---
name: "William H. Clothier"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-h-clothier"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "21 February 1903"
died: "7 January 1996"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 54
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T03:46:22.270329+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."
---

# William H. Clothier

Cinematographer. Born 21 February 1903 in Decatur, Illinois, USA. Died 7 January 1996.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 21 February 1903, Decatur, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 7 January 1996
- **Also known as:** William Clothier, Wm H. Clothier, Wm. H. Clothier, Bill Clothier
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Clothier, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q369059, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005670/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40183

## Streaming the US now

- **Pluto TV:** [*The Alamo*](https://film.one/film/the-alamo.md) (50)

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

## Biography

William H. Clothier (1903–1996) was an American cinematographer. Born in Decatur, Illinois, he began working in the film industry painting sets at Warner Bros. and photographing films in the late silent era, including aerial work on Wings (1927). He later worked in Spain in the 1930s and served as a photographic officer in the US Army Air Forces during the Second World War, flying seventeen missions aboard the Memphis Belle and commanding a combat camera unit.

Clothier became John Wayne’s favoured director of photography after shooting The Sea Chase (1955); the two collaborated on more than twenty films. He photographed The Alamo (1960), which Wayne directed, as well as several John Ford Westerns including The Horse Soldiers (1959), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). Other notable credits include McLintock! (1963), The War Wagon (1967), Chisum (1970), Rio Lobo (1970) and Big Jake (1971).

He received Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography for The Alamo and Cheyenne Autumn. Clothier was awarded the Heritage Award by the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1973 and the American Society of Cinematographers President’s Award in 1995. He retired after filming The Train Robbers (1973).

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Cimarron* (1960), Fi1m 57, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/cimarron.md)
- *The Alamo* (1960), Fi1m 50, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/the-alamo.md)

## Complete filmography (60)

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

- *The Train Robbers* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Big Jake* (1971), Director of Photography
- *Chisum* (1970), Director of Photography
- *The Cheyenne Social Club* (1970), Director of Photography
- *Rio Lobo* (1970), Director of Photography
- *The Undefeated* (1969), Director of Photography
- *Hellfighters* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Bandolero!* (1968), Director of Photography
- *The Devil's Brigade* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Firecreek* (1968), Director of Photography
- *The War Wagon* (1967), Director of Photography
- *The Way West* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Way... Way Out* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Stagecoach* (1966), Director of Photography
- *The Rare Breed* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Shenandoah* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Cheyenne Autumn* (1964), Director of Photography
- *A Distant Trumpet* (1964), Director of Photography
- *McLintock!* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Donovan's Reef* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Flashing Spikes* (1962), Director of Photography
- *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Merrill's Marauders* (1962), Director of Photography
- *The Comancheros* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Ring of Fire* (1961), Director of Photography
- *The Deadly Companions* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Cimarron* (1960), Camera Operator — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/cimarron.md)
- *The Alamo* (1960), Director of Photography — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/the-alamo.md)
- *The Horse Soldiers* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Escort West* (1959), Director of Photography
- *China Doll* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Fort Dobbs* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Lafayette Escadrille* (1958), Director of Photography
- *Bombers B-52* (1957), Director of Photography
- *Man in the Vault* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Gun the Man Down* (1956), Director of Photography
- *7 Men from Now* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Good-bye, My Lady* (1956), Director of Photography
- *Sincerely Yours* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Blood Alley* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Gang Busters* (1955), Director of Photography
- *The Sea Chase* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Track of the Cat* (1954), Director of Photography
- *The High and the Mighty* (1954), Aerial Camera
- *Killers from Space* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Island in the Sky* (1953), Aerial Camera
- *Phantom from Space* (1953), Director of Photography
- *Confidence Girl* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Once a Thief* (1950), Director of Photography
- *Sofia* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Fort Apache* (1948), Cinematography
- *For You I Die* (1947), Director of Photography
- *Below the Deadline* (1946), Camera Operator
- *The Memphis Belle* (1944), Director of Photography
- *The Fight for Life* (1940), Assistant Camera
- *El ciento trece* (1935), Director of Photography
- *What Price Hollywood?* (1932), Assistant Camera
- *The Lost Squadron* (1932), Assistant Camera
- *The Wild Party* (1929), Assistant Camera
- *Aliens from Space*, Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1965: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *Cheyenne Autumn*
- 1961: Best Cinematography, Color (nominated), for *The Alamo*

*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/william-h-clothier