Floyd Crosby

Floyd Delafield Crosby, ASC (December 12, 1899 – September 30, 1985)^[1] was an American cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 1931 for Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, his debut film, before going on to shoot over 120 productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Crosby worked with such directors as Fred Zinnemann. Beginning in the 1950's, he was the regular cinematographer for Roger Corman, totaling 21 films together.

Crosby was also the father of singer-songwriter David Crosby.

Floyd Delafield Crosby was born and raised in West Philadelphia, the son of Julia Floyd (née Delafield) and Frederick Van Schoonhoven Crosby.^[2] Through his maternal grandmother, he was descended from the prominent Van Rensselaer family.^[3] His maternal grandfather was Dr. Francis Delafield.^[4] His maternal uncle was Edward Henry Delafield (1880–1955).^[5]

Crosby worked at the New York Stock Exchange, before enrolling in the New York Institute of Photography.^[6]

In 1927, he was hired by marine biologist William Beebe as a cameraman for his expedition to Haiti.^[6] The expedition would establish Crosby as a top documentary cameraman,^[6] befriending Robert J. Flaherty. In 1929, Flaherty hired Crosby to shoot the ethnographic film Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, directed by F. W. Murnau. It was Crosby's first photography credit on a feature film, and earned him Best Cinematography at the 4th Academy Awards.

Crosby subsequently filmed the Bedaux expedition in 1934, and shot other documentaries for the likes of Pare Lorentz and Joris Ivens.^[6] He served as a cinematographer for the U.S. Army Air Corps film wing, and made flight training films in World War II. He left the Air Corps in 1946.^{[citation needed]} His disinterest in studio politics dissuaded him from working on traditional feature films, and he remained a somewhat fringe figure until 1951, when Robert Rossen hired him to shoot The Brave Bulls.^[6] The following year, he shot High Noon (1952) for director Fred Zinnemann, which went on to win four Academy Awards. Crosby won a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White).

In the following years, Crosby worked primarily with B-movie director Roger Corman. Beginning with Five Guns West (1955), the two worked on a total of 21 films between 1955 and 1967. Crosby also shot many other films for Corman's American International Pictures. Some sources claimed Crosby was relegated to working on B-movies because he had been blacklisted, though Corman denied this, stating Crosby's simply disliked traditional studio politics.^[6]

In 1973, he participated in an oral history sponsored by the American Film Institute, part of which dealt with his work on Tabu: A Story of the South Seas.^[7]

On December 11, 1930,^[4] he married Aliph Van Cortlandt Whitehead. She was the daughter of John Brinton Whitehead.^[3] Together, they had two children:

• Ethan Crosby (1937–1997), a reclusive singer-songwriter
• David Crosby (1941–2023), a member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby divorced in 1960 and married Betty Cormack Andrews in the same year. He retired in 1972 to Ojai, California.^[2]

Crosby died in Ojai at the age of 85, in 1985.

• Floyd Crosby at IMDb