'' Lamar Boren'' (1917–1986) born on May 3, 1917 in Provo, Utah died January 15, 1986 in La Jolla, California was an

underwater photography Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while diving on surface supply, snorkeling, swimming, from a submersible or remotely operated underwater v ...

cinematographer renown for his work on films and television series for

Ivan Tors Ivan Tors (born Iván Törzs; June 12, 1916 – June 4, 1983) was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater sequences, and stori ...

and for underwater cinematography on several

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

films.

Biography

Born in Utah but raised in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, Boren was interested in both underwater diving and photography. He built his own helmet as a teenager and in 1943 became a member of the San Diego Bottom Scratchers Diving Club. Membership of the club required Boren to dive 30 feet, capture three abalone in one dive, grab a five-foot

horn shark The horn shark (''Heterodontus francisci'') is a species of bullhead shark, in the family Heterodontidae. It is endemic to the coastal waters off the western coast of North America, from California to the Gulf of California. Young sharks are seg ...

by the tail and bring up a "good sized" lobster. He constructed a case for his 16mm camera to film underwater and in 1952 built a 35mm underwater camera that led him to begin his feature film career shooting the undersea sequences for ''

Underwater! ''Underwater!'' is a 1955 adventure film directed by John Sturges and starring Jane Russell and Richard Egan. Plot synopsis Johnny and his wife Theresa, along with mercenary Dominic Quesada, priest Father Cannon and Gloria, the boat owner, sea ...

'' (1955). His next film '' Underwater Warrior'' (1958) was about a fellow diver Commandeer Francis Fane who Boren had known in Coronado. The film introduced him to

leading him to photograph Tors' underwater television series ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...

''. The success of the show enabled him to co-write and produce an unsuccessful

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

''Sea Divers'' and shoot underwater sequences for Tors' ''

The Aquanauts ''The Aquanauts'' (later known as ''Malibu Run'') is an American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS in the 1960–1961 season. The series stars Keith Larsen, Jeremy Slate and Ron Ely, who later replaced Larsen on midseason. Synopsis The h ...

''. Boren enjoyed shooting in the clear water of

Weeki Wachee Springs Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids," women wearing fish tails as well as other fanciful outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring ...

, Florida that not only featured clear water and exotic scenery but was more accessible, more economical, and safer than shooting overseas. Boren worked with Tors and often director

Andrew Marton Andrew Marton (born Endre Marton; 26 January 1904 – 7 January 1992) was a Hungarian-American film director. In his career, he directed 39 films and television programs, and worked on 16 as a second unit director, including the chariot race in ...

on a number of popular films such as '' Flipper'' (1963), ''

Flipper's New Adventure ''Flipper's New Adventure'' (known in some countries as ''Flipper and the Pirates'') is a 1964 American feature film released on June 24, 1964 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, written by Art Arthur, and directed by Leon Benson. It was a sequel to the 1963 ...

'' (1964), two films set in Africa, ''

Rhino! ''Rhino!'' is a 1964 American action film directed by Ivan Tors and written by Art Arthur and Arthur Weiss. The film stars Harry Guardino, Shirley Eaton, Robert Culp, Harry Makela and George Korelin. The film was released on May 20, 1964, by Metr ...

'' (1964) and ''

Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion ''Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion'' is a 1965 light comedy-adventure film, produced by Ivan Tors, Leonard B. Kaufman, and Harry Redmond Jr., directed by Andrew Marton, and starring Marshall Thompson and Betsy Drake. The film was shot at Soledad ...

'' (1965), '' Zebra in the Kitchen'' (1965), '' Namu, the Killer Whale'', ''

Around the World Under the Sea ''Around the World Under the Sea'' is a 1966 science fiction film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Lloyd Bridges, with Marshall Thompson, Shirley Eaton, Gary Merrill, and David McCallum. It follows the adventures of a crew of the deep-divi ...

'' (1966), ''

Daring Game ''Daring Game'' is a 1968 drama film starring Lloyd Bridges and Nico Minardos, filmed at the Ivan Tors studio in Miami and in the Bahamas. The working title was ''The Unkillables''. Plot Survival Devices, Inc., is an organization that employs a t ...

'' (1968), '' Hello Down There'' (1969) and Tors' '' Flipper'' 1964 TV series. Boren's work led him to be noticed by

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

and

Harry Saltzman Herschel Saltzman (; – ), known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the ''James Bond'' film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Den ...

where he filmed the underwater sequences in '' Thunderball'' (1965) though originally the producers contacted him about the film in 1961. In addition to shooting the underwater scenes his wife Evelyne doubled

Claudine Auger Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019) was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' (1965). She earned the title of Miss F ...

. Boren provided more underwater shooting for

Eon Productions Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was started ...

with '' You Only Live Twice'', '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Boren's other film work includes ''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. O ...

'', '' Don't Give Up the Ship'' (1959), '' The Neptune Factor'' (1973) and ''

The Day of the Dolphin ''The Day of the Dolphin'' is a 1973 American science fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Based on the 1967 novel '' Un animal doué de raison'' (lit. ''A Sentient Animal''), by French writer Robert Merl ...

'' (1973). In addition to underwater and African film work Boren was cinematographer for a large number of American television series such as ''

Then Came Bronson ''Then Came Bronson'' is an American adventure/drama television series starring Michael Parks that aired on NBC. It was created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, and produced by MGM Television. ''Then Came Bronson'' began with a television film pilot ...

'', ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is re ...

'', '' Project U.F.O.'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

''and ''

Vega$ ''Vegas'' (stylized as ''Vega$'') is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 20, 1978, to June 3, 1981, with the pilot episode airing April 25, 1978. ''Vegas'' was produced by Aaron Spelling and created by Mic ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boren, Lamar 1917 births 1986 deaths American cinematographers