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Oscar-Winning Cinematographer Conrad Hall To Be Honored Posthumously On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
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| Robert Towne and Conrad's Daughters Pose with Plaque |
HOLLYWOOD, April 28, 2003-Cinematographer Conrad Hall, ASC will be honored posthumously with
the 2,224th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star for Hall will be unveiled at 11:30 a.m. at
7060 Hollywood Boulevard near Sycamore Avenue. His star is near the star of his good friend, and
fellow cinematographer Haskell Wexler, ASC. Johnny Grant, honorary mayor of Hollywood and
chairman of the Walk Fame Committee, will preside over the event and Leron Gubler, president/CEO
of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will speak on behalf of the organization. Participating at the
event will be writer/directors Robert Towne and Steve Zaillian, who respectively collaborated with the
cinematographer on Tequila Sunrise, and Searching for Bobby Fischer and A Civil Action.
Hall was born and raised in Papeete, Tahiti. His father was James Norman Hall, who co-authored
Mutiny on the Bounty and other classic novels. His parents sent him to school at the University of
Southern California with instructions to find a career. Serendipity led Hall into the film department and
cinematography.
He served a brief apprenticeship as an assistant cameraman and operator and earned his first narrative
credits for the television series Stoney Burke and The Outer Limits, and his first feature credit in 1965 for
Wild Seed. Conrad Hall earned ten Oscar nominations during a career that spanned five decades. He took
top honors in 1969 for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in 2000 for American Beauty, and most recently
for Road to Perdition. His other nominations were for Morituri, The Professionals, In Cold Blood, Day of the
Locust, Tequila Sunrise, Searching for Bobby Fischer and A Civil Action. His other memorable credits include
Cool Hand Luke, Marathon Man, Without Limits, Black Widow, Fat City, Jennifer Eight and Class Action.
Hall received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) in 1993
and the Camerimage International Festival of Cinematography in 1995. He also earned four ASC Outstanding
Achievement Awards for a theatrical release (Tequila Sunrise, 1988; Searching for Bobby Fischer, 1993;
American Beauty, 2000; Road to Perdition, 2003).
Hall mentored scores of young filmmakers and always gave freely of his time to help the next generation learn
the art and craft of cinematography, by volunteering to speak and teach at the International Cinematographers
Guild Lighting Workshops held annually. He also volunteered as the Kodak Cinematographer in Residence at
UCLA. "Conrad Hall made a deep and indelible impression on the art of filmmaking," says ASC
president Richard Crudo. "He introduced a bold, new style of naturalistic cinematography, which has
been widely emulated but never reproduced."
Hall died on January 4, 2003 in Los Angeles. He was 76 years old.
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