Andrew Laszlo(1926-2011)

Cinematographer Andrew Laszlo was born on January 12, 1926 in Papa, Hungary. Laszlo started out as a camera apprentice at the Motion Picture Studios of Budapest when World War II began. Andrew and his family were sent to a Nazi concentration camp; he was the sole member of his family to survive this. Laszlo immigrated to America in 1947 and worked as a freelance still photographer. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the Signal Corps as a combat photographer during the Korean War. After working for a producer of industrial films in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andrew began to work in television in the mid 50s; he was initially a camera operator for "The Phil Silvers Show" and later a director of photography for the TV series "Naked City" and "Coronet Blue." He shot his first theatrical feature "One Potatoe, Two Potatoe" in 1964. Among the other notable movies Laszlo worked as a cinematographer on are "You're a Big Boy Now," "The Night They Raided Minsky's," "The Out of Towners," "The Warriors" (this was the first of three motion pictures he shot for Walter Hill), "The Funhouse," "First Blood," "Innerspace," and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." He received Emmy Award nominations for his work on "Man With a Country" in 1973 and "Shogun" in 1980. Outside of his film and television program work, Laszlo also shot TV commercials for such top advertisers as Kodak, Sprint, Budweiser, Chevrolet, and American Express. Moreover, Andrew wrote several books that include his autobiography "Footnote to History" which was published in 2002. In addition, Laszlo taught cinematography at workshops, seminars, and universities. Andrew died at age 85 at his home in Bozeman, Montana on October 7, 2011; he was survived by his wife Ann; three sons and a daughter; and five grandchildren.