John Peverell Marley (August 14, 1899 – February 2, 1964) was an American cinematographer. He is one of only six cinematographers to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Life and career

Born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, Marley began his career soon after graduating high school during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

era. His first film was the 1923

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

biblical epic ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

''. He later became DeMille's chief cameraman and would continue to work with DeMille throughout his career. He went on to work on 1929's ''

The Godless Girl ''The Godless Girl'' (1928) is an American dramatic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shown for years as his last completely silent film. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene and Noah Beery. Plot This drama feat ...

'', starring his then-fiancée

Lina Basquette Lina Basquette (born Lena Copeland Baskette; April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994) was an American actress. She is noted for her 75-year career in entertainment, which began during the silent film era. Talented as a dancer, she was paid as a gi ...

. The couple divorced after just one year and Marley went on to marry dancer Virginia McAdoo and, later, actress

Linda Darnell Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in ...

. In the 1930s, Marley received an

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 ...

nomination for Best Cinematography on the 1938 historical drama ''

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...

''. In 1948, he was nominated again for his work on the film ''

Life with Father ''Life with Father'' is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the ...

'', starring Elizabeth Taylor and

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

. After his divorce from Darnell in 1952, Marley continued to work on films including 1952's '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography – Color. The following year, he filmed '' House of Wax'', followed by '' King Richard and the Crusaders'' in 1954, '' Serenade'' in 1956, and ''

The Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlanti ...

'' in 1957. In the late 1950s, he branched out to television working on the series ''Telephone Time'' and ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

''. Marley last worked on a 1961 episode of the series '' Bus Stop''. Marley died on February 2, 1964 in Santa Barbara. He is interred at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...

in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marley, Peverell 1899 births 1964 deaths American cinematographers Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Golden Globe Award winners People from San Jose, California