“Star Wars” cinematographer Gilbert Taylor dies at 99

PanARMENIAN.Net - Gilbert Taylor, the famed British cinematographer who shot the first Star Wars film for George Lucas, Dr. Strangelove for Stanley Kubrick, Repulsion for Roman Polanski and The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, has died. He was 99, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Taylor died Friday at his home on the Isle of Wight, his wife, Dee, told the BBC.

During a career that began as assistant cameraman on 1930's Rookery Nook and lasted almost 65 years, Taylor also worked on the war drama Ice Cold in Alex (1958); The Bedford Incident (1965); Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate film, Frenzy (1972); Richard Donner's horror classic The Omen (1976); the Frank Langella-starring Dracula (1979); and the fantasy Flash Gordon (1980).

Two films that he shot for Polanski -- the nightmarish black-and-white horror film Repulsion (1965), starring Catherine Deneuve, and Cul-de-Sac (1966) -- earned Taylor BAFTA nominations in consecutive years. He also shot the director's MacBeth (1971) and the Polanski-written A Day at the Beach (1972).

Taylor did special effects photography on war movie The Dam Busters (1955) and shot episodes of the 1960s TV series The Avengers. He retired from film work in 1994.