Gerald Perry Finnerman

Director of Photography

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his five-hour Archive interview, Gerald Perry Finnerman (1931-2011) speaks about his early years and working as a cinematographer in the Army. He talks about working as the cinematographer for Star Trek, where he gained a reputation for being able to properly light planets and female actors. He discusses his relationship with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Finnerman recalls working on several films for actor Sidney Poitier, as well as working on the series Night Gallery, Emergency!, and Kojak, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award. He details his tumultuous years as cinematographer for Moonlighting, including shooting the infamous episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice." Karen Herman conducted the interview on October 8. 2002 in Studio City, CA.

"Directors of photography create the mood of the show. They create the dimension. They tell a story with their lights."

People Talking About ...

Gerald Perry Finnerman

Highlights

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the challenge of making planets look real on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" starring Ricardo Montalban

Gerald Perry Finnerman on his professional fears as a cinematographer on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Barbara Bain on Mission: Impossible

Gerald Perry Finnerman on lighting Cybill Shepherd on Moonlighting

Gerald Perry Finnerman on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Full Interview

Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on becoming a cinematographer; on his earliest experiences with television, during his time in the Army

On how he came to be hired by Gene Roddenberry as cinematographer on Star Trek; on how Star Trek was initially described to him, and on his early ideas for the show

Chapter 2

On his ideas as cinematographer for Star Trek, and on being "too artsy"; on his mentor, Harry Stradling, and on various experiences of directors of photography

On the colors of Star Trek; on the challenge of making planets look real on Star Trek

On being cinematographer for Mission: Impossible; on working with Barbara Bain on Mission: Impossible

On working with Gene Roddenberry on Star Trek; on working with producer Robert Justman on Star Trek

Chapter 3

On his professional fears as a cinematographer on Star Trek; on dealing with the color scheme on Star Trek, and on the visual style of the show; on working with Leonard Nimoy's deep set eyes and William Shatner's hair pieces on Star Trek

On the equipment used to shoot Star Trek, and on the special effects of the show; on working with the crew on Star Trek; on making the Enterprise lurch forward or stop short on Star Trek, and on the challenges of lighting the interior

On creating the special effects that made the Enterprise fly on Star Trek; on working with William Shatner and as "Captain James T. Kirk" and the rest of the cast on Star Trek; on working with his friend DeForest Kelley as "Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy," and on using "diffusion" on women and men

On working with Walter Koenig as "Pavel Chekov" and Nichelle Nichols as "Lt. Nyota Uhura" on Star Trek; on working with, and sometimes conflicting with, the directors of Star Trek including Joseph Pevney

Chapter 4

On Star Trek directors Ralph Senensky, Marc Daniels, and Joseph Pevney; on dealing with the budgets of Star Trek as the cinematographer; on specific episodes of Star Trek

On various episodes of Star Trek, including "Space Seed" with Ricardo Montalban; on his favorite Star Trek episodes

On color correction on Star Trek; on exiting Star Trek in 1968 to work on a feature starring Sidney Poitier and directed by Robert Alan Aurthur

Chapter 5

On working in feature film with Sidney Poitier; on his decision to leave television for a while, and on surviving a plane crash

On lighting episodes of Night Gallery and Emergency!; on his more "gritty" work on Kojak; on working with Telly Savalas on Kojak, and on being nominated for an Emmy for the show

Chapter 6

On being director of photography on the Planet of the Apes series; on the challenge of filming Planet of the Apes with the prosthetics the actors wore; on being director of photography for Police Woman, being signed to work at Columbia Television, and working with different types of film stock

On working with Buzz Kulik on the made for television movies Kill Me if You Can, Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women, and From Here to Eternity; on coping with not working during a long strike, and on various director of photography jobs in feature films; on the challenges of doing cinematography for made-for-television movies

Chapter 7

On turning down the opportunity to be the cinematographer for Star Trek again, and on working with Gene Roddenberry; on Larry Parks and the Hollywood Blacklist

On working with Lloyd Bridges while he was starring on Capital News; on missing out on work with Buzz Kulik

On working on Moonlighting; on lighting Cybill Shepherd on Moonlighting

Chapter 8

On being director of photography on Moonlighting, and on lighting Cybill Shepherd; on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

On working with Bruce Willis on Moonlighting, and on his five Emmy nominations; on the musical numbers on Moonlighting, including one staged by Stanley Donen; on directing a Moonlighting episode guest-starring Imogene Coca

Chapter 9

On directing an episode of Moonlighting; on doing a takeoff of Casablanca on Moonlighting ; on the Moonlighting episode "Atomic Shakespeare," and on the crazy shooting schedule

On working with show creator Glenn Gordon Caron on Moonlighting, and on battles with show stars Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis; on the end of Moonlighting

Chapter 10

On Orson Welles appearing in the Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"; on shooting Room for Two with Linda Lavin; on shooting Double Rush for producer Diane English

On shooting New York Daze; on retiring from the business

On the cinematographer's relationship with the director, and on what he looks for in a gaffer; on how he would like to be remembered

Shows

Capital News

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on working on Capital News

Double Rush

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on shooting Double Rush for producer Diane English

Emergency!

