Ted D. McCord

A 50-year veteran cinematographer whose work in Hollywood ultimately spanned many genres and was particularly notable for its use of outdoor locations. McCord began in film in 1917 at age 19 as an assistant to cinematographer James Van Trees. By the early 1920s he was on his own, photographing a number of comedies for First National starring pert flapper Colleen Moore, including "Flirting with Love" (1924) and "Irene" (1926), and occasional Moore dramas like "So Big" (1924). McCord also began working with the showman-like cowboy star Ken Maynard on such Westerns as "Canyon of Adventures" (1928). His picturesque rendering of the scenery of 1849 California won critical praise, and Maynard put McCord under contract. When Maynard moved to Universal in 1929, he took his cinematographer with him, setting a pattern for much of McCord's work over the next decade.