John Mathew Nickolaus Jr. (May 18, 1913 – February 10, 1985) was an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

. Born in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...

. Nickolaus began his career as a camera operator for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in the late 1940s. By the 1950s, he was working as a director of photography in both film and television. Nickolaus then worked on such popular television series as the legal drama television series '' Perry Mason'', the western television series '' Rawhide'', and ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', which starred

James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the CBS television series '' Gunsmoke''. Arness has the distinction of having played the ...

. Together with Conrad Hall, he had helped establish the visual style of the original '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–65). Nickolaus continued to work in television until shortly before his death in Malibu, California in 1985. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

References

External links

* * 1913 births 1985 deaths People from Bayonne, New Jersey American cinematographers Deaths from cancer in California {{US-cinematographer-stub