Richard H. Kline

Richard "Dick" Howard Kline, ASC was an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer whose credits include, an experience detailed in an article he wrote for American Cinematographer magazine.

He had previously worked with that film's director, Robert Wise, on the 1971 science fiction classic,, and it was Wise who brought him in as the director of photography in March 1978, thereby replacing Bruce Logan, who hitherto held the position. (The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, p. 186) The film also featured Kermit Murdock, Garry Walberg, Bart La Rue and Michael Pataki in the cast.

Years later, in 2001, Kline was interviewed on his contributions for the DVD release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition).

Career outside Star Trek
Born in Los Angeles, California, Kline applied for a position as an assistant cameraman at Columbia Pictures soon after graduating high school in 1943. He ended up as a slate boy for the 1944 film Cover Girl but became an assistant cameraman until he entered the Navy in 1944. After being discharged in 1946, he returned to Columbia, where he continued working as an assistant cameraman. In 1948, unable to find work in Hollywood, he left for Paris and attended the Sorbonne (also known as the University of Paris), where he studied Fine Art and Art History. He returned to Hollywood in 1951 (now a married man) and again started working at Columbia, first as a camera assistant and then as a camera operator. Among the films he worked on during this time were 1960's A Raisin in the Sun (featuring John Fiedler), 1962's Birdman of Alcatraz (which featured Whit Bissell in the cast) and 1963's The Pink Panther.

Kline's first work as a cinematographer was the NBC series Mr. Novak, whose cast included actors Vince Howard and Bill Zuckert. While working on Chamber of Horrors – a TV pilot that was being reworked as a feature film – Kline was hired to become the director of photography on the 1967 musical Camelot, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination. His subsequent cinematography credits include 1968's The Boston Strangler (featuring Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman, and William Marshall) and Hang 'Em High (which had Mark Lenard in a small role, as well as Paul Sorenson and Bil Zuckert), 1971's Kotch (featuring Biff Elliot and Ellen Geer), 1972's Black Gun (starring William Campbell and Bernie Casey), 1973's Soylent Green (starring Whit Bissell, Roy Jenson, Celia Lovsky, Brock Peters, and Leigh Taylor-Young) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (featuring France Nuyen, Paul Williams, David Gerrold and music by Leonard Rosenman), and 1976's remake of King Kong (featuring Rene Auberjonois, Corbin Bernsen, Ed Lauter, Joe Piscopo and Garry Walberg). His work on the latter film earned Kline his second Academy Award nomination.

Since his second Oscar nomination, Kline has directed photography on such films as 1978's Who'll Stop the Rain (starring David Opatoshu, Gail Strickland, and Anthony Zerbe) 1981's Lovespell (starring Kate Mulgrew) and Body Heat, 1984's All of Me (featuring Michael Ensign and Richard Libertini), 1985's The Man with One Red Shoe (featuring Gerrit Graham and David L. Lander), 1988's My Stepmother Is an Alien (featuring Tony Jay and Suzie Plakson), 1990's Downtown (featuring Roger Aaron Brown, Ron Canada, David Clennon, and 1991's Double Impact. His most recent film was 1997's Meet Wally Sparks, which featured David Ogden Stiers (who also appeared in The Man with One Red Shoe) and George D. Wallace.

In 2006, Kline received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), of which he has been a member since 1967. In total, Kline has assisted and operated on more than 200 feature films and was the cinematographer on 46 more films.

Other Trek connections
Additional films on which Kline has worked with other Star Trek alumni include:

Features

 * Gaily, Gaily (1969) featuring Brian Keith and Peter Brocco
 * The Moonhsine War (1970) featuring Dick Crockett, Teri Garr and John Schuck
 * Hammersmith Is Out (1972) featuring John Schuck
 * When Legends Die (1972) featuring Rex Holman