Born: 16 June 1930, Szeged, Hungary.

Education: State Academy of Theatre and Film Art, Budapest [Cinematography, 1951-55; his teachers were György Illés, János Badal, a.o.].

Career: 'Vilmos Zsigmond was in his early teens when the Russian army installed a puppet government in Hungary answerable to the communist regime in Moscow. He wasn't allowed to continue his education or pursue an interest in becoming a photographer because his family was considered bourgeois. Zsigmond was put to work in a factory, where he saved money to buy a camera and taught himself how to take pictures. He organized a camera club for factory workers. That impressed the commissars who sent him to the Academy of Theatre and Film Art in Budapest to learn cinematography. Zsigmond completed his formal education in 1955, and was working as an apprentice at the state film studio in October 1956, when a popular uprising spilled into the streets of Budapest.' [From the ASC website.] Zsigmond and his film school classmate László Kovács took an Arriflex camera from their school and filmed the battle between the Budapest citizens and the Russian troops and tanks. In November 1956 they fled to Austria where the film was processed and sold to a producer [the film was shown on CBS-tv in 1961]. He [and Kovács] arrived in the USA in March 1957 as a political refugee. He spent time in a refugee camp in New Jersey, and worked briefly in Chicago, before moving to Los Angeles hoping to find a job in the film industry. Worked as laboratory technician and as still photographer [for 5 years] on educational films. Owned his own 16mm Arriflex camera modified for Techniscope. Made a short film on modern dance, 'Lullaby', which gained him entrance in the unions.

Ph and dir commercials. Also active as director. Was one of the 'masters' at the 'International Masterclass [1999 & 2001], Budapest. Active member of the ASC since 1973, honorary member of the HSC and associate member of the SOC.

Appeared/interviewee in the doc 'Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography' [1991], 'Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western' [1997, Len Morris; ph: Alicia Weber], 'Wiecej swiatka. Festiwal Operatorów Filmowych Camerimage '97' [1997, Piotr Lazarkiewicz; ph: Adam Sikora; 54m], "The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'" [1998, Laurent Bouzereau], 'Ljuset håller mig sällskap/Light Keeps Me Company' [2000, Carl-Gustav Nykvist], 'Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood' [2002, Kenneth Bowser; ph: Paul Mailman; 119m] & 'No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos' [2007, James Chressanthis; ph: Anka Malatynska; 105m].

Awards: 'Oscar' AA [1977] for 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1978] & BAFTA Film Award [1979] for 'The Deer Hunter'; Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award [1997]; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [1999]; 'Corvin Chain' [2001; given by the Hungarian Government]; 'Emmy' Award nom [2002] for 'The Mists of Avalon' [Part 1]; HSC 'A Legenda' Award [2005].

1953        A föld/The Land [József Zsuppa] b&w; short student film/10m

1954        Elszállnak a felhök/Gone Are the Clouds [?] ?; short student film/?m

1955        Hajnal elött/Before Dawn [József Zsuppa] b&w; student film/15m

1956        Ungarn in flammen/Revolt in Hungary [Stefan Erdelyi] b&w; doc/83m; cph: László Kovács & Ferencz Vass

1958        The Blue of the Sky [Vilmos Zsigmond & László Kovács] ?; short/?m; cph: László Kovács

1960        This Is Larry [?] ?; doc/?m

1960        The Prom [?] ?; short/?m

1961        Pulse of Life [Robert Berk] c; instructional doc/?m

1962        Wild Guitar [Ray Dennis Steckler] c; 2uc (as William Zsigmond); ph: Joseph V. Mascelli

1963        Lullaby [Vilmos Zsigmond & László Kovács] ?; short/?m; cph: László Kovács

1963        The Sadist/Profile of Terror/Sweet Baby Charlie [James Landis] b&w; as William Zsigmond

1963        Living Between Two Worlds [Bobby Johnson] b&w; as William Zsigmond

1963        What's Up Front/The Fall Guy/A Fourth for Marriage [Bob Wehling] c; as William Zsigmond

1963        Summer Children/A Hot Summer Game/It's All in the Game [James Bruner] b&w; as William Zsigmond

1964        Nasty Rabbit/Spies-A-Go-Go [James Landis] ts/c; as William Zsigmund

1964        The Time Travelers/Time Trap/This Time Tomorrow [Ib Melchior] c; as William Zsigmond

1964        Echo of Terror/Psycho-A-Go-Go!/The Man with the Electronic [Synthetic] Brain/The Love Maniac/Blood of

                    Ghastly Horror [Al Adamson] ts/c; as William Zsigmond; prod in 1964 as 'Echo of Terror'; with new scenes in 1965:

                    'Psycho-A-Go-Go'; new scenes/re-edited: 'The Man with the Electronic [Synthetic] Brain'; re-edited in 1972 as 'Blood

                    of Ghastly Horror'

