---
name: "Elgin Lessley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/elgin-lessley"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "10 January 1883"
died: "8 February 1944"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T11:28:18.838564+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Elgin Lessley

Cinematographer. Born 10 January 1883 in Higbee, Missouri, USA. Died 8 February 1944.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 10 January 1883, Higbee, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 8 February 1944

## Biography

Elgin Lessley was an American cinematographer of the silent film era. He is best known for his work as director of photography on Buster Keaton films, including *Sherlock Jr.* (1924), *The Cameraman* (1928), *Seven Chances* (1925), *Our Hospitality* (1923) and *The Navigator* (1924).

Lessley began his career in 1911 as a cameraman and later worked with Roscoe Arbuckle and Harry Langdon. He collaborated extensively with Keaton on shorts and features from 1919 to 1928, contributing to in-camera effects such as multiple exposures in *The Playhouse* (1921). He retired from filmmaking after *The Cameraman*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Sherlock Jr.* (1924), Fi1m 91, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/sherlock-jr.md)

## Also known for

- *The Cameraman* (1928), Director of Photography
- *One Week* (1920), Director of Photography
- *Seven Chances* (1925), Director of Photography
- *Our Hospitality* (1923), Director of Photography
- *The Navigator* (1924), Director of Photography
- *Cops* (1922), Director of Photography
- *The Goat* (1921), Director of Photography
- *Neighbors* (1920), Director of Photography

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/elgin-lessley