{{short description|Canadian cinematographer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Richard Leiterman | image = Leiterman.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|03|07}} | birth_place = [[South Porcupine, Ontario|South Porcupine]], Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|07|14|1935|03|07}} | death_place = [[Vancouver]], British Columbia, Canada | nationality = }} '''Richard Leiterman''' (March 7, 1935 – July 14, 2005) was a Canadian [[cinematographer]],<ref> {{cite book | last = Reid | first = Alison | title = Richard Leiterman | url = https://archive.org/details/richardleiterman0000reid | url-access = registration | publisher = Canadian Film Institute | series = Canadian Film Series | date = 1978 | location = | pages = [https://archive.org/details/richardleiterman0000reid/page/120 120] | isbn = 0919096026 }}</ref> best known for [[Documentary film|documentary]] and [[feature film]] work in the 1960s and 1970s. His [[cinéma vérité]], or direct camera, style helped define [[Canadian cinema]] at the time.
== Biography == Born in the small town of [[South Porcupine, Ontario|South Porcupine]]<ref> {{Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | title = Trial by fire, an interview with Richard Leiterman | newspaper = Take One (Canadian film magazine) | pages = | year = 2002 | url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_37_11/ai_87019611 | accessdate = 2014-04-01 }}</ref> in northern [[Ontario]] in 1935, the brother of film producer [[Douglas Leiterman]]. He grew up in [[Vancouver]], where he spent his young years working as a [[waste collector]], [[beachcombing|beachcomber]] and [[Trucker|truck driver]]. During his mid-20s, he was encouraged by his brother-in-law, [[Allan King]], to take a camera technician course at the [[University of British Columbia]].
Leiterman took to the [[Camera|film camera]] like a natural. He sold his car to buy a 16mm camera, and proceeded to shoot [[stock footage]], which he then sold to Canadian broadcasters like the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]. Hired by Allan King as a second [[camera operator]] on a documentary, Leiterman went to [[London]] and, in 1962, co-founded Allan King Associates with him. The company focused on news-related filmmaking. In 1963, Leiterman went to the Southern U.S. to shoot ''[[One More River]]'', a look at [[racism]] in America. Over the next few years, his documentary work took him around the world.
In 1969, Leiterman shot the Allan King-produced ''[[A Married Couple (1969 film)|A Married Couple]]'', which was featured at the [[Director's Fortnight]] at the [[1970 Cannes Film Festival]]. Leiterman next began a series of collaborations with famed Canadian director [[Donald Shebib]], starting with the Canadian classic ''[[Goin' Down the Road]]'' (1970), and followed by ''[[Between Friends (1973 film)|Between Friends]]'' (1973) and ''[[Wedding in White]]'' (1972). Leiterman used his documentary experience to provide a cinéma vérité look to his work.
Leiterman continued to shoot a variety of material over the following three decades, from Canadian features such as ''[[My American Cousin]]'' (1985) to American [[made-for-TV movie]]s such as [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[It (1990 film)|It]]'' (1990). His [[cinematography]] work earned him a [[Canadian Film Award]] (1975) a [[Genie Award]], (1981), and the Kodak New Century Award (2000).
During the late 1990s, Leiterman shot the Canadian TV series ''[[Cold Squad]]''. He taught cinematography for a brief time in the [[Advanced TV & Film]] program and Media Arts program at [[Sheridan College]] in [[Oakville, Ontario]], then finally retired.<ref name=StarObit>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-richard-leiterman/149714772/ |title=Richard Leiterman |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |page=22 |date=2005-07-17 |access-date=2024-06-20 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Leiterman died in Vancouver on July 14, 2005, at age 70 due to complications from a rare disease called [[amyloidosis]].<ref name=StarObit/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name | id=0500686 | name=Richard Leiterman }}
{{Authority control}}
{{ACCT Best Cinematography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leiterman, Richard}} [[Category:1935 births]] [[Category:2005 deaths]] [[Category:Canadian cinematographers]] [[Category:Mass media people from Vancouver]] [[Category:Deaths from amyloidosis]] [[Category:People from Timmins]] [[Category:Best Cinematography Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners]] [[Category:Canadian film educators]]