Born: 4 July 1909, Chino, Calif., USA, as Leslie Robert Burks.

Died: 12 May 1968, Huntington Harbour, Calif., USA. [Burks and his wife died in a house fire.]

Career: Was member of the ASC.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1951; b&w] for 'Strangers on a Train'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1954; color] for 'Rear Window'; 'Oscar' AA [1955; color] for 'To Catch a Thief'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1965; b&w] for 'A Patch of Blue'.

'Burks was King Chameleon, both in his skill in adopting the type of camerawork or visual styling which exactly suited each film, and in the way his own work could vary in merit depending upon the inspiration (or lack of it) of the director. Thus, he produced, for a constantly on-form Hitchcock, a string of superbly lensed movies which ranged from the entirely convincing, impersonalized, documentary look of 'The Wrong Man', to the spectacular colorful location work of 'North by Northwest' and 'Vertigo', to the claustrophobic, single set restrictions of 'Rear Window'. Compared to the Hitch films, Burks' relatively uninspired work on 'The Great Imposter' and 'The Music Man' (cheerful and well lit, but characterless) or 'A Covenant with Death' (downright gaudy and unattractive), reflects the lack of imagination displayed by the directors concerned.' [David Badder in 'Film Dope', #5, July 1974.]

Click titles for Image Galleries

1943        Jammin' the Blues [Gjon Mili] 16mm/b&w; mus short/10m

1943        Make Your Own Bed [Peter Godfrey] b&w

1944        Escape in the Desert [Edward Blatt] b&w; sfx ph: Willard Van Enger

1945        Star in the Night [Don Siegel] b&w; short/22m

1945        Hitler Lives! [Don Siegel] b&w; short/20m; newsreels + seq with actors

1945        The Verdict [Don Siegel] b&w; uncred fill-in ph (+ spec pfx); ph: Ernest Haller

1947        To the Victor [Delmer Daves] b&w; spec pfx: Marcel Grignon

1948        A Kiss in the Dark [Delmer Daves] b&w

1948        The Fountainhead [King Vidor] b&w; spec pfx: Edwin DuPar, H.F. Koenekamp & (dir) William McGann

1948        Task Force [Delmer Daves] b&w-c; cph: Wilfred M. Cline

1949        Beyond the Forest [King Vidor] b&w

1949        The Glass Menagerie [Irving Rapper] b&w

1950        The Enforcer/Murder Inc. [Bretaigne Windust & (uncred) Raoul Walsh] b&w

1950        Strangers On A Train [Alfred Hitchcock] b&w; spec pfx: H.F. Koenekamp; British version has variations in some scenes

1951        Tomorrow Is Another Day [Felix Feist] b&w

1951        Close to My Heart [William Keighley] b&w

1951        Come Fill the Cup [Gordon Douglas] b&w

1951        Room for One More/The Easy Way [Norman Taurog] b&w

1951        Mara Maru [Gordon Douglas] b&w; Bert Glennon was scheduled as ph or uncred cph (?); spec pfx: H.F. Koenekamp

1952        The Desert Song [H. Bruce Humberstone] c

1952        I Confess [Alfred Hitchcock] b&w

1952        So This Is Love/The Grace Moore Story [Gordon Douglas] c

1953        House of Wax [André De Toth] c; uncred fill in ph (for B. Glennon, who fell ill); ph: Bert Glennon & J. Peverell Marley;

                    filmed in Natural Vision (3-D)

1953        The Boy from Oklahoma [Michael Curtiz] c

1953        Hondo [John Farrow; 2u battle scenes: John Ford] c; cph: Archie Stout; filmed in 3-D and released in 3-D (for one week)

                    and a flat version

1953        Dial M for Murder [Alfred Hitchcock] c; filmed in 3-D, but released in a flat version

1953        Rear Window [Alfred Hitchcock] c; spec vfx; Irmin Roberts; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; 'Shooting 'Rear Window'

                    necessitated the design and construction of a gigantic, composite set. The set was designed by art director Joseph

                    MacMillan Johnson and built on one of Paramount's largest sound stages, Stage 18. The set was very realistic and

                    comprised some 31 apartments, 12 of which were completely furnished. The rigging and illumination of this complex set

                    was an enormous challenge. The decision was made to pre-light the entire set. Robert Burks: 'I went on the sound stage

                    about 10 days prior to the starting date. Using a skeleton crew, we pre-lit every one of the 31 apartments for both day

                    and night, as well as lighting the exterior of the courtyard for the dual-type illumination required. A remote switch

                    controlled the lights in each apartment. On the stage, we had a switching set-up that looked like the console of the

                    biggest organ ever made!' Following the pre-lighting phase, a large chart was prepared which detailed the set-lighting

                    plan and indicated which switches needed to be activated for a given lighting scheme. [From article by David Atkinson in

                    'American Cinematographer', January 1990.]; filmed 1953-54

1954        To Catch a Thief [Alfred Hitchcock] vv/c; 2uc: W. Wallace Kelley; process ph: Farciot Edouart; spec pfx: John P. Fulton

