976
- Rabbit Test, 1978
- My Kingdom For..., (1985)
References
- ^ "BALLARD, LUCIEN KEITH (1904–1988)". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
- ^ "Search the Dawes Final Rolls". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u McCarthy, Todd (October 5, 1988). "Cinematographer Lucien Ballard Dies At 84; Had Top Projects". Variety. p. 4.
- ISBN 978-0826339515.
- ISBN 0304333514.
- ISBN 978-0786493241.
- ^ Glenn Collins (October 6, 1988). "Lucien Ballard, Cinematographer". New York Times.
- ^ "Ballard, Lucien Keith | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture".