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Pioneering cinematographer who developed many of the "tricks" of "star" lighting, Rosher began his career in London film laboratories, and as photographer to the Court of St. James, before moving to the US in 1908 and settling in Hollywood in 1911. Rosher enjoyed two exceptionally creative periods during his 40-year career. In the silent era he was responsible for several important technical innovations, shot several Mary Pickford vehicles (including "Little Lord Fauntleroy" 1921 and "Sparrows" 1926), and was co-photographer, with Karl Struss, of F....
Full Bio , Awards & Milestones

Filmography

Independence Day - ( Director of Photography / 1982 / Released / )
Heartbeeps - ( Director of Photography / 1981 / Released / )
Nightwing - ( Director of Photography / 1979 / Released / )
The Onion Field - ( Director of Photography / 1979 / Released / )
A Wedding - ( Director of Photography / 1978 / Released / )
Movie Movie - ( Director of Photography / 1978 / Released / )
The Late Show - ( Director of Photography / 1977 / Released / )
Three Women - ( Director of Photography / 1977 / Released / )
Together Brothers - ( Cinematographer(- cinematography) / 1974 / Released / )
Pretty Maids All in a Row - ( Cinematographer(- cinematography) / 1971 / Released / )
Jupiter's Darling - ( Director of Photography / 1955 / Released / MGM/UA Entertainment Company )
Kiss Me Kate - ( Director of Photography / 1953 / Released / )
The Story of Three Loves - ( Cinematographer(- cinematography) / 1953 / Released / )
Scaramouche - ( Cinematographer(- cinematography) / 1952 / Released / MGM/UA Entertainment Company )
The Red Danube - ( Photography / 1949 / Released / )
Words and Music - ( Photography / 1948 / Released / )
Million Dollar Baby - ( Photography / 1941 / Released / Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution )
Brother Rat and a Baby - ( Photography / 1940 / Released / )
Hell's Kitchen - ( Director of Photography / 1939 / Released / Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution )
Hollywood Hotel - ( Photography / 1938 / Released / )
After Office Hours - ( Photography(- dierctor of photography) / 1935 / Released / )
The Call of the Wild - ( Director of Photography / 1935 / Released / )
Bed of Roses - ( Photography / 1933 / Released / RKO Pictures Distribution )
What Price Hollywood? - ( Photography / 1932 / Released / )
Dance, Fools, Dance - ( Director of Photography / 1931 / Released / )
Tempest - ( Director of Photography / 1928 / Released / United Artists Pictures Inc. )
Sunrise - ( Director of Photography / 1927 / Released / Fox Films, Ltd. )
Sparrows - ( Photography / 1926 / Released / United Artists Pictures Inc. )
The Love Light - ( Photography / 1921 / Released / United Artists Pictures Inc. )
Broadway Melody of 1936 - ( Photography / / Released / )
Little Lord Fauntleroy - ( Photography / / Released / )
White Banners - ( Photography / / Released / )
TV Credits
Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou ( 1995 / Released ): Director of Photography
Elysian Fields ( 1989 / Released ): Director of Photography
Princess Daisy ( 1983 / Released ): Director of Photography
The Tenth Month ( 1979 / Released ): Director of Photography
The Cat Creature ( 1973 / Released ): Director of Photography
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ( Released ): Director of Photography
Full Biography (Back to top)

Pioneering cinematographer who developed many of the "tricks" of "star" lighting, Rosher began his career in London film laboratories, and as photographer to the Court of St. James, before moving to the US in 1908 and settling in Hollywood in 1911. Rosher enjoyed two exceptionally creative periods during his 40-year career. In the silent era he was responsible for several important technical innovations, shot several Mary Pickford vehicles (including "Little Lord Fauntleroy" 1921 and "Sparrows" 1926), and was co-photographer, with Karl Struss, of F.W. Murnau's visually haunting "Sunrise" (1927), for which they shared the first Academy Award for cinematography. In the 1940s and 50s, he again asserted himself as one of the foremost artists in his field with the lush color compositions of features such as "Ziegfeld Follies" (1946), "Show Boat" (1951), and "Kiss Me Kate" (1953). To say Rosher is a pioneer of filmmaking is an understatement. While films were first shot in Hollywood in 1908, Rosher arrived and began working in the town in 1911, two years before DeMille and Lasky shot the first feature film. Beginning in 1916 he was, for 12 years, personal DP for Mary Pickford, lighting her so the audience could not tell she was still playing the sweet young thing while far past the age of ingenue. Rosher compiled a list of many classic films, but his mark as a DP rests not on his mastery of lighting, or being able to reveal the internal thoughts of the actors through shadows. Rather, his fame rests on the many innovations attributed to him. Rosher had a keen understanding of the star power of the Hollywood system, and was the first DP to use stand-ins for actors in order to insure "star" lighting. He also developed reflectors to aid towards the same purpose. Rosher also was able to use dummies in action sequences and light and shoot them so the audience was none the wiser, releasing the actors from dangerous stunts. In the 1921 version of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" starring Pickford, Rosher was able to develop the rudiments of the system which allowed Pickford to kiss herself on screen (through split screen). Some sources also credit Rosher as being the first DP to successfully use artificial light to boost the natural sources for outdoor sequences. Among the many classic films on which Rosher was associated were the original "Pollyanna" (1920), "Tess of the Storm Country" (1922), "What Price Hollywood?" (1932), "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (Freddie Bartholomew; 1936), "Neptune's Daughter" (1949), and "Annie Get Your Gun" (1950). Rosher retired from filmmaking in 1960, departed Hollywood and moved to Jamaica, purchasing the Errol Flynn plantation. A founder of the American Society of Cinematographers, he oft appeared at film festivals and lectured at colleges and film schools. Rosher is the father of cinematographer Charles Rosher Jr., who has worked extensively in TV, and actress Joan Marsh, who co-starred in numerous films of the 30s and 40s. In 1938, Rosher was sentenced to a jail term for failing to pay child support to his first wife for Marsh, a case dating back to the early 30s. Rosher claimed that as although Marsh was under 18, she was earning thousands of dollars as an actress and Rosher failed to see why he should give his ex-wife the child support checks.

Profession(s):
director of photography, photographer
Sometimes Credited As:
Charles A Rosher
Chuck Rosher
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Family
daughter:Joan Marsh (acted under name of Dorothy Rosher for short period)
son:Charles Rosher Jr (often works on TV programs ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"))
wife:Doris Rosher (second wife)
wife:Lolita Rosher (divorced in 1923; mother of Joan Marsh)
Awards (Back to top)
Oscar Best Cinematography (Black and White) "The Yearling" 1946
Oscar Best Cinematography "Sunrise" 1927 - 1928

Milestones (Back to top)
1960 Retired from filmmaking
1951 Was cinematographer on color "Show Boat"
1946 Won second Academy Award for work on "The Yearling"
1936 Was director of photography on Freddie Bartholomew version of "Little Lord Fauntlerory"
1927 Worked on "Sunrise"; won Academy Award
1919 Was one of the founders of the American Society of Cinematographers
1916 Selected by Mary Pickford as her personal cameraman
1911 Began working in Hollywood
1908 Immigrated to USA
Was a photographer at the Court of St James in the United Kingdom

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