Conrad Hall to be Honored Posthumously on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

HOLLYWOOD---Cinematographer Conrad Hall, ASC will be honoredposthumously with the 2,224 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Thestar for Hall will be unveiled at 11:30 a.m. at 7060 HollywoodBoulevard near Sycamore Avenue. His star is near the star of his goodfriend and fellow cinematographer Haskell Wexler, ASC.

Johnny Grant, honorary mayor of Hollywood and chairman of the WalkFame Committee, will preside over the event and Leron Gubler,president/CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will speak on behalfof the organization. Participating at the event will bewriter/directors Robert Towne and Steve Zaillian, who respectivelycollaborated with the cinematographer on Tequila Sunrise,Searching for Bobby Fischer, and A Civil Action.

Hall was born and raised in Papeete, Tahiti. His father was JamesNorman Hall, who co-authored Mutiny on the Bounty and otherclassic novels. His parents sent him to school at the University ofSouthern California with instructions to find a career. Serendipity ledHall into the film department and cinematography. He served a briefapprenticeship as an assistant cameraman and operator and earned hisfirst narrative credits for the television series Stoney Burkeand The Outer Limits, and his first feature credit in 1965 forWild Seed.

Conrad Hall earned ten Oscar nominations during a career thatspanned five decades. He took top honors in 1969 for Butch Cassidyand the Sundance Kid, in 2000 for American Beauty, and mostrecently for Road to Perdition. His other nominations were forMorituri, The Professionals, In Cold Blood, Day of the Locust,Tequila Sunrise, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and A CivilAction. His other memorable credits include Cool Hand Luke,Marathon Man, Without Limits, Black Widow, Fat City, JenniferEight, and Class Action.

Hall received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Societyof Cinematographers (ASC) in 1993 and the Camerimage InternationalFestival of Cinematography in 1995. He also earned four ASC OutstandingAchievement Awards for a theatrical release (Tequila Sunrise,1988; Searching for Bobby Fischer, 1993; American Beauty,2000; Road to Perdition, 2003).

Hall mentored scores of young filmmakers and always gave freely ofhis time to help the next generation learn the art and craft ofcinematography, by volunteering to speak and teach at the InternationalCinematographers Guild Lighting Workshops held annually. He alsovolunteered as the Kodak Cinematographer in Residence at UCLA.

"Conrad Hall made a deep and indelible impression on the art offilmmaking," says ASC president Richard Crudo. "He introduced a bold,new style of naturalistic cinematography, which has been widelyemulated but never reproduced."

Hall died on January 4, 2003 in Los Angeles. He was 76 yearsold.