Motion Picture Cinematographer. For 40 years one of Hollywood's most innovative cameramen. With "The Jazz Singer" (1927) Mohr solved many technical challenges posed by early talkies, and he was among the first to liberally use dolly and boom shots, creating a fluid and exciting visual style. He won Academy Awards for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1943). His other films include "Sparrows" (1926), "The Wedding March" (1928), "Broadway" (1929), "Noah's Ark" (1929), "The Front Page" (1931), "State Fair" (1933), "Captain Blood" (1935), "Destry Rides Again" (1939), "Watch on the Rhine" (1943), "Salome--Where She Danced" (1945), "Rancho Notorious" (1952), "Member of the Wedding" (1953), "The Wild One" (1954), "Baby Face Nelson" (1957), and "Underworld USA" (1961). Mohr was born in San Francisco. Movie crazy as a teen, he built his own camera and began selling documentary clips to local newsreel companies. After serving in the Signal Corps during World War I, he settled in Hollywood. In 1933 Mohr helped arbitrate a union strike in favor of the studios, and was shunned by fellow cameramen for years afterward. When he failed to receive an Oscar nomination for his exquisite lensing of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", he became the only person in Academy history to win the award as a write-in candidate. (The Academy barred write-ins in 1937). From the mid-1950s he worked mainly in television. He was married to actress Evelyn Venable from 1934 until his death. Mohr is one of only a handful of cinematographers to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Motion Picture Cinematographer. For 40 years one of Hollywood's most innovative cameramen. With "The Jazz Singer" (1927) Mohr solved many technical challenges posed by early talkies, and he was among the first to liberally use dolly and boom shots, creating a fluid and exciting visual style. He won Academy Awards for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1943). His other films include "Sparrows" (1926), "The Wedding March" (1928), "Broadway" (1929), "Noah's Ark" (1929), "The Front Page" (1931), "State Fair" (1933), "Captain Blood" (1935), "Destry Rides Again" (1939), "Watch on the Rhine" (1943), "Salome--Where She Danced" (1945), "Rancho Notorious" (1952), "Member of the Wedding" (1953), "The Wild One" (1954), "Baby Face Nelson" (1957), and "Underworld USA" (1961). Mohr was born in San Francisco. Movie crazy as a teen, he built his own camera and began selling documentary clips to local newsreel companies. After serving in the Signal Corps during World War I, he settled in Hollywood. In 1933 Mohr helped arbitrate a union strike in favor of the studios, and was shunned by fellow cameramen for years afterward. When he failed to receive an Oscar nomination for his exquisite lensing of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", he became the only person in Academy history to win the award as a write-in candidate. (The Academy barred write-ins in 1937). From the mid-1950s he worked mainly in television. He was married to actress Evelyn Venable from 1934 until his death. Mohr is one of only a handful of cinematographers to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Bio by: Bobb Edwards
