James Wong Howe
| James Wong Howe | |
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Howe on the set of The Molly Maguires in 1969
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| Born |
Wong Tung Jim August 28, 1899 Taishan, Guangdong, China |
| Died | July 12, 1976 (aged 76) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1917–1975 |
| Spouse(s) |
Sanora Babb (m. 1937; his death 1976) (marriage not recognized in U.S. until 1949) |
| Awards |
Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Rose Tattoo (1955) Hud (1963) |
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James Wong Howe, A.S.C. (Chinese: 黃宗霑; pinyin: Huáng Zōngzhān; August 28, 1899 – July 12, 1976) was a Chinese American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films. He was a master at the use of shadow and was one of the first to use deep-focus cinematography, in which both foreground and distant planes remain in focus.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Howe was one of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood. He was nominated for ten Academy Awards for cinematography, winning twice for The Rose Tattoo (1955) and Hud (1963). Howe was judged to be one of history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.
Howe was born Wong Tung Jim in Taishan, Canton Province (now Guangdong), China in 1899. His father Wong Howe moved to America that year to work on the Northern Pacific Railway and in 1904 sent for his family. The Howes settled in Pasco, Washington, where they owned a general store. A Brownie camera, said to have been bought at Pasco Drug (a now-closed city landmark) when he was a child, sparked an early interest in photography. After his father's death, the teenaged Howe moved to Oregon to live with his uncle and briefly considered (1915–16) a career as a bantamweight boxer. After compiling a record of 5 wins, 2 losses and a draw, Howe moved to the San Francisco Bay area in hopes of attending aviation school but ran out of money and went south to Los Angeles, California. Once there, Howe took several odd jobs, including work as a commercial photographer's delivery boy and as a busboy at the Beverly Hills Hotel. After a chance encounter with a former boxing colleague who was photographing a Mack Sennett short on the streets of Los Angeles, Howe approached cinematographer Alvin Wyckoff and landed a low-level job in the film lab at Famous Players-Lasky Studios. Soon thereafter he was called to the set of The Little American to act as an extra clapper boy, which brought him into contact with silent film director Cecil B. DeMille. Amused by the sight of the diminutive Asian holding the slate with a large cigar in his mouth, DeMille kept Howe on and launched his career as a camera assistant. To earn additional money, Howe took publicity stills for Hollywood stars.
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