In Memoriam: Ralph A. Woolsey, ASC (1914-2018)
The American
Society of Cinematographers
By Rachael Bosley
April 4, 2018
Emmy-winning cinematographer Ralph A. Woolsey, who was
the oldest living member of the ASC, died on March 23 at the Motion Picture
& Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., at the
age of 104.
A consummate technician whose Hollywood career paralleled
the birth and early evolution of television cinematography, including the
transition from black-and-white to color, Woolsey shot such series as Maverick,
77 Sunset Strip, Batman and Mister Roberts.
Born in Oregon on Jan. 1, 1914, to an American father and
a German mother, Woolsey was raised in the Pacific Northwest and in Shakopee,
Minn. The first movies he saw were silent, and although Saturday westerns were
a favorite, the budding piano student was more intrigued by the theater’s
Wurlitzer organ than he was by the images on the screen. It was actually a love
of bird watching and nature that inspired him to learn photography, which he
took up in high school.
After graduating, he moved to Fargo, N.D., and spent
several years working for Ford Motor Co. and moonlighting for a local
photographer. He returned to Minneapolis and enrolled at the University of
Minnesota, intent on becoming a zoologist. He later told American
Cinematographer that he was also attracted by the school’s photo lab, which was
“staffed by professionals who did every conceivable kind of photography.” Soon
Woolsey was making conservation films for the state of Minnesota and
industrials for Bell Aircraft; some of the latter were used to train U.S. Air
Force during World War II.
Woolsey moved to Los Angeles after the war, landing jobs
at Technicolor and at Photo Research Corp., where company founder Karl Freund,
ASC, was developing specialized light meters. “Every meter was
custom-calibrated based on a particular studio lab’s processing methods,”
recalled Woolsey, who shot tests and delivered the meters to cinematographers.
He connected with ASC members Leon Shamroy, Joe Walker and Arthur Miller, among
others, and it was Miller who eventually proposed Woolsey for ASC membership.
By the time Woolsey was invited to join the ASC, on Sept. 10, 1956, he was also
an educator; Slavko Vorkapich recruited him to teach cinematography at the
University of Southern California in 1950, and Woolsey did this for seven
years, shooting small projects on the side.
In 1957, Woolsey got a call to fill in for a
cinematographer who had fallen ill just as Warner Bros. was about to begin
production on the new TV series Maverick, starring James Garner. With access to
studio resources and seasoned crew for the first time, Woolsey jumped right in,
and the craft and speed he had honed as a freelancer paid off immediately: a
few days into the shoot, Warner Bros. offered him a five-year contract. In
1959, his camerawork in Maverick also brought him his first Emmy nomination.
In an extensive, wide-ranging conversation with The
Classic TV History Blog about his career, which included shows at Warner Bros.,
Fox and Universal, Woolsey discussed the learning curve the new medium
presented on studio lots. “[At first] we were using feature sets, which actually
made some of the very first shows look fantastic. On the other hand, you paid a
price because it took longer to work with those sets — they were more
elaborate, took more lighting… And we had crews who had been working on
pictures for years, so sometimes they would tend to be a little too fancy or
elaborate for a television show. In other words, you had to say, ‘Forget the
frosting on the cake, and let’s take care of the meat and potatoes first.’”
Woolsey received his second Emmy nomination in 1960, for
77 Sunset Strip, and he won an Emmy for the pilot It Takes A Thief in
1968.
He transitioned to shooting features in the 1970s, and as
his career flourished, he continued to teach when his schedule permitted. For
an American Film Institute seminar in 1977, he discussed one of his more
unusual features, a 1973 adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
directed by John Frankenheimer. (Excerpts from the seminar were published in AC
in February and March ’78.)
Confronted with a four-hour dialogue-heavy drama that
unfolds in one room over the course of a single night, Frankenheimer and
Woolsey understood that wider angles and a variety of unobtrusive camera moves
would be vital. “[We knew] we must never lose sight of the geography at any
time,” the cinematographer said. “We also wanted to keep the camera setups
interesting and keep repositioning the camera according to the way the play
progressed.”
Woolsey used devices he dubbed “table scrapers” to slowly
slide the Panavision PSR across the bar and tables — even, on a couple of
occasions, moving “right up the middle of a banquet table, just missing the
candlesticks.” Believing that an “antique look” suited the material, he also
force-developed the negative (100 ASA Eastman 5254) to desaturate the color and
add grain. “One reviewer said it had the look of shooting through watered
whiskey,” he noted with pleasure.
The cinematographer’s other feature credits include The
Culpepper Cattle Co., The New Centurions, Mother, Jugs & Speed, The Mack,
The Last Married Couple in America, Oh God! Book II and the memorable drama The
Great Santini:
Woolsey served as the ASC President from 1983-’84. He was
honored with the ASC Presidents Award in 2003 for his unique and enduring
contributions to advancing the art of cinematography. (See AC Jan. 2003.)
“Ralph has earned the respect and admiration of peers for
his innovative spirit and artistry as a cinematographer,” noted Owen Roizman,
ASC, chairman of the ASC Awards Committee at the time. “This tribute also
recognizes his dedication to advancing the art of filmmaking. Ralph has
mentored hundreds of students at film schools, teaching the skills and
aesthetics necessary for success.”
Woolsey celebrating at the ASC Awards in 2013.
“Ralph Woolsey is a talented and unselfish artist who has
taught many students and inspired countless colleagues, including myself, with
his total dedication to his profession,” said then-ASC President Steven Poster.
“He deserves this recognition, and it is our privilege to present it to him.”
In 2014, the ASC helped Woolsey celebrate his 100th
birthday with a party at the ASC Clubhouse.
“People ask me my secret for longevity, but the truth is
I don’t pay that much attention to that aspect of it,” Woolsey told AC
contributor David Heuring. “I can’t move as quickly as I used to; that’s the
main difference I’ve noticed. Having a lively interest in anything,
particularly something that has been your life’s work, really helps."
Woolsey is survived by his sons James, Richard and
Robert.
WOOLSEY, Ralph
Born: 1/1/1914,
Oregon, U.S.A.
Died: 3/23/2018,
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A.
Ralph Woolsey’s
westerns – cinematographer, director of photography:
Mr. Texas – 1951 [cinematographer]
The Persuader – 1957 [cinematographer]
Maverick (TV) – 1957-1960 [cinematographer]
Sugrfoot (TV) – 1958 [cinematographer]
Bronco (TV) – 1958-1962 [cinematographer]
Cheyenne (TV) – 1958-1962 [cinematographer]
Colt .45 (TV) – 1958-1962 [cinematographer]
Lawman (TV) – 1958-1962 [cinematographer]
Temple Houston (TV) – 1963-1964 [cinematographer]
Black Spurs – 1965 [cinematographer]
Iron Horse (TV) – 1967 [cinematographer]
Dirty Little Billy – 1962 [cinematographer]
The Bounty Man (TV) – 1972 [cinematographer]
The Culpepper Cattle Co. – 1972 [director of photography]
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