Jump to content

William C. Foster

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lord Cornwallis (talk | contribs) at 01:21, 18 January 2021 (→‎Partial filmography). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

William C. Foster
Foster in 1920
Born(1880-12-28)December 28, 1880
DiedJanuary 18, 1923(1923-01-18) (aged 42)
OccupationCinematographer
TitleA.S.C. Founding member

William C. Foster (December 28, 1880 – January 18, 1923) was a pioneer of cinematography.

Biography

He was born in Bushnell, Illinois, on December 28, 1880, and went to work for the Chicago-based Selig Polyscope Company in 1901, at a time when Selig was turning out 50' and 100' actualities and trick films. Foster left Selig in May 1911 to join Carl Laemmle’s Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP). In 1915, he signed with the Equitable Motion Picture Corporation, working in New York and Florida. Foster was lead cinematographer on the first five two-reelers Charlie Chaplin made for Mutual Film Corporation in 1916: The Floorwalker, The Fireman, One A.M., The Count, and The Vagabond. He later shot a number of pictures for director Frank Lloyd, including A Tale of Two Cities (Fox, 1917) and The Silver Horde (Goldwyn, 1920), and also worked with director Lois Weber.

Foster died on January 18, 1923, from complications related to syphilis, a disease euphemistically described as the “general paralysis of the insane.”

Partial filmography