Biography
George J. Folsey was an American cinematographer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1898, he began his film career at the age of 14 as an office boy at the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in New York. He earned his first screen credit in 1919 and worked for Associated First National and Paramount Astoria Studios before moving to Hollywood and joining Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he spent much of his career. He retired in 1976 after working on 162 films.
Folsey's credits include The Cocoanuts (1929), Animal Crackers (1930), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Adam's Rib (1949), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Forbidden Planet (1956). He also served as director of photography on episodes of the television series The Fugitive and an NBC special starring Peggy Fleming.
Folsey received 13 Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography but did not win. He was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Cinematographers in 1988 and served as its president in 1956–57. His son, George Folsey Jr., worked as a director, producer and editor. Folsey died in Santa Monica, California, in 1988.
