George Folsey

For his son, see George Folsey Jr.
George J. Folsey
Born
George Joseph Folsey

(1898-07-02)July 2, 1898
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 1, 1988(1988-11-01) (aged 90)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1914–1976
TitleA.S.C.
Board member ofA.S.C. President (1956–1957)
ChildrenGeorge Folsey, Jr.
AwardsAmerican Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award 1988

George Joseph Folsey, A.S.C., was an American cinematographer who worked on 162 films from 1914 to his retirement in 1976.[1] He was one of the main cinematographers at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for 27 years and was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and was a pioneer in many cinematography techniques.[2][1] He was the recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the American Society of Cinematographers in 1988, for whom he had served as president in 1956–1957.[1][2] Film critic Todd McCarthy called him one of Hollywood's most distinguished cinematographers for 50 years.[2]

Biography

Born in 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, Folsey began his film career at the age of 14, when he was hired by Jesse Lasky to work as an office boy in his newly formed Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in New York City.[1]

At the age of 16, he started work as an assistant cameraman and learnt from H. Lyman Broening.[1] He worked as assistant cameraman for directors Edwin S. Porter and J. Searle Dawley.[2] He was promoted to second cameraman and by the age of 19 he had become a cinematographer.[2]

Folsey earned his first screen credit for His Bridal Night in 1919 working for director Kenneth Webb with whom he also made The Fear Market, Sinners and The Stolen Kiss (all 1920). During the 1920s, he worked for Associated First National and Biograph Studios, working multiple times with directors Edward Dillon, Chester M. Franklin, Roy William Neill, George Archainbaud and John Francis Dillon.[2] Leading lady Alice Brady was so satisfied with the way he photographed her she offered him a contract to shoot all her films.

He joined Paramount Astoria Studios, where his films included Rouben Mamoulian's directorial debut, Applause (1929), and the Marx Brothers' screen debut The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930).[2][1]

In 1932, he moved to Los Angeles to work for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he spent the bulk of his career.[3][2] His first film there was Reunion in Vienna (1933), for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.[2] Folsey was nominated 13 times but never won.[1] He was also nominated for Operator 13 (1934), The Gorgeous Hussy (1936), Thousands Cheer (1943), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), The Green Years (1946), Green Dolphin Street (1947), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), Executive Suite (1954), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and The Balcony (1963).[2]

As well as working with Vincente Minnelli on Meet Me in St. Louis, he also worked with him on The Clock, Ziegfeld Follies (both 1945) and The Cobweb (1955) as well as uncredited work on The Band Wagon (1953).[2]

From 1962, he started working in television, serving as director of photography for various episodes of the series The Fugitive and a special about figure skater Peggy Fleming (Here's Peggy Fleming) for which he won an Emmy Award for Best Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming in 1969.[2]

He returned to MGM to shoot new dance sequences featuring Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly for That's Entertainment, Part II (1976).[2] After retirement he gave lectures for the American Film Institute.[1]

Folsey's son George Jr. was a director/producer/editor.

Folsey died in Santa Monica, California following a stroke and long illness.[2]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Folsey Given First ASC Lifetime Achievement Award". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o McCarthy, Todd (November 9, 1988). "Esteemed Lenser George Folsey Dead At 90; Shot Over 150 Pics". Variety. p. 4.
  3. ^ Encyclopedia of Cinematographers
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