Born in Covington, KY. Began career as an assistant to Gregg Toland in the late 1920s and had established himself as a dependable Hollywood craftsman by the end of the 1940s. Surtees distinguished himself with his lush, vibrant color cinematography, notably on KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1950), OKLAHOMA! (1955), BEN-HUR (1959) and THE COLLECTOR (1965); he made a triumphant return to black-and-white to shoot Peter Bogdanovich's THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971). Father of cinematographer Bruce Surtees. Visit the Internet Movie Datablase for a listing of Surtees' credits.  Nominated for Cinematography (Black & White) 1944: THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO  Cinematography (Color) 1950: KING SOLOMON'S MINES  Nominated for Cinematography (Color) 1951: QUO VADIS?  Cinematography (Black & White) 1952: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL  Nominated for Cinematography (Color) 1955: OKLAHOMA!  Cinematography (Color) 1959: BEN-HUR  Nominated for Cinematography (Color) 1962: MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY  Nominated for Cinematography 1967: THE GRADUATE  Nominated for Cinematography 1967: DOCTOR DOLITTLE  Nominated for Cinematography 1971: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW  Nominated for Cinematography 1971: SUMMER OF '42  Nominated for Cinematography 1973: THE STING  Nominated for Cinematography 1975: THE HINDENBURG  Nominated for Cinematography 1976: A STAR IS BORN  Nominated for Cinematography 1977: THE TURNING POINT  Nominated for Cinematography 1978: SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR 16 nominations, 3 Awards