Sol Polito, A.S.C. (born Salvatore Polito, November 12, 1892 – May 23, 1960) was a Sicilian-American cinematographer. He is best known for his work with directors Michael Curtiz and

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

studios in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography

Salvatore Polito was born November 12, 1892 in Palermo, Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1905."Salvatore Polito". National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; ''Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887–1940; Microfilm Roll: ''93''; Microfilm Serial: ''M1524''. Ancestry.com, ''U.S. Naturalization Records, 1840–1957 atabase online Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010. Retrieved 2017-03-01. He attended school in New York City and began working in the motion picture industry as a still photographer. After experience as a lab assistant and camera assistant, he was promoted to lighting cameraman in 1917. Polito married Frances (Francesca) D'Angelis in New York in 1914. The union produced two sons. The elder son Gene Polito (1918-2010) also became a cinematographer. Younger son S. Robert Polito (1922–2015) became a physician. Polito moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1919 to continue his career at

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

and

He worked on more than 170 films at various studios, but is best known for his work at Warner Bros. with directors Michael Curtiz and

. Polito died in Los Angeles on May 23, 1960, aged 67,"Sol Polito". Ancestry.com. ''California, Death Index, 1940–1997'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000. Retrieved 2017-03-01. and was entombed in the Mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California.

Accolades

Polito received three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations: *

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

: '' The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'', Best Cinematography (Color), shared with

W. Howard Greene William Howard Greene (1895–1956) was an American cinematographer. Career Greene was a cinematographer on many early Technicolor films, including '' Legong: Dance of the Virgins'' (1935) and '' A Star Is Born'' (1937). Awards * 1937: Special ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

: ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine ...

'', Best Cinematography (Black and White) *

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

: '' Captains of the Clouds'', Best Cinematography (Color)

Select filmography

References

External links

*
Sol Polito
at Great Cinemagraphers, Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polito, Sol 1892 births 1960 deaths American cinematographers People from New York City Italian emigrants to the United States