Biography
Russian-born cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg emigrated to the U.S. as a child. Before entering films as a newsreel photographer in the early 1910s, Ruttenberg learned the whys and wherefores of the still camera as a photojournalist. His Hollywood career began when he joined the Fox studios in 1915. His first talkie assignment was
The Struggle (1931), D.W. Griffith's final film. Joseph Ruttenberg went on to win four Academy awards, for
The Great Waltz (1938), Mrs. Miniver (1942),
Somebody up There Likes Me (1956), and
Gigi (1958) -- all produced by MGM, Ruttenberg's home base from 1935 through 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide