American Cinematographer - March 1989 - 42

Third Annual ASC Awards Honor Biroc
by David Heuring and George Turner
The Third Annual Awards for Out¬

standing Cinematography event on
March 5 takes place in the 70th year
of the American Society of Cinema¬
tographers. The year 1989 - also
the 100th anniversary of the inven¬
tion of motion picture film promises to be memorable in the
world of the moving image.
The March event will

cluding made-for-television films;
and finally, the Lifetime Achieve¬
ment Award, which was given for
the first time last year to the late
George Folsey, ASC.

berth at United

Artists Studio

(now the WarnerHollywood Studio). In 1929, as talk¬
ing pictures came to the fore, he
became an operative cameraman at
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., a new

company lately
dio Corporation

established by Ra¬
of America and the
Keith and Orpheum theater cir¬
cuits at the former Film Booking

rec¬

ognize cinematographers from

Office studio. He remained

television and the theatrical field,
and also will honor one individual

for most of the next 20 years, oper¬
ating for many of the leading cine¬

for

matographers of the day.
"We are delighted to be
honoring our colleague, Joe Biroc,"
says Harry Wolf, ASC past presi¬

lifetime of contributions.

a

Joseph F. Biroc, ASC, will
become the second recipient of the
American Society of Cinematogra¬
phers Lifetime Achievement

dustry and his endurance and
artistry as a cinematographer de¬
to be noted

the art of

serve

presented

recipients of

The ASC will also present
1988 awards for outstanding cur¬

an

cinematography, will be
as part of the Third An¬
nual ASC Awards program in the
Beverly Hilton International Ball¬

"We

cinematography, honoring ex¬
ceptional work in both theatrical
motion pictures and films for tele¬

saw

his first

vacant lot five

movie in 1910

gories will be chosen by a vote of

blocks from his home. The New

will include film
clips of the winning entries and the
golden camera replicas will be pre¬
sented by industry celebrities.
The award, a nine-inch

crystalline rectangular prism sur¬
rounding a camera and tripod of
antiqued gold, will be presented in
five categories, honoring outstand¬
ing achievement in filmed motion
pictures. The categories are: motion
pictures of feature length for theat¬
rical release; motion pictures film¬
ed for television for a single episode
of

a

of

a

for

a single episode
miniseries made for television;

regular series;
a

special

American

program or

Cinematographer

pilot, in¬

do the

were

new

March

many years as

such event."

Joseph Biroc

vision. The winners in these cate¬

awards program

as

organization without recogniz¬
ing our own and it is a great plea¬
sure to be
anticipating the third

rent

The March 5

-

our awards in
for their work during 1988.

room.

ASC members.

at RKO

dent. "His contributions to this in¬

Award. The award, which recog¬
nizes Biroc's career contributions to

40

ant cameraman's

on a

York-born youngster decided
moment how he

at that

going to spend
making movies.
In 1918, when he was 15 years old,
he got a job working in the film lab
at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee,
New Jersey. The following year he
was

the rest of his life:

moved to Craftsman Labs, which
later was merged into Consolidated
Film Industries. For about six years
he worked in various film labs in
Fort Lee,

Long Island and Los

Angeles.
At

last, in 1925, he

given his chance

was

assistant
cameraman at Paramount's
Long Is¬
land Studios. Two years later he
moved to Hollywood and an assist¬

March 1989

as an

At age 70, the ASC is by
far the oldest professional organi¬
zation in the film

industry, and its
recognize
world-wide artistry in motion pic¬
ture cinematography. The Society
awards

was

are

intended to

formed in 1918, with

charter issued in

an

official

January of 1919.
The ASC, publisher of American
Cinematographer magazine, is not
a
guild or a union, but an educa¬
tional and professional honorary
society created "to advance the art
of cinematography through artistry
and technological progress, to ex¬
change ideas and to cement a closer
relationship among cinematogra¬
phers. Membership is by invitation
only to active, professional direc¬
tors of photography who have dem¬
onstrated outstanding ability.
American Cinematographer - March 1989

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