---
name: "Richard Leacock"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-leacock"
fi1m_id: "richard-leacock"
imdb_id: "nm0494886"
tmdb_id: 1342919
wikidata_id: "Q1364819"
roles: ["Producer"]
born: "18 July 1921"
died: "23 March 2011"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T04:28:41.211921+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."
---

# Richard Leacock

## Identity

Richard Leacock

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/richard-leacock
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** richard-leacock
- **IMDb ID:** nm0494886
- **TMDB ID:** 1342919
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1364819
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Leacock, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1364819, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0494886/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1342919

Producer. Born 18 July 1921 in London, UK. Died 23 March 2011.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer
- **Born:** 18 July 1921, London, UK
- **Died:** 23 March 2011
- **Also known as:** Ричард Ликок
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Leacock, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1364819, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0494886/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1342919

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Louisiana Story*](https://film.one/film/louisiana-story.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Richard Leacock (1921–2011) was a British-born documentary filmmaker and cinematographer, a pioneer of the direct cinema and cinéma vérité movements. He was born in London and grew up partly in the Canary Islands. After studying physics at Harvard University and serving as a combat photographer in the Second World War, he worked as cinematographer on Robert Flaherty's *Louisiana Story* (1948).

In the 1960s Leacock collaborated with Robert Drew and D. A. Pennebaker on landmark observational documentaries, including *Primary* (1960), which followed the Democratic presidential primary campaign. He later partnered with Pennebaker on films such as *Dont Look Back* (1967) and *Monterey Pop* (1968). He headed the film department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from the late 1960s and continued working into later decades, including a narration credit on *Sherman's March* (1986).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Louisiana Story* (1948), Fi1m 72, Cinematography, Director of Photography, Associate Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/louisiana-story.md)

## Complete filmography (59)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Monica in the South Seas* (2023), Camera Operator
- *BodySongs* (2011), Camera Operator
- *A President to Remember: In the Company of John F. Kennedy* (2008), Cinematography, Editor
- *Monterey Pop - The Outtake Performances* (2002), Cinematography
- *Flora Natapoff - An American Painter* (1999), Director
- *Chuck Berry: Rock and Roll Music* (1992), Camera Operator
- *Les oeufs à la coque de Richard Leacock* (1991), Director
- *Shake! Otis at Monterey* (1987), Camera Operator
- *Jimi Plays Monterey* (1987), Camera Operator
- *Working Girls* (1987), as Joseph
- *Louise Brooks* (1986), Director
- *Lulu in Berlin* (1984), Director, Producer
- *Ein Film für Bossak und Leacock* (1984), Actor
- *Community of Praise* (1983), Director
- *Middletown* (1982), series, Director
- *Rebuilding an Old Japanese House* (1981), Director
- *Light Coming Through: A Portrait of Maud Morgan* (1980), Director
- *Centerbeam* (1977), Director
- *Solstice and Solyanka* (1975), Actor
- *Little Richard: Keep on Rockin'* (1973), Director of Photography
- *1 P.M.* (1971), Director, Producer, Director of Photography
- *Maidstone* (1971), Cinematography
- *Queen of Apollo* (1970), Director, Camera Operator
- *Original Cast Album: Company* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Monterey Pop* (1968), Camera Operator
- *Chiefs* (1968), Director
- *French Lunch* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Two American Audiences: La Chinoise - A Film in the Making* (1968), Director
- *RainForest* (1968), Director
- *A Stravinsky Portrait* (1967), Director, Editor, Director of Photography
- *Ku Klux Klan—The Invisible Empire* (1965), Director
- *Elizabeth and Mary* (1965), Producer
- *Campaign Manager* (1964), Director, Director of Photography
- *Lambert & Co.* (1964), Director
- *A Happy Mother's Day* (1963), Director
- *Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment* (1963), Director
- *The Chair* (1963), Editor, Cinematography, Director
- *Mooney vs. Fowle* (1962), Director
- *Jane* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Nehru* (1962), Director
- *Kenya: Land of the White Ghost* (1962), Director
- *On the Pole: Eddie Sachs* (1961), Director, Cinematography
- *Adventures on the New Frontier* (1961), Director
- *The Children Were Watching* (1961), Director
- *Primary* (1960), Camera Operator, Editor, Director of Photography
- *ABC Close-Up!* (1960), series, Producer, Director
- *ABC Close-Up: Yanki, No!* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Integration Report 1* (1960), Camera Operator
- *Christopher and Me* (1960), Director, Director of Photography
- *Frames of Reference* (1960), Producer, Director
- *A Magnet Laboratory* (1959), Director
- *Brussels Loops* (1958), Director
- *American Football* (1957), Director of Photography
- *A Conversation with Marcel Duchamp* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Toby and the Tall Corn* (1954), Director, Editor, Writer, Camera Operator
- *Jazz Dance* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Louisiana Story* (1948), Associate Producer, Director of Photography — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/louisiana-story.md)
- *To Hear Your Banjo Play* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Canary Island Bananas* (1935), Director, Writer

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Maya Deren Award 1995: Maya Deren Award (won)
- Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT 1986: Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/richard-leacock