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on lighting Emergency!, and on problems he had lighting the fire station exterior

Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Telly Savalas on Kojak, and on being nominated for an Emmy for the show

Kojak

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on his more "gritty" work on Kojak

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Telly Savalas on Kojak, and on winning an Emmy for the show

Mission: Impossible

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on being cinematographer for Mission: Impossible

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Barbara Bain and Steven Hill on Mission: Impossible

Moonlighting

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on working on Moonlighting

Gerald Perry Finnerman on lighting Cybill Shepherd on Moonlighting

Gerald Perry Finnerman on being director of photography on Moonlighting, and on lighting Cybill Shepherd

Gerald Perry Finnerman on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Bruce Willis on Moonlighting, and on his five Emmy nominations

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the musical numbers on Moonlighting, including one staged by Stanley Donen

Gerald Perry Finnerman on directing a Moonlighting episode guest-starring Imogene Coca

Gerald Perry Finnerman on directing an episode of Moonlighting featuring Allyce Beasley as "Agnes DiPesto" and guest-starring Imogene Coca

Gerald Perry Finnerman on doing a takeoff of Casablanca on Moonlighting

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Moonlighting episode "Atomic Shakespeare," on the crazy shooting schedule, and shooting Cybill Shepherd

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with show creator Glenn Gordon Caron on Moonlighting, and on battles with show stars Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the end of Moonlighting

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the legacy of Moonlighting

Moonlighting: "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on Orson Welles appearing in the Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Night Gallery

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on lighting episodes of Night Gallery

Planet of the Apes

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on being director of photography on the Planet of the Apes series

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the challenge of filming Planet of the Apes with the prosthetics the actors wore

Police Woman

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on being director of photography for Police Woman

Room for Two

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on shooting Room for Two

Star Trek

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on how he came to be hired by Gene Roddenberry as cinematographer on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on how Star Trek was initially described to him, and on his early ideas for the show

Gerald Perry Finnerman on his ideas as cinematographer for Star Trek, and on being "too artsy"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the colors of Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the challenge of making planets look real on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Gene Roddenberry on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with producer Robert Justman on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on his professional fears as a cinematographer on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on dealing with the color scheme on Star Trek, and on the visual style of the show

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Leonard Nimoy's deep set eyes and William Shatner's hair pieces on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the equipment used to shoot Star Trek, and on the special effects of the show

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with the crew on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on making the Enterprise lurch forward or stop short on Star Trek, and on the challenges of lighting the interior

Gerald Perry Finnerman on creating the special effects that made the Enterprise fly on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with William Shatner and as "Captain James T. Kirk" and the rest of the cast on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with his friend DeForest Kelley as "Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy," and on using "diffusion" on women and men

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Walter Koenig as "Pavel Chekov" and Nichelle Nichols as "Lt. Nyota Uhura" on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with, and sometimes conflicting with, the directors of Star Trek including Joseph Pevney

Gerald Perry Finnerman on Star Trek directors Ralph Senensky, Marc Daniels, and Joseph Pevney

Gerald Perry Finnerman on dealing with the budgets of Star Trek as the cinematographer

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the pilot episode of Star Trek, "The Cage"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" starring Ricardo Montalban

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" starring Joan Collins as "Edith Keeler"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on his favorite Star Trek episodes

Gerald Perry Finnerman on color correction on Star Trek

Gerald Perry Finnerman on exiting Star Trek in 1968 to work on a feature starring Sidney Poitier and directed by Robert Alan Aurthur

Gerald Perry Finnerman on turning down the opportunity to be the cinematographer for Star Trek again, and on working with Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek: "The City on the Edge of Forever"

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" starring Joan Collins as "Edith Keeler"

Topics

Classic TV series episodes

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on Orson Welles appearing in the Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Comedy

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on Orson Welles appearing in the Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Emmy Awards

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on working with Telly Savalas on Kojak, and on being nominated for an Emmy for the show

Hollywood Blacklist

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on Larry Parks and the Hollywood Blacklist

Industry Crossroads

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on Larry Parks and the Hollywood Blacklist

Pop Culture

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on Orson Welles appearing in the Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Television Industry

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Gerald Perry Finnerman on Larry Parks and the Hollywood Blacklist

Professions

Cinematographer

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Gerald Finnerman on the role of a director of photography

Gerald Perry Finnerman on dealing with the color scheme on Star Trek, and on the visual style of the show

Gerald Perry Finnerman on making the Enterprise lurch forward or stop short on Star Trek, and on the challenges of lighting the interior

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the equipment used to shoot Star Trek, and on the special effects of the show

Gerald Perry Finnerman on dealing with the budgets of Star Trek as the cinematographer

Gerald Perry Finnerman on being director of photography for Police Woman, being signed to work at Columbia Television, and working with different types of film stock

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the challenges of doing cinematography for made-for-television movies

Gerald Perry Finnerman on filming the black and white Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Gerald Perry Finnerman on the cinematographer's relationship with the director, and on what he looks for in a gaffer

Production Professionals