Walter Lassally

Walter Lassally
Lassally in Crete with his Oscar
Born	(1926-12-18) 18 December 1926 (age 90) Berlin, Weimar Republic
Occupation	Cinematographer

Walter Lassally (born 18 December 1926) is a German-born British cinematographer.

Walter Lassally was born in Berlin, Germany, and moved to England in 1939. He was closely associated with the Free cinema movement in the 1950s, and the British New Wave in the early 1960s. His work in the 1960s was well known for projects directed by Tony Richardson. He also worked with Greek filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis between 1956 and 1967, and with James Ivory in the 1970s and 1980s. He now lives near Chania in Crete, where he shot Zorba the Greek in 1963.

His autobiography, Itinerant Cameraman, was published in 1987. He is featured in the book Conversations with Cinematographers by David A. Ellis, published by Scarecrow Press in 2011.

He made his debut as an actor in Richard Linklater's Before Midnight (2013), where he plays an older British writer settled in Greece.

1964 Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) for Zorba the Greek (1964). This Oscar melted during a fire at Christiana's Restaurant, on the night of January 1, 2012.

2008 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) International Achievement Award, presented at the 22nd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration on January 26, 2008, at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom, Los Angeles.