Biography
John M. Stephens (also credited as John Morley Stephens) was an American cinematographer and camera operator. He was born on 17 November 1932 in Valparaiso, Indiana, and died on 18 June 2015 in California.
He began working in film in the 1950s after service in the US Navy and early photography work in Sun Valley, Idaho. Stephens developed camera mounts and a remotely operated pan-and-tilt head for Grand Prix (1966), for which he received a Technical Achievement Award from the Society of Operating Cameramen in 1994. He served as director of photography on Boxcar Bertha (1972), Blacula (1972), Billy Jack (1971) and Sorcerer (1977).
Later in his career he worked frequently as second-unit or aerial director of photography on films including Midnight Run (1988), ¡Three Amigos! (1986), Field of Dreams (1989) and Titanic (1997). He was married to Barbara Stephens.
