Veteran Camera Operator Paul M. Pollard Dies at 84 After Pioneering Career in Film and Television

Paul M. Pollard, a highly acclaimed veteran camera operator with a storied career spanning over five decades, has passed away on August 1st at the age of 84. According to his daughter, Georgia Pollard, he died due to heart issues at Southern California Hospital (formerly Brotman Medical Center) in Culver City.

Pollard's remarkable body of work includes notable films such as Bound for Glory, Heaven's Gate, Northern Exposure, and The Larry Sanders Show. His contributions to the film industry have been recognized through his association with renowned cinematographers like Haskell Wexler and Vilmos Zsigmond. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Georgia Pollard shared that her father was once involved in a helicopter crash while filming in France.

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Pollard's journey began at a young age, working on his family's cattle ranch in Montana while living with an aunt and uncle. He later assisted his father, A. Paul Pollard, who worked as the head of construction at 20th Century Fox, handling special effects for films such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Dirty Harry (1971). After graduating from Culver High School, Pollard began his career in the film industry as a greensman on Lewis Milestone's remake of Mutiny on the Bounty (1962).

Pollard's impressive resume also includes notable television shows such as In the Heat of the Night, Northern Exposure, and The Larry Sanders Show. He served as director of photography on the 1997 Fox series 413 Hope St. Pollard was married and divorced four times, with two of his wives being script supervisor Kathleen Newport and first camera assistant Tama Takahashi. His survivors include his son Justin, grandchildren Aurelia and Juliet, sister JoAnn, and nephews Greg, Chris, and Jeff.