Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. (b. April 6, 1895 New York, New York – d. September 14, 1988 Palm Beach, Florida) was an American cinematographer during the early and classical Hollywood cinema. He is best known for his work on the 1939 masterpiece The Wizard of Oz.
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Rosson came from a film-making family. His brother, Arthur Rosson, was a successful director and several other family members were involved in the early film industry.[1]
Harold Rosson began his film career in 1908 as an actor at the Vitagraph Studios in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York. He became the assistant to Irvin Willat at the Mark Dintenfass Studios. In 1912 he divided his time as an office boy in a stockbrokers firm and as and assistant, extra, and handyman at the Famous Players Studio in New York.
In December 1914, Rosson moved to California and joined Metro Pictures. During World War I he served in the army. After his demobilization he went to work on the Marion Davies film The Dark Star. He was offered a contract with the Davies Company. In 1920 he was signed by Mary Pickford working primarily with her brother Jack Pickford.
After a very long and successful career in Hollywood, Rosson retired in 1958; he returned in 1966 for the Howard Hawks film El Dorado starring John Wayne. He was married to actress Jean Harlow [1933-34]. His sister Helene Rosson [1897-1985] was an actress, his brother Richard [1893-1953] was an actor/director (who had played the romantic lead in The Patchwork Girl of Oz) and brother Arthur [1886-1960] was a film director.
Harold Rosson was nominated for five Academy Awards: The Wizard of Oz (1939), Boom Town (1940), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Bad Seed (1956). He was awarded an Honorary Oscar for the color cinematography of the 1936 David O. Selznick production The Garden of Allah.
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