Burnett Guffey

Burnett Guffey was an American cinematographer, born May 26, 1905 in Del Rio, Tennessee, and died May 30, 1983 in Goleta, California. While still a teenager, the future Academy Award-winning lensman began as an assistant cameraman in 1923 on John Ford's 1924 western saga The Iron Horse. He was th... More

Burnett Guffey was an American cinematographer, born May 26, 1905 in Del Rio, Tennessee, and died May 30, 1983 in Goleta, California. While still a teenager, the future Academy Award-winning lensman began as an assistant cameraman in 1923 on John Ford's 1924 western saga The Iron Horse. He was then hired by the Famous Players-Lasky Studios in 1927, became a camera operator in 1928 and worked there until 1943. Guffey was hired as a Director of Photography by Columbia Pictures in 1944. In 1957-58 he served as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (A.S.C.) for a year, and had been a long standing member. According to film critic Spencer Selby, Guffey was a prolific film noir cinematographer, shooting 20 of them, including In a Lonely Place (1950).