John C. Flinn III

Cinematographer John C. Flinn III was born into a Hollywood legacy--his grandfather produced films with Cecil B. DeMille, and his father was the director of advertising for Columbia Pictures. Flinn III thought he might want to go into acting, but after visiting a few film sets he decided the camera department was where the real action was. He got his start as a second assistant, schlepping cameras and filling out paper work, and slowly worked his way up to camera operator. His first job as cinematographer came in 1979 with the TV movie "The Flame Is Love." Soon after the project wrapped he was recruited to shoot the last 12 episodes of "Hawaii Five-0," which brought him an opportunity to lead the camera department on "Hill Street Blues." The hit show was his ticket to the A-list of television cinematographers. Afterwards he worked on "Magnum, P.I.," "Jake and the Fatman," "Babylon 5," "Gilmore Girls," and "Saving Grace." Flinn occasionally jumped into the director's chair, and from time to time logged a few hours in front of the cameral, mostly in bit parts. A multiple Emmy Award-nominee, Flinn was in 2010 given a Television Career Achievement Award by the American Society of Cinematographers.