Cinematographer. A specialist in outdoor photography, he shot 30 films starring John Wayne. He shared an Academy Award with Winton C. Hoch for "The Quiet Man" (1952) and won the Best Cinematography prize at the Locarno Film Festival for "Fort Apache" (1948). The Iowa-born Stout was a forest ranger before arriving in Hollywood in the late 1910s, landing his first major assignment on Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1923). For most of his career he was consigned to B westerns or as an uncredited second-unit cameraman on big-budget features. In the latter capacity he showed great skill in matching the visual styles of his better-known colleagues, in two cases helping them to Oscars: George Barnes for "Rebecca" (1940) and Hoch for "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949). His own Oscar win for "The Quiet Man", with its gorgeous Technicolor location filming in Ireland, was the only time the cinematography award was presented for second-unit work. From 1933 to 1935 Stout was employed by Poverty Row producer Paul Malvern's Lone Star studio and was behind the camera for many of Wayne's early westerns, among them "Riders of Destiny" (1933) and "The Star Packer" (1934). Although these cheapjack five-reelers were shot in a few days with minimal resources, he still took pains to make the actors and scenery shine onscreen. Malvern enthused: "He was the finest exterior cameraman ever born...These films are beautiful to look at". Wayne didn't forget Stout's professionalism once he became a top star, demanding his services for some of his Republic features ("Angel and the Badman", 1946) and making him chief cinematographer for his production company Batjac in the early 1950s. It was also likely at The Duke's urging that he became a regular of director John Ford's stock company, beginning with "Fort Apache". His last film was the box office smash "The High and the Mighty" (1954). Having finally reached Hollywood's A List as a director of photography, Stout suffered a heart attack in 1955 and was forced into retirement. His 150 credits include, as DP or co-photographer: "His Nibs" (1921), "Feet of Clay" (1924), "Hopalong Cassidy Returns" (1936), "The Adventures of Marco Polo" (1938), "Beau Geste" (1939), "Tarzan and the Amazons" (1945), "Outrage" (1950), "Big Jim McLain" (1952), "Hondo" (1953), "Island in the Sky" (1953), and "The Sun Shines Bright" (1953). As second-unit photographer: "The Texas Rangers" (1936), "The Hurricane" (1937), "The Westerner" (1940), "Wagon Master" (1950), "Rio Grande" (1950), and "The Thing" (1951).