Italian-born Nicholas Musuraca's first job in the film business was as
a chauffeur to early pioneering producer/director
J. Stuart Blackton. Having a knack
for photography, he worked behind the cameras in a variety of jobs
before finally becoming a cinematographer (or, as they were called in
those days, "lighting cameraman"). Musuraca spent most of his career at
RKO Pictures, where he became known as a master of lighting--he was
once admiringly described by a fellow cameraman as "a painter with
light"--and was largely responsible for the gritty, moody camerawork
that became that studio's signature. He was nominated for an Academy
Award for his work on
Geheimnis der Mutter (1948). After
leaving RKO in the late '50s he worked for a short period at Warner
Bros., but then joined Desilu Studios and spent the remainder of his
career in television.