1964        Tell Me in the Sunlight [Steve Cochran] b&w; ?; ph: Rod Yould

1965        Tales of a [Traveling] Salesman [Don Russell] c; 53m; as William Zsigmond

1965        Deadwood '76 [James Landis] ts/c; cph: Lewis Guinn; as William Zsigmond

1965        Rat Fink/My Soul Runs Naked/Wild and Willing [James Landis] b&w; as William Zsigmond

1965        [The] Gun Riders/The Lonely Man/Five Bloody Graves [Al Adamson] ts/c; as William Zsigmond

1966        The Cat [Ellis Kadison] c; nature ph; ph: Monroe Askins

1966        Road to Nashville [Will Zens] ts/c; addph (as William Zsigmund); ph: Leif Rise

1967        The Name of the Game Is Kill!/The Female Trap [Gunnar Hellström] c; as William Zsigmond

1967        Blood of Dracula's Castle [Al Adamson] c; left film early in prod; cph: László Kovács

1967        Mondo Mod [Peter Perry] c; doc/?m; cph: László Kovács; as William Zsigmond

1968        Working Women [Robert Aller] ?

1968        The Monitors [Jack Shea] c; as William Zsigmond

1968        The Picasso Summer [Serge Bourguignon & Robert Sallin] c; addph: Henri Alekan & David Shore

1968        Jennie: Wife – Child/Tender Grass [James Landis & Robert Carl Cohen] b&w; cph: R.C. Cohen; as William Zsigmond

1969        Futz! [Tom O'Horgan] c

1969        Hot Rod Action [Gene McCabe] c; doc/72m; cph: Mario Tosi & Vilis Lapenieks; as William Zsigmond

1969        The Ski Bum/Point Zero [Bruce Clark] c

1969        Satan's Sadists/Nightmare Bloodbath [Al Adamson] c; uncred cph; cph: Gary Graver

1969        Horror of the Blood Monsters/Creatures of the Red Planet/The Flesh Creatures/Vampire Men of the Lost

                    Planet [Al Adamson] c; cph: William Troiano; as William Zsigmond

1970        The Hired Hand [Peter Fonda] c

1970        Red Sky at Morning [James Goldstone] c

1970        McCabe and Mrs. Miller [Robert Altman] p/c; 2uc: Rod Parkhurst

1970        Dusty and Sweets McGee [Floyd Mutrux] c; doc + dram seq/95m; co-addph ('Whiskey a Go Go' nightclub scenes); ph:

                    William Fraker

1971        Soul to Soul [Denis Sanders] c; mus. doc/95m; cph: Erik Daarstad, David Myers, Jeri Sopanen, a.o.

1971        Deliverance [John Boorman] p/c; 2uc: Bill Butler

1971        Images [Robert Altman] p/c

1971        The Argument [Donald Cammell] cs/c; short/14m; released in 2000

1972        The Master [Richard Colla] ?

1972        The Long Goodbye [Robert Altman] p/c

1972        Scarecrow [Jerry Schatzberg] p/c

1973        The Sugarland Express [Steven Spielberg] p/c

1973        Cinderella Liberty [Mark Rydell] c

1973        The Girl from Petrovka [Robert Ellis Miller] p/c

1974        Funny Lady [Herbert Ross] replaced by ph James Wong Howe during shooting

1975        Dandy, the All-American Girl/Sweet Revenge [Jerry Schatzberg] p/c

1975        Death Riders [James Wilson] c; doc/84m; cph: James Wilson

1975        Obsession [Brian De Palma] p/c

1976        Close Encounters of the Third Kind [Steven Spielberg] p/c; ph India seq: Douglas Slocombe; ph add scenes USA:

                    William Fraker; addph: John Alonzo & László Kovács; 2uc: Steven Poster; UFO ph: Dave Stewart; spec pfx: Richard

                    Yuricich (ph) & Douglas Trumbull (superv); UFO ph: Dave Stewart; optical ph: Robert Hall; mothership ph: Dennis

                    Muren

1976        The Last Waltz [Martin Scorsese] c; mus doc/117m; co-addph; ph: Michael Chapman

1976        Winter Kills [William Richert] p/c; addph: John Bailey; production halted, but resumed in December 1978

1977        A Wedding [Robert Altman] announced as doph, but replaced by Charles Rosher Jr.

1977        The Deer Hunter [Michael Cimino] p/c; replaced William Fraker during production

1978        The Rose [Mark Rydell] c; addph concert scenes: Bobby Byrne, Conrad Hall, László Kovács, Haskell Wexler, Owen

                    Roizman, David Myers, Jan Kiesser, a.o.

1979        Heaven's Gate/Johnson County Wars [Michael Cimino] p/c

1980        Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Special Edition [Steven Spielberg] see 1976; addph 'Special Edition': Allen

                    Daviau

1980        Blow Out [Brian De Palma] p/c; uncred addph: László Kovács

1981        The Border [Tony Richardson] p/c; addph; ph: Ric Waite

1981        Jinxed! [Don Siegel] c

1982        Table for Five [Robert Lieberman] c; addph: Jan Kiesser; 2uc: Victor Goss; aph: Rex Metz

1983        The River [Mark Rydell] c; 2uc: Steven Poster & Rex Metz (add); matte ph: Bill Taylor

1984        No Small Affair [Jerry Schatzberg] c

1985        Real Genius [Martha Coolidge] cs/c; 2uc: Frederick Elmes

1985        The Witches of Eastwick [George Miller] p/c; vfx ph: Kim Marks & Patrick Turner

1988        Journey to Spirit Island [László Pal] c

1988        Fat Man and Little Boy/Shadow Makers [Roland Joffé] c

1989        The Two Jakes [Jack Nicholson] c

1990        Scared of Guns [Alan Bloom] ?; cph: James Chressanthis

1990        The Bonfire of the Vanities [Brian De Palma] c

1992        Sliver [Phillip Noyce] p/c; 2uc: Michael Benson & László Kovács

1992        Intersection [Mark Rydell] c; 2uc: László George; uwph: Pauline Heaton

1993        Maverick [Richard Donner] p/c; 2uc: John Connor; + small part

1994        The Crossing Guard [Sean Penn] c; 2uc: John Connor

1995        Assassins/Day of Reckoning [Richard Donner] c; 2uc: Gary Holt; aph: Frank Holgate

1995        The Ghost and the Darkness [Stephen Hopkins] p/c; 2uc: Gabriel Beristáin; Kenya ph: Jack Couffer

1995        Porthole to Paradise [Ivan Passer] ?

1997        Fantasy for a New Age [Richard Caesar] c; dram corporate film/35m; prod for Siemens AG

1998        Illegal Music [Zane Zidel] ?

1998        Playing By Heart/Intermedia [Willard Carroll] c; 2uc: John J. Connor & Joseph Urbanczyk

1999        Byron [Charles Jarrott] announced

1999        Mr. Hughes [Brian De Palma; based on scrpl by David Koepp] announced, but prod cancelled

1999        The Body [Jonas McCord] p/c

2000        Life as a House [Irwin Winkler] p/c; addph: Johnny E. Jensen

2001        Bánk Bán [Csaba Káel] c; opera film; 2uc: Tamás Lajos & Tibor Vagyóczky

2002        Timeline [Richard Donner] s35/c; co-2uc; ph: Caleb Deschanel

2002        Jersey Girl [Kevin Smith] s35/c

2003        Melinda and Melinda [Woody Allen] c

2004        Medicine Chest [Douglas Busby] c/V; mus short/?m

2005        The Black Dahlia [Brian De Palma] s35/c

2005        Torn from the Flag [Endre Hules & Klaudia Kovács] HD/c; doc/95m; ; cph: Zoltán Honti, László Kovács (Los Angeles &

                    Hungary) & Justin Schein; + co-exec prod; filmed October 2004-December 2005

2006        Cassandra's Dream [Woody Allen] c

2007        Bolden! [Dan Pritzker] c; 2uc: Frank Godwin

2007        Louis/The Great Observer [Dan Pritzker] b&w/silent; short/60m; 2uc: Frank Godwin; + small part

2009        King Shot [Alejandro Jodorowsky] c

2009        You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger [Woody Allen] c

2009        The Maiden Danced to Death [Endre Hules] pre-production

2009        A Half of Two Lives [Csaba Káel] announced

2009        Three Dog Night [?] in development

1963        Story of... [ep 'Story of a Champion' dir by Robert Aller (RA) & 'Story of a Coach' dir by RA] 38-part doc series, 1962-63;

                    cph: Vilis Lapenieks & Erik Daarstad ('Story of a Champion'); as William Zsigmond

1965        The Market [Jack Shepard] doc/60m; as William Zsigmond

1967        The World of Animals [ep 'Big Cats, Little Cats' dir by Bud Wiser] 3-part series, 1966-68; cph: J. Barry Herron, John

                    Alonzo, David Blewitt, a.o.; as William Zsigmond

1969        The Wonderful World of Wheels [?] special/60m; cph: László Kovács

1969        [The Bold Ones:] The Protectors [ep #1 'A Case of Good Whiskey at Christmas Time' dir by Robert Day] 6-part series

1978        Flesh and Blood [Jud Taylor] 2-part tvm

1988        China Beach [ph special interview seq ep #20 'Vets' (1989) dir by John Sacret Young] 64-part series, 1988-91; 2nd

                    season, 1988-89; ph: ?

1989        China Beach [ph special interview seq ep #38 'Souvenirs' (1990) dir by John Sacret Young] 3rd season, 1989-90; ph:

                    Richard Thorpe; see 1988

1991        Stalin [Ivan Passer] tvm

2000        The Mists of Avalon [Uli Edel] 2-part tvm

2004        Surrender, Dorothy [Charles McDougall] tvm/s16; 2uc: Jack Garrett

                    Meets Bloody Mary [Ray Dennis Steckler] co-c.op (as William Zsigmond); ph: Joseph V. Mascelli

1958        The Blue of the Sky [co-d; + cph] see Films

1963        Lullaby [co-d; + cph] see Films

1990        The Long Shadow/A Tékozló apa [feature] ph: Gábor Szabó