Ernest Schoedsack

Ernest B. Schoedsack
Born	June 8, 1893 Council Bluffs, Iowa, US
Died	December 23, 1979(1979-12-23) (aged 86) Los Angeles County, California, US
Occupation	Film producer, cinematographer, film director
Spouse(s)	Ruth Rose

Ernest Beaumont Schoedsack (June 8, 1893 – December 23, 1979) was an American motion picture cinematographer, producer, and director. He worked on several films with Merian C. Cooper including King Kong and Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness.

Ernest B. Schoedsack was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on June 8, 1893. He ran away from home at age fourteen and worked with road gangs. He went to San Francisco, where he worked as a surveyor. He grew to be 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), and his friends called him "Shorty."

Schoedsack began his career in films in 1914 when he became a cameraman for Mack Sennett. He continued working as a cameraman in World War I. He served in the Signal Corps of the United States Army in France in 1916. He also flew in combat missions. After the war, he stayed in Europe furthering his career as a cameraman. His eyesight was severely damaged in World War I, yet he continued to work with films afterwards. In 1920, Schoedsack helped refugees in Poland escape the Polish–Russian Wars. He worked with the American Red Cross. During 1921 and 1922, he also helped refugees from the Greco-Turkish War. He was hired by The New York Times as a cameraman on an expedition around the world.

Schoedsack began as a co-director with Merian C. Cooper. He first met Cooper in 1918 in Vienna. They both later worked for The New York Times, but decided to make their own films. Their first collaboration was on Grass which was produced in 1925. That same year Schoedsack met screenwriter and former actress Ruth Rose, would later marry her in 1926. They met on an expedition Galapagos Islands where Schoedsack was the cameraman on that trip, and Rose was the official historian.

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