Harry Stradling Jr. obit

Famed Cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr. Dies at 92

The two-time Oscar nominee specialized in Westerns like 'Rooster Cogburn' and 'Gunsmoke' and also shot 'The Way We Were,' '1776' and 'Little Big Man.' 

He was not on the list.

Harry Stradling Jr., the two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer who shot such films as Little Big Man, The Way We Were, 1776 and Rooster Cogburn, has died. He was 92.

Stradling Jr. died Oct. 17 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, his son John told The Hollywood Reporter.

He was the son of another acclaimed director of photography, Harry Stradling Sr., who won Academy Awards for The Picture of Dorian Gray and My Fair Lady and was nominated a dozen other times (for A Streetcar Named Desire, Guys and Dolls, Funny Girl, et al.).

Stradling Jr., though, certainly carved out a superb career for himself, working across genres on films including the family comedy With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), the George C. Scott caper flick Bank Shot (1974), the action war movie Midway (1976) and the Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest (1977).

Stradling Jr. received his Oscar noms in consecutive years — 1973 and ’74 — for the adaptation of the Broadway sensation 1776 and for the Barbra Streisand-Robert Redford romantic drama The Way We Were, respectively. (Streisand was in good hands; his father had photographed her in her first four films.)

Stradling Jr. also shot many Westerns for the big screen, including six for director Burt Kennedy (1969’s Support Your Local Sheriff and the 1971 follow-up, Support Your Local Gunfighter, among them); The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), starring Burt Reynolds; and John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn’s Rooster Cogburn (1975).

He worked on 87 installments of Gunsmoke from 1964-67 (from the start of the show’s 10th season through the beginning of the 13th) before leaving to shoot almost all of the episodes in the only season of another CBS Western, Cimarron Strip, starring Stuart Whitman, in 1967-68.

Stradling Jr. also collaborated with director Blake Edwards on S.O.B. (1981),  Micki + Maude (1984), A Fine Mess (1986) and Blind Date (1987).

Born in Yonkers, N.Y., on Jan. 7, 1925, Stradling Jr. spent time early in his career as a camera assistant and camera operator, beginning when he “slapped the slate” on George Cukor’s Gaslight (1944). He also was behind the scenes for features including Fred Zinnemann’s film noir classic Act of Violence (1949) and The Tall Target (1951), directed by Anthony Mann.

He then worked alongside his dad on Guys and Dolls (1955), The Pajama Game (1957), Auntie Mame (1958), The Miracle (1959), A Summer Place (1959) and Gypsy (1962).

“Since he was my father, I had to cut the mustard myself … which made me better,” he told author Jim Udel in a 2007 interview.

Stradling Jr. went out on his own as a cinematographer for the first time on Welcome to Hard Times (1967), a Western that starred Henry Fonda and marked the DP’s first collaboration with Kennedy.

Another Fonda Western, There Was a Crooked Man … (1970), soon followed, as did the horror film The Mad Room (1969) and Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man (1970). On the Dustin Hoffman starrer, Stradling Jr. operated a camera one-handed as he rode on horseback while dressed as a Native American, and the film features wonderful snow-white landscapes.

His body of work also includes John Sturges’ McQ (1974), Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy (1978), Ted Post’s Go Tell the Spartans (1978), Robert Kaylor’s Carny (1980), Billy Wilder’s Buddy Buddy (1981), John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy (1979) and his last film, Caddyshack II (1988).

Stradling Jr. also earned an Emmy nomination in 1984 for the CBS miniseries George Washington, starring Barry Bostwick.

His great uncle was silent-era cinematographer Walter Stradling, who shot several Mary Pickford movies, and his sons John, Bob and Michael together have dozens of camera credits in Hollywood.

Asked by Udel what advice he would give aspiring cinematographers, Stradling Jr. said: “Always listen to the director. He’s the boss of the film. And always make the ladies look good.”