1954        The Trouble with Harry [Alfred Hitchcock] vv/c; spec pfx: John P. Fulton

1955        The Vagabond King [Michael Curtiz] vv/c

1955        The Man Who Knew Too Much [Alfred Hitchcock] vv/c; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1955        The Spirit of St. Louis [Billy Wilder] cs/c; cph: J. Peverell Marley; aph: Thomas Tutwiler; spec pfx: H.F. Koenekamp &

                    Louis Lichtenfield

1956        The Wrong Man [Alfred Hitchcock] b&w; addph: Frank J. Calabria

1957        Vertigo [Alfred Hitchcock] vv & 70bu (1996 restoration)/c; uncred 2uc: Loyal Griggs & Irmin Roberts; process ph: Farciot

                    Edouart & W. Wallace Kelley; spec pfx; John P. Fulton

1958        The Black Orchid [Martin Ritt] vv/b&w; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1958        North by Northwest [Alfred Hitchcock] vv/c; spec pfx: A. Arnold Gillespie & Lee LeBlanc

1959        But Not for Me [Walter Lang] vv/b&w; 2uc: W. Wallace Kelley; spec pfx: John P. Fulton; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1959        The Rat Race [Robert Mulligan] c; process ph: Farciot Edouart

1960        The Great Impostor [Robert Mulligan] b&w

1961        The Pleasure of His Company [George Seaton] c; title background ph: William Fraker (as Bud Fraker)

1961        The Music Man [Morton DaCosta] tr/c

1962        The Birds [Alfred Hitchcock] c; spec ph adv: Ub Iwerks

1963        Marnie [Alfred Hitchcock] c

1964        Once a Thief [Ralph Nelson] p/b&w

1965        A Patch of Blue [Guy Green] p/b&w

1966        Chubasco [Allen H. Miner] replaced early in prod by ph Louis Jennings & Paul Ivano

1966        A Covenant with Death [Lamont Johnson] c

1967        Waterhole #3/Waterhole Three [William Graham] ts/c; spec pfx: Paul K. Lerpae

1936        Marked Woman [Lloyd Bacon & Michael Curtiz (uncred)] co; ph: George Barnes

1939        On Your Toes [Ray Enright] co; ph: James Wong Howe

1939        Saturday's Children [Vincent Sherman] ph: James Wong Howe

1940        A Dispatch from Reuters/This Man Reuter [William Dieterle] co; ph: James Wong Howe

1940        The Great Lie [Edmund Goulding] co; ph: Tony Gaudio

1941        International Squadron [Lothar Mendes & Lewis Seiler] ph: Ted McCord & James Van Trees

1941        Highway West [William McGann] ph: Ted McCord

1941        Kings Row [Sam Wood] ph: James Wong Howe

1941        Dangerously They Live [Robert Florey] ph: L. William O'Connell

1941        In This Our Life [John Huston] co; ph: Ernest Haller

1941        Arsenic and Old Lace [Frank Capra] co; ph: Sol Polito

1943        In Our Time [Vincent Sherman] ph: Carl Guthrie

1943        The Horn Blows at Midnight [Raoul Walsh] co; ph: Sid Hickox

1944        God Is My Co-Pilot [Robert Florey] co; ph: Sid Hickox

1944        Pride of the Marines/Forever in Love [Delmer Daves] co; ph: J. Peverell Marley

1944        The Big Sleep [Howard Hawks] co; ph: Sid Hickox

1945        The Two Mrs. Carrolls [Peter Godfrey] ph: J. Peverell Marley

1945        Confidential Agent [Herman Shumlin] co; ph: James Wong Howe

1945        Night and Day [Michael Curtiz] ph: J. Peverell Marley & William V. Skall

1945        The Verdict [Don Siegel] (+ uncred cph); ph: Ernest Haller

1946        The Unfaithful [Vincent Sherman] co; ph: Ernest Haller

1946        The Woman in White [Peter Godfrey] ph: Carl Guthrie

1946        Cry Wolf [Peter Godfrey] co; ph: Carl Guthrie

1946        Possessed [Curtis Bernhardt] co; ph: Joseph Valentine & Sid Hickox

1946        My Wild Irish Rose [David Butler] ph: Arthur Edeson & William V. Skall

1947        The Unsuspected [Michael Curtiz] ph: Elwood Bredell

1947        Romance on the High Seas/It's Magic [Michael Curtiz] co; ph: Elwood Bredell

1947        Key Largo [John Huston] co; ph: Karl Freund

1948        Smart Girls Don't Talk [Richard L. Bare] ph: Ted McCord

1948        John Loves Mary [David Butler] co; ph: J. Peverell Marley

1948        The Younger Brothers [Edwin L. Marin] ph: William Snyder

1952        The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima/Miracle of Fatima [John Brahm] ph: Edwin B. DuPar

1932        USC vs. Tulane [?; doc] c.asst; ph: ?

1939        Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet [William Dieterle] spec microscopic efx; ph: James Wong Howe

1940        Brother Orchid [Lloyd Bacon] co-montages (with Don Siegel); ph: Tony Gaudio

1940        They Drive by Night/The Road to Frisco [Raoul Walsh] co-montages (with Don Siegel); ph: Arthur Edeson