Richard H. Kline Will Receive ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Cinematographer Will Be Feted During 20th Annual Awards

23-Sep-05

Richard H. Kline, ASC will receive the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has made exceptional and enduring contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking. Kline will be feted during the 20th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on February 26, 2006, at the Century Plaza Hotel. ""Richard Kline has made an indelible impression on the art of cinematography,"" says Russ Alsobrook, ASC who chairs the organization's awards committee. ""He is an innovative artist who had the courage to explore and open new frontiers, and the talent to succeed in those endeavors. Richard has created an extraordinarily diverse and impressive body of work. His films have entertained millions of people. He has also inspired many cinematographers to pursue their dreams.""Kline has compiled more than 50 narrative film credits beginning in 1964 with the television series MR. NOVAK. He earned Oscar nominations for CAMELOT in 1968 and for KING KONG in 1977. His other memorable credits include THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, SOYLENT GREEN, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, THE TERMINAL MAN, ALL OF ME, WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, BREATHLESS, and BODY HEAT.""Critics tend to praise cinematographers for beautiful pictures, especially sunsets, but our real job is to visually enhance the story, create moods, properly capture the actors' performances, and especially protect their image,"" says Kline. ""This has to be done seamlessly without stealing the audiences' attention from the drama or action.""He joins a distinguished list of previous recipients, including George Folsey, ASC, Joe Biroc, ASC, Stanley Cortez, ASC, Charles B. Lang, Jr., ASC, Phil Lathrop, ASC, Haskell Wexler, ASC, Conrad Hall, ASC, Gordon Willis, ASC, Sven Nykvist, ASC, Owen Roizman, ASC, Victor J. Kemper, ASC, Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, William Fraker, ASC, Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, Bill Butler, ASC, Michael Chapman, ASC and Fred Koenekamp, ASC. Kline is a second-generation filmmaker. His parents met at Universal Studios where his mother was the paymaster during the Carl Lemley era.His father, Benjamin Kline, ASC, was a cinematographer and is credited with more than 350 films. His uncles were Phil Rosen, ASC, a charter member and first president of ASC in 1919, and Sol Halprin, ASC, who also served as ASC president. ""I think a penchant for cinematography must be in my genes,"" Kline says, ""I was destined to be the fourth in my family to become an ASC member.""World War II was still on when Kline finished high school at age 16. Many of the industry's personnel were away, and his father urged him to fill an available opening as an assistant cameraman at Columbia Pictures so that he could qualify for a camera unit when he entered the service.  He started as a slate boy on Rudolph Mat?©'s camera crew for COVER GIRL, which showcased Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly in elaborate dance routines. With on-the-job training, Kline quickly advanced to assistant cameraman and worked on other films until entering the U.S. Navy in 1944. He served in the Asian Pacific until mid-1946. After completing his military obligation, Kline planned to attend UCLA and eventually pursue law, but he heeded a call from Columbia Pictures to return as an assistant cameraman on THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, which was directed by Orson Welles. He never thought of a career in law again. In 1948, Kline took advantage of the G.I. Bill of Rights to study fine arts at the Sorbonne in France.He returned to Columbia Pictures in 1951 and spent the next dozen years working with his mentors, including such legendary cinematographers as Harry Stradling, Sr., ASC, Charlie Lang, ASC, Phil Lathrop, ASC, James Wong Howe, ASC, Burnett Guffey, ASC and Joseph Walker, ASC, whom he describes as, ""the master of making women look beautiful on film.""Kline earned his first motion picture credit in 1966 for CHAMBER OF HORRORS. Josh Logan happened to accidentally see footage from that film in a projection room at the studio. The director contacted Kline and asked him to shoot CAMELOT. The film was based on Alan Lerner's Broadway musical. ASC President Richard Crudo notes that there are many examples of how the combination of Kline's imagination, mastery of his craft, and ability to work with others in a collaborative environment resulted in innovative filmmaking. He cites his artful use of monotone images with selective colors in THE TERMINAL MAN and his ability to help make a human being outfitted in a prosthetic costume look 60 feet tall in KING KONG. ""All too often, the best efforts of our cinematographers aren't recognized because they're designed to be transparent to an audience,"" Crudo says. ""In order to rectify this, the ASC created a Lifetime Achievement Award. Everyone singled out in this fashion is truly a unique talent and the whole world should know about them."" ""I truly love being a cinematographer,"" Kline says. ""I like dealing with everyone involved in the filmmaking process. We are actually family, like kindred spirits. And I welcome the ever-present urgency in maintaining the schedule and have a special respect for films' economics. This pressure is inherent in everyday filmmaking and, oddly, breeds ingenuity and spontaneity that surprisingly leads to visual fulfillment. I have never regretted a day of my career, and look forward to what tomorrow may bring."" ASC traces its roots to the dawn of the motion picture industry in 1913, when the Cinema Club in New York and The Static Club in Angeles were organized by the first generation of cinematographers, who were literally inventing a new language. Members of those two clubs organized the ASC in January 1919. There were 15 charter members, whose primary purpose for the new organization was to advance both the art and craft of the unique new form of visual storytelling. New members were invited to join as they began compiling notable bodies of work. There are some 275 ASC members today from many nations around the world along with 140 associate members from allied sectors of the industry. For information about the 20th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards call 323-969-4333 or visit the ASC website at www.theasc.com.

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