Cinematographer

Caddyshack II (1988)

Caddyshack II

3.8

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1988

 

Blind Date (1987)

Blind Date

5.9

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1987

 

A Fine Mess (1986)

A Fine Mess

4.7

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1986

 

Micki + Maude (1984)

Micki + Maude

6.0

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1984

 

George Washington (1984)

George Washington

7.9

TV Mini Series

director of photography

1984

3 episodes

 

O'Hara's Wife (1982)

O'Hara's Wife

5.1

Cinematographer

1982

 

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Buddy Buddy (1981)

Buddy Buddy

6.5

director of photography

1981

 

The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981)

The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper

5.5

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1981

 

S.O.B. (1981)

S.O.B.

6.4

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1981

 

Up the Academy (1980)

Up the Academy

4.7

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1980

 

Jodie Foster and Gary Busey in Carny (1980)

Carny

6.4

director of photography

1980

 

Prophecy (1979)

Prophecy

5.5

director of photography

1979

 

Born Again (1978)

Born Again

5.1

director of photography

1978

 

Go Tell the Spartans (1978)

Go Tell the Spartans

6.6

director of photography

1978

 

Convoy (1978)

Convoy

6.3

director of photography

1978

 

Damnation Alley (1977)

Damnation Alley

5.2

director of photography

1977

 

Muhammad Ali in The Greatest (1977)

The Greatest

5.9

director of photography

1977

 

Special Delivery (1976)

Special Delivery

6.1

director of photography

1976

 

The Big Bus (1976)

The Big Bus

5.7

director of photography

1976

 

Midway (1976)

Midway

6.7

director of photography

1976

 

Rooster Cogburn (1975)

Rooster Cogburn

6.8

director of photography

1975

 

Mitchell (1975)

Mitchell

2.7

director of photography (as Harry Stradling)

1975

 

Candice Bergen, James Coburn, and Gene Hackman in Bite the Bullet (1975)

Bite the Bullet

6.6

director of photography

1975

 

The Bank Shot (1974)

The Bank Shot

5.4

director of photography

1974

 

Nightmare Honeymoon (1974)

Nightmare Honeymoon

4.4

Cinematographer

1974

 

John Wayne and Diana Muldaur in McQ (1974)

McQ

6.2

director of photography

1974

 

The Way We Were (1973)

The Way We Were

7.0

director of photography

1973

 

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing

6.2

director of photography

1973

 

1776 (1972)

1776

7.6

director of photography

1972

 

Thumb Tripping (1972)

Thumb Tripping

5.6

director of photography

1972

 

Skyjacked (1972)

Skyjacked

5.7

director of photography

1972

 

Brian Keith and Dean Martin in Something Big (1971)

Something Big

5.7

director of photography

1971

 

The Late Liz (1971)

The Late Liz

6.6

director of photography

1971

 

Fools' Parade (1971)

Fools' Parade

6.4

director of photography

1971

 

Jack Elam, James Garner, Harry Morgan, and Suzanne Pleshette in Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)

Support Your Local Gunfighter

6.8

Cinematographer

1971

 

Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970)

Little Big Man

7.5

director of photography

1970

 

Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)

Dirty Dingus Magee

5.2

Cinematographer

1970

 

There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)

There Was a Crooked Man...

6.9

director of photography

1970

 

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys

6.1

director of photography

1969

 

Young Billy Young (1969)

Young Billy Young

5.7

director of photography

1969

 

The Mad Room (1969)

The Mad Room

5.7

director of photography

1969

 

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Support Your Local Sheriff!

7.5

director of photography

1969

 

Doris Day, Barbara Hershey, Brian Keith, Jimmy Bracken, John Findlater, and Richard Steele in With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)

With Six You Get Eggroll

6.4

director of photography

1968

 

Stuart Whitman in Cimarron Strip (1967)

Cimarron Strip

7.1

TV Series

director of photography

1967–1968

21 episodes

 

James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)

Gunsmoke

8.1

TV Series

director of photography

1964–1967

86 episodes

 

Henry Fonda, Janis Paige, Janice Rule, Michael Shea, Fay Spain, and Keenan Wynn in Welcome to Hard Times (1967)

Welcome to Hard Times

5.8

director of photography

1967

 

Stella Stevens, Richard Conte, Chuck Connors, Alex Cord, Eartha Kitt, and Edmond O'Brien in Synanon (1965)

Synanon

5.8

Cinematographer (as Harry Stradling)

1965

 

Camera and Electrical Department

Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, and Rosalind Russell in Gypsy (1962)

Gypsy

7.1

camera operator (uncredited)

1962

 

Rider on a Dead Horse (1962)

Rider on a Dead Horse

5.4

camera operator (as Harry Stradling)

1962

 

Cash McCall (1960)

Cash McCall

6.3

camera operator (uncredited)

1960

 

The Miracle (1959)

The Miracle

5.9

second camera operator (uncredited)

1959

 

A Summer Place (1959)

A Summer Place

6.9

camera operator (uncredited)

1959

 

Loretta Young in The Loretta Young Show (1953)

The Loretta Young Show

7.6

TV Series

camera operator

1959

6 episodes

 

The Young Philadelphians (1959)

The Young Philadelphians

7.4

first assistant camera (uncredited)

1959

 

Coral Browne, Peggy Cass, Fred Clark, Patric Knowles, Rosalind Russell, Roger Smith, and Forrest Tucker in Auntie Mame (1958)

Auntie Mame

7.9

camera operator (uncredited)

1958

 

Julie Adams, Ray Danton, Kerwin Mathews, and Paul Wendkos in Tarawa Beachhead (1958)

Tarawa Beachhead

5.8

camera operator

1958

 

Philip Carey and Catherine McLeod in Return to Warbow (1958)

Return to Warbow

5.5

camera operator (uncredited)

1958

 

Doris Day, Ralph W. Chambers, Ralph Dunn, Eddie Foy Jr., Owen Martin, John Raitt, and Jack Straw in The Pajama Game (1957)

The Pajama Game

6.6

assistant camera (uncredited)

1957

 

Kim Novak and Jeff Chandler in Jeanne Eagels (1957)

Jeanne Eagels

6.2

assistant camera (uncredited)

1957

 

Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine in Guys and Dolls (1955)

Guys and Dolls

7.1

assistant camera (uncredited)

1955

 

Ann Blyth, John Ericson, and Edmund Purdom in The Student Prince (1954)

The Student Prince

6.5

camera assistant (uncredited)

1954

 

Young Bess (1953)

Young Bess

6.6

assistant camera (uncredited)

1953

 

Red Skelton in The Clown (1953)

The Clown

6.5

assistant camera (uncredited)

1953

 

Paula Raymond and Dick Powell in The Tall Target (1951)

The Tall Target

7.2

assistant camera (uncredited)

1951

 

Arlene Dahl, Ann Miller, and Red Skelton in Watch the Birdie (1950)

Watch the Birdie

6.0

assistant camera (uncredited)

1950

 

Hedy Lamarr and John Hodiak in A Lady Without Passport (1950)

A Lady Without Passport

6.1

assistant camera (uncredited)

1950

 

Mystery Street (1950)

Mystery Street

7.2

assistant camera (uncredited)

1950

 

Dean Stockwell, Ellen Drew, and Joel McCrea in Stars in My Crown (1950)

Stars in My Crown

7.4

assistant camera (uncredited)

1950

 

Intruder in the Dust (1949)

Intruder in the Dust

7.6

assistant camera (uncredited)

1949

 

Act of Violence (1948)

Act of Violence

7.5

assistant camera (uncredited)

1948

 

The Kissing Bandit (1948)

The Kissing Bandit

5.3

assistant camera (uncredited)

1948

 

A Date with Judy (1948)

A Date with Judy

6.5

assistant camera (uncredited)

1948

 

June Allyson, Jimmy Durante, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, and Lauritz Melchior in Two Sisters from Boston (1946)

Two Sisters from Boston

6.6

assistant camera (uncredited)

1946

 

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes

7.6

assistant camera (uncredited)

1945

 

June Allyson, Jimmy Durante, José Iturbi, and Margaret O'Brien in Music for Millions (1944)

Music for Millions

6.7

assistant camera (uncredited)

1944

 

Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten in Gaslight (1944)

Gaslight

7.8

assistant camera (uncredited)

1944