Owen Roizman is dead: The cameraman of “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection” was 86 years old

Owen Roizman, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer whose work was featured The French connection and The exorcist, died. He turned 86.

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), of which Roizman was a member and served as president from 1997 to 1998, confirmed the news.

“We are deeply saddened to hear that cinematographer Owen Roizman, ASC, has passed away at the age of 86 after a long illness,” the Instagram post reads.

Roizman was nominated for Academy Awards five times during his career. His first nomination came when he teamed with William Friedkin The French connection.

In a 2011 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Roizman recalled how working with Friedkin landed him the job. The French connection was only the second film he worked on, but luckily Friedkin had seen his earlier work End.

Friedkin said, “I like your work in it; what I want to do… what I want is a kind of realistic street photography.” I said, ‘Why not? I should be able to do anything you tell me. I am a cinematographer.” He liked my attitude,” he said.

He would reunite with Friedkin in 1973 The exorcist and got another nod for Best Camera.

The creator also received Oscar nominations for his work on Sidney Lumets networkSydney Pollack tootsie and that of Lawrence Kasdan Wyatt Earp. Roizman received an Honorary Academy Award in 2017.

Roizman was born on September 22, 1936 in New York and grew up in Brooklyn. As a child he wanted to be a baseball player and even tried out for the New York Yankees, but contracted polio as a teenager. His father was a cinematographer at Movietone News and eventually became assistant to cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld at MPO Videotronics.

His other film credits include The gang that couldn’t shoot straight (1971), Herbert Ross’s Play It Again, Sam (1972), Elaine May’s The heartbreaking child (1972) and that of Barry Sonnenfeld The Addams Family (1991).