Robert L. Surtees

• Name — Robert Surtees • Born — 9 August 1906 • Birth Name — Robert Lee Surtees • Birthplace — Covington, Kentucky, U.S. • Died — 5 January 1985 • Place of death — Monterey, California, U.S. • Occupation — Cinematographer • Years Active — 1931–1978 • Spouse — Maydell Lois James (m. 1930) • Children — 4, including Bruce Surtees • Awards — See below

Robert Lee Surtees was born in Covington, Kentucky, on August 9, 1906. He grew up in Ohio, graduating from Withrow High School in Cincinnati, where he initially worked as a photographer and retoucher at a portrait studio. Surtees then moved to New York City for a year to study photography, but always had a goal of becoming a cinematographer.

With an intention to attend college, Surtees moved to California in 1925. Roy C. Hunter at Universal offered him a job after some of his work was published in Towing Topics Automotive Club magazine. He assisted Harry Neumann, ASC, on a Hoot Gibson Western Hey, Hey Cowboy in 1925, Jerry Ash, ASC, on the Andy Gump comedies also in 1925, and Jackson Rose, ASC, on the Reginald Denny Leather Pushers series in 1926. The Man Who Laughs (1928), photographed by Gil Warrenton, ASC was Surtees' first high budget picture as an assistant. From 1928 to 1929 Surtees worked for Universal and UFA as an assistant to Charles Stumar in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Some sources say that he assisted Gregg Toland and Joseph Ruttenburg in the latter years of the 1920s before going abroad and this is what kick-started his career. In 1930 Surtees returned to California and assisted Hal Mohr, ASC, on King of Jazz. He went on to shoot 36 pictures with Mohr at Universal, Warner Brothers, Pathé and Fox Studios over a period of 6 years from 1930 to 1936. In 1935, Surtees applied to be a member of the ASC as a camera operator just after completing 13 weeks as an operator at Warner Brother's Studios on the film A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). Surtees' first film as a director of photography was This Precious Freedom (1942), a propaganda film made for the US army, which was only released to the military. He shot a few more pictures with various directors such as Frank Buck and Ed Sutherland on Jacquerai in September 1942, and Les Goodwins on Ice Capades in October 1942. On October 20, 1942, Surtees submitted another application to ASC as a director of photography while employed at Freelance Independent Producers. Shortly after this Surtees landed a job at MGM where he began his long tenure and produced his most notable work beginning with Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, shot alongside Harold Rosson, ASC and nominated for an Oscar in the category of Black and White Cinematography in 1944. Robert Surtees went on to film nearly 100 motion pictures in his 48-year career, including King Solomon's Mines (1950), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Ben Hur (1959), which each won an Oscar. Not to mention his 13 other films that also received nomination for Best Cinematography, including The Graduate (1967), The Last Picture Show (1971), and The Sting (1973).

Robert Surtees married Maydell Lois James in 1930 before moving to California. The couple had two daughters (Linda, later Linda Lowers, and Nancy, later Nancy Corby), as well as two sons (Thomas and Bruce). Bruce was also a director of photography, working alongside his father on Lost Horizon (1973), as a 2nd unit camera operator.

Surtees died on January 5, 1985, following a long illness.