Oscar president and cinematographer John Bailey died
John Bailey was behind the camera for the cult film "Groundhog Day". He filmed with Hollywood greats such as Richard Gere and Robert Redford. During the Weinstein affair, Bailey was president of the Oscars and worked to bring more diversity to the jury.
John Bailey is dead. The cinematographer, director and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) died in Los Angeles. He was 81 years old. His wife, 81-year-old film editor Carol Littleton, announced his death in an AMPAS statement, according to media reports. "It is with deep sadness that I announce that my best friend and husband, John Bailey, passed away peacefully in his sleep early this morning," it reads.
"During John's illness, we reminisced about how we met 60 years ago and were married for 51 years," the widow continued. "We shared a wonderful, adventurous life in the film industry and made many lasting friendships along the way. John will live in my heart forever," said Littleton. She did not specify the cause of death or the illness he had been suffering from.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang also expressed their "deepest sadness" in a joint statement. According to them, the news of Bailey's death was received during the night. "John was a passionately dedicated member of the Academy and the film community. He served as our President and as Academy Governor for many years and played a leadership role in the Cinematographers Branch," they said. "His influence and contributions to the film community will be forever remembered. Our thoughts and support are with Carol at this time."
From Richard Gere to Marmot
After graduating from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, John Bailey began his career in the film business in the early 1970s. After a few years as an assistant, he took off as head cinematographer on films such as "A Man for a Few Hours" with Richard Gere and Robert Redford's Oscar-winning directorial debut "An Ordinary Family" (both 1980).
In a career spanning almost 50 years, Bailey has worked on more than 80 films, including a number of well-known movies, from the modern classic "Groundhog Day" to "It doesn't get any better than this". Between 1991 and 2001, he directed five films. The most famous of these is the thriller "China Moon" with Ed Harris. In 2015, he was honored by the American Society of Cinematographers with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
He was also involved in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, among other things. After many years and leadership positions in the camera branch of AMPAS, he was elected president in 2017, the first cinematographer ever to do so. He was President of AMPAS until 2019. His time in office included the difficult handling of the Weinstein affair and efforts to make the Oscar jury more diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and religion.
Following his presidency of the Oscars during the Weinstein affair, John Bailey prioritized bringing more diversity to the jury in the world of Hollywood entertainment. Despite his successful career as a cinematographer, working on films like "Groundhog Day" with Richard Gere, Bailey's life was tragically cut short by Deaths, with him passing away peacefully at the age of 81.
Source: www.ntv.de
