Owen Roizman, Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer of ‘Exorcist’ and ‘Tootsie,’ Dies at 86

Owen Roizman, the five-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer responsible for producing the look and visual style of several classic films, including “Exorcist” and “Tootsie,” has died at the age of 86 following a long illness, a spokesperson for the American Society of Cinematographers (ASOC) announced Saturday.

“We are very sorry to hear that cinematographer Owen Roizman, ASC has died at the age of 86 following a long illness. He was nominated for five times for his camerawork and received an honorary Academy Award in 2017 for his contributions to cinema. We are preparing a full memorial,” a Saturday tweet from ASOC reads.

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Roizman has been nominated five times for films “The French Connection,” “the Exorcist,” “Network,” “Tootsie,” and the 1994 Western “Wyatt Earp.” In 2017, Roizman was honored with an honorary Academy Award for his contributions to film. In addition, Roizman received an Emmy nomination for the 1972 series Liza Minnelli variety special “Liza With a Z,” which was directed by Bob Fosse.

He also worked on two Madonna music videos, “Gambler” and “Crazy for You,” as well as served as a cinematographer for musicals “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely hearts Club Band,” and the musical drama “True Confessions.”

Film visualist, Sol, was born in Brooklyn New York on Sept 22, 1936. Morrie Roizman was his uncle and also worked as a film editor. He studied math and physics at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania. He made his first mark in Hollywood shooting TV commercials; his feature film debut as a director of photography was on the 1970 movie “Stop!”

On top of his lengthy resume, Roizman served on the board of governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in the cinematographers’ sector. Roizman served as Kodak Cinematographer-in-Residence at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television from 2003 to 2004.