Award-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond died Jan. 1. Here, he poses in San Francisco, where he kept a part-time residence.
(David Butow / For The Times)
Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, whose work on classics such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Deer Hunter” and numerous other films made him one of the most influential cinematographers in film history, has died, according to his business partner Yuri Neyman. He was 85.
The Hungarian-born Zsigmond died Jan. 1 from “a combination of many illnesses,” said Neyman, who received notice from the deceased’s wife,
Zsigmond won an Oscar for 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He was also nominated three other times, for 1978’s “The Deer Hunter,” 1984’s “The River”and 2006’s “The Black Dahlia.”
He won an Emmy for the 1992 miniseries “Stalin,” and was nominated for 2001’s “The Mists of Avalon.”
In a career that spanned over five decades in Hollywood, Zsigmond continued to work well into his later years. He shot a number of episodes of “The Mindy Project” from 2012 to 2014 as well as several films that have yet to be released.
Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond has died. Here are just a few of his films.
“It is with great regret and deep sorrow that I must inform you that on Friday one of the greatest cinematographers in the world … passed away,” Neyman wrote on his Facebook page. “Please join with all of us in offering thoughts and prayers for Vilmos’ family at this difficult time.”
In a phone interview with The Times, Neyman elaborated on Zsigmond’s influence on the industry.
“He discovered and created new styles in cinematography in the United States and in independent cinema,” he said. “He was a very first voice. He taught people how to look and think differently. He was unique at a time when he was just in independent cinema, [before all the awards]. He changed how people view cinematography.”
Zsigmond and Neyman co-founded the Global Cinematography Institute, an organization “devoted to the educational steps toward the extension of the cinematographer’s profession into the digital and virtual based creative realms.”