Biography
John Alton (born Johann Jacob Altmann) was an American cinematographer of Hungarian origin. Born on 5 October 1901 in Sopron, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he began his career as a lab technician at MGM in 1924 before becoming a cameraman. He worked in France and spent several years in Argentina in the early 1930s, where he photographed and directed Spanish-language films and helped establish the country's first sound film studio.
Alton returned to Hollywood in the late 1930s and became known for his work on film noirs, including T-Men (1947), Raw Deal (1948), He Walked by Night (1949) and The Big Combo (1955). He shared the Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Colour) for An American in Paris (1951). His other credits include Father of the Bride (1950), Elmer Gantry (1960) and the pilot episode of the television series Mission: Impossible (1966). He wrote the book Painting with Light (1949) and received a Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1993. Alton died on 2 June 1996 in Santa Monica, California.
