Motion Picture Director, Special Effects Artist, Cinematographer. A brilliant technician, his forte was effects-laden science-fiction and adventure stories. He is best remembered for directing the classic "The War of the Worlds" (1953). Haskin was born in Portland, Oregon, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. He was a World War I naval aviation cadet and a newspaper cartoonist before entering films as a newsreel cameraman in 1918. Promoted to director of photography at Warner Bros., he shot some of John Barrymore's better silents, among them "Don Juan" (1926) and "The Sea Beast" (1926). He also directed four B programmers but returned to cinematography with the arrival of talkies. Following a spell in England as a technical advisor to director Herbert Wilcox, he joined the staff of Warner Bros.' special effects department, which he headed from 1937 to 1945. In this capacity Haskin received a special Academy Award for technical achievement (1938) and five competitive Oscar nominations, for "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" (1939), "The Sea Hawk" (1940), "Dive Bomber" (1941), "The Sea Wolf" (1941), and "Desperate Journey" (1942). He then moved to Paramount and resumed directing, notably for producer George Pal. His credits include the features "I Walk Alone" (1947), "Treasure Island" (Walt Disney's first live-action feature, 1950), "His Majesty O'Keefe" (1953), "The Naked Jungle" (1954), "Conquest of Space" (1955), "From the Earth to the Moon" (1958), "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964), and "The Power" (1968), and several episodes of TV's "The Outer Limits". In Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's 13-part documentary "Hollywood" (1980), Haskin provided much entertaining commentary about the silent movie era.
Motion Picture Director, Special Effects Artist, Cinematographer. A brilliant technician, his forte was effects-laden science-fiction and adventure stories. He is best remembered for directing the classic "The War of the Worlds" (1953). Haskin was born in Portland, Oregon, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. He was a World War I naval aviation cadet and a newspaper cartoonist before entering films as a newsreel cameraman in 1918. Promoted to director of photography at Warner Bros., he shot some of John Barrymore's better silents, among them "Don Juan" (1926) and "The Sea Beast" (1926). He also directed four B programmers but returned to cinematography with the arrival of talkies. Following a spell in England as a technical advisor to director Herbert Wilcox, he joined the staff of Warner Bros.' special effects department, which he headed from 1937 to 1945. In this capacity Haskin received a special Academy Award for technical achievement (1938) and five competitive Oscar nominations, for "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" (1939), "The Sea Hawk" (1940), "Dive Bomber" (1941), "The Sea Wolf" (1941), and "Desperate Journey" (1942). He then moved to Paramount and resumed directing, notably for producer George Pal. His credits include the features "I Walk Alone" (1947), "Treasure Island" (Walt Disney's first live-action feature, 1950), "His Majesty O'Keefe" (1953), "The Naked Jungle" (1954), "Conquest of Space" (1955), "From the Earth to the Moon" (1958), "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964), and "The Power" (1968), and several episodes of TV's "The Outer Limits". In Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's 13-part documentary "Hollywood" (1980), Haskin provided much entertaining commentary about the silent movie era.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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