Biography
Woody Omens is an American cinematographer. Born in Chicago, he studied art and painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating in 1959. He later moved to Los Angeles and earned a master's degree in cinematography from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television in 1965.
Omens began his career in documentaries and commercials before moving into television and feature films. He served as director of photography on History of the World: Part I (1981), Coming to America (1988), Harlem Nights (1989) and Boomerang (1992). His television credits include the pilot of Magnum, P.I. (1980) and episodes of Heart of the City.
Omens has received an Academy Award nomination for the short documentary Somebody Waiting (1972) and multiple Primetime Emmy Awards for cinematography. A member of the American Society of Cinematographers since 1985, he served as its president from 1998 to 1999 and later taught at USC.
