Haskell Wexler

Personal

Vocation

Notable

American cinematographer, distinguished with his work on "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," 1965, and "Bound for Glory," 1976. For both of these films, Wexler won Academy Awards. His later works include "The Secret of Roan Inish," 1995. As an amateur filmmaker, Wexler spent years making educational films before getting his big break working on the documentary, "The Savage Eye," in 1960. He went on to photograph dramas like "Hoodlum Priest," 1961, and "The Best Man," 1964, and eventually worked on high profile films like "The Thomas Crown Affair," 1968. After gaining a reputation as a superb cameraman, he wrote, directed and photographed his own film, "Medium Cool," 1969, a fictional story that used actual footage from the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It went on to become a landmark American film and made him a near-legend. Always known as a political activist, he directed films such as "Interviews with My Lai Veterans," 1970, "Latino," 1986, and "Underground," 1975. For the latter work, which chronicled the Weather Underground Movement, he was questioned by a federal grand jury. Wexler died in his sleep at home on 27 December 2015, in Santa Monica, California, aged 93. Link to Wikipedia biography