Jordan Scott Cronenweth, (February 20, 1935 – November 29, 1996) was an American cinematographer. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the groundbreaking science fiction film Blade Runner (1982), which is credited for defining the cyberpunk aesthetic. He was also nominated for an Academy Award and won an ASC Award for his work on Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
A 2003 poll of his peers conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild placed Cronenweth among the ten most influential cinematographers of all time.
Cronenweth was born in Los Angeles on February 20, 1935. His father, William Edward Cronenweth, a studio portrait photographer who shot many stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He graduated from North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood and later was a student at Los Angeles City College, where he majored in engineering.
While still in college, Cronenweth interned as a film lab assistant at Columbia Pictures and acted as a cameraman on the 1955 musical film Oklahoma!. Between 1961 and 1969, he was a camera assistant and later camera operator under Conrad Hall.
His early cinematography credits included Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud and the low-budget horror film The Touch of Satan. During the 1970s, Cronenweth worked on a variety of projects at varying budget levels, including The Front Page for director Billy Wilder, and the dark psychological thriller Rolling Thunder.
His widely acclaimed work on the science fiction-noir Blade Runner won the Best Cinematography Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and received a BSC Award nomination and BAFTA Film Award.
He won a 1987 ASC Award and earned an Oscar nomination for Peggy Sue Got Married. Cronenweth was initially hired as the director of photography for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, but halfway through production, producers replaced him with Fred J. Koenekamp.
Cronenweth also shot three concert films - Stop Making Sense (1984, featuring Talking Heads), ' (1988, featuring U2), and Get Back (1991, featuring Paul McCartney).
He and his first wife Carol had three children, Christie, Tim, and two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth. Jordan Cronenweth's second marriage was to Shane Cronenweth for 17 years.
Cronenweth was originally misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1978, and diagnosed with ParkinsonâÂÂs disease in 1981. He continued working in film and commercials as a cinematographer, and in several commercials as director/cameraman for another 13 years despite considerable physical challenges.
He was replaced six weeks into the production of Alien 3 after falling ill, and died in 1996 at the age of 61 as a result of Parkinson's disease.
A 2003 poll of his peers conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild placed Cronenweth among the ten most influential cinematographers of all time. Allen Daviau called him "without question, one of the outstanding cinematographers of his generation."