Eighty-six-year-old cinematographer and director Jack Cardiff has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ board of governors as the first d.p. to ever receive an Honorary Academy Award.
Announcement, made Friday by Academy prexy Robert Rehme, marks the first time in six years that two honorees have been chosen in one year — Ernest Lehman will also be feted (Daily Variety, Jan. 26) during the March 25 kudocast.
In 1995, Kirk Douglas and Chuck Jones were honored, and in 1990 statuettes were handed to Sophia Loren and Myrna Loy.
“Jack Cardiff is one of the greatest visual artists ever to work in film,” said Rehme. “His work is pure, visionary and timeless. He has given us some of the most enduring images in motion picture history.”
Cardiff, who nabbed a statuette in 1947 for “Black Narcissus,” has received four Oscar nominations in all. In 1946, he was nominated for “War and Peace” and was again a contender for “Fanny” in 1961. In 1960, he nabbed a nom for directing “Sons and Lovers.”
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Other works by Cardiff as the d.p. include “The African Queen,” “The Barefoot Contessa,” “The Prince and the Showgirl,” “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “The Vikings,” “The Prince and the Pauper,” “Death on the Nile,” “Tai Pan” and “Conan the Destroyer.”
Honorary nods, according to AMPAS rules, may be awarded for the “exceptional distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding services to the Academy.”
The 73rd annual Academy Awards will be held at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium.
