Frank D. Williams

About

Frank D. Williams (March 21, 1893 – October 15, 1961) was a pioneering cinematographer who was active in the early days of the motion picture industry. He developed and patented the traveling matte shot. Frank D. Williams was born March 21, 1893, as Frank Douglas Williams, to James and Lucinda Williams in the small community of Nashville, Missouri. In 1912, Williams became a cameraman at Keystone Studios. There, in 1914, he was the photographer for many of Charlie Chaplin's first-year pictures, including Kid Auto Races at Venice which was the first film released in which The Tramp appeared. Williams is credited as appearing in Kid Auto Races at Venice, playing a cameraman, but his appearance is in doubt. For a time he was chief cinematographer at Keystone, and a large number of the studio's 1914 films are credited to him as photographer. He defected to work for the short-lived...

Known for

The Invisible ManMovie • 1933Sunrise: A Song of Two HumansMovie • 1927Mabel's Busy DayMovie • 1914Kid Auto Races at VeniceMovie • 1914Tillie's Punctured RomanceMovie • 1914Caught in a CabaretMovie • 1914Tango TanglesMovie • 1914Making a LivingMovie • 1914Mabel's Strange PredicamentMovie • 1914The Rough HouseMovie • 1917Gentlemen of NerveMovie • 1914The Face on the Barroom FloorMovie • 1914A Film JohnnieMovie • 1914A Busy DayMovie • 1914Those Love PangsMovie • 1914Caught in the RainMovie • 1914The MasqueraderMovie • 1914Dough and DynamiteMovie • 1914His New ProfessionMovie • 1914The FloorwalkerMovie • 1916His Favorite PastimeMovie • 1914Mabel's Married LifeMovie • 1914The Property ManMovie • 1914The Fatal MalletMovie • 1914