Born in New York City. His first job in the industry was as a projectionist for the American Motion Picture Corporation in New York in 1923. He became a second cameraman on HAWK OF THE HILLS (1927). It was his job to shoot the negatives used for the foreign versions. His duties expanded to aerial cameraman and various special effects camera techniques. His uncle was the noted serial director Spencer Gordon Bennet. He hired Dunn as an assistant cameraman on THE GREEN ARCHER. When Pathé moved their serial unit to Hollywood, both Bennet and Dunn made the move. Dunn became a First Cameraman (Director of Photography) on one of the last silent serials QUEEN OF THE NORTHWOODS (1929) co-directed by his uncle, Bennet. Dunn became a founding member of the International Photographer's Guild in 1928. During the Great Depression, Pathé failed and went into receivership. Dunn supported himself by working as a musician and in the reduced position as a camera operator. He received a short term job assignment at the Photographic Effects Department at a new studio, RKO Radio. This job, which was intended to last for less than a week, became a career and he remained with the company until it ceased production in 1957. At RKO he became the head of the Optical Effects Department and later the head of the entire Special Effects Department. He was regarded as the master of the optical printer. He made refinements to the optical printer and developed techniques for its use in special visual effects. He build one of the first optical printers using a Mitchell camera and a projector mounted on a heavy lathe bed. He developed and built one of the first zoom lenses. As the head of RKO's Optical Effects Department, and then head of the entire Special Effects Department, he worked on virtually all RKO-produced films, usually without on-screen credit. At RKO, he was given the assignment to teach a novice director named Orson Welles about the optical printer. The more that Welles learned about his capabilities with the device, the more changes he demanded for shots that had already been filmed for CITIZEN KANE (1941). In the first year of World War II, as the leading expert on optical printing, Eastman Kodak approached him about the need for optical printers in the photographic units of the armed forces. Together with his associate Cecil Love, he designed an optical printer that was built by the Acme Tool and Manufacturing Company of Burbank. This became the Acme-Dunn Optical Printer, the first commercially available optical printer. In 1946, while still at RKO, he established his own independent special effects company, Film Effects of Hollywood. The company specialized in optical effects and optical printing services. including adapting foreign film standards to U.S. standards and the handling of large format films. When RKO ended production, he expanded his own company, Film Effects of Hollywood, by leasing RKO's special effects department. This enabled him to provided even greater special effects services to other producers. In the 1970s he bacame a noted lecturer on his career. One of his gigs included a presentation at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 1985, he sold his company, Film Effects of Hollywood, and "retired." He continued to give lectures and serve as a consultant on domestic and international productions. In the final weeks of his life, he was at work on a digital system for exhibition. Dunn was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers. For a quarter of a century he was on the society's board of directors. He also served stints as the treasurer and even their president. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences named a theater after him. The Linwood Dunn Theatre is part of the Pickford Center and is located at 1313 North Vine Street in Hollywood.  Scientific or Technical Awards (Class III) 1944: For the design and construction of the Acme-Dunn Optical Printer. (w. Cecil D. Love)  Special Effects 1949: MIGHTY JOE YOUNG - Special Effects -- Winners not listed, but Dunn has screen credit for optical effects and photography  Nominated for Special Visual Effects 1966: HAWAII  Honorary & Other Awards 1978: Presented in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Winners presented Medals of Commendation. (w. Loren L. Ryder & Waldon O. Watson)  Academy Award of Merit (Statuette) 1980: For the concept, engineering and development of the Acme-Dunn Optical Printer. (w. Cecil D. Love - both of Acme Tool and Manufacturing Co.)  Gordon E. Sawyer Award 1984 1 nomination, 1 uncredited Award, 2 Scientific/Technical Awards, 2 Honorary Awards