Celebrity Biographies
Allen Daviau
Allen Daviau, director of photography for Steven Spielberg on titles such as “ET The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Empire of the Sun”, died on April 15, 2020, at the age of 77, of complications caused by the coronavirus, at the House of Film and Television Field and Hospital, a retirement community for professionals in the Los Angeles industry.
Born June 14, 1942, in New Orleans, Allen Daviau was raised in Los Angeles. He began in the audiovisual world shooting music videos for The Animals and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, until he was recruited by a very young Steven Spielberg in 1967, for the experimental short film Amblin , in the midst of the hippie era. Cousin of best-selling author Ann Rice , responsible for Interview with the Vampire , he created a psychedelic lighting visual for Roger Corman ‘s The Journey .
Years later, he was shooting a lawn mower commercial in Arizona , when he heard that Spielberg was looking for a cinematographer for E.T. “He had a lot of humor, and it was starring kids, so I knew Steven would see it,” Daviau stated, in an interview. “I did something I rarely do. I didn’t think twice, I picked up the phone and asked Allen if he would shoot my next feature film,” King Midas recalled.
For the film, Allen Daviau was nominated for an Oscar, although he did not win it. He would compete for the statuette again without luck for The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun , and for Barry Levinson ‘s Avalon and Bugsy . He retired in 2004, following Stephen Sommers ‘ Van Helsing . The Hollywood Directors Guild and the Cinematographers Association dedicated tributes to him in 1997 and 2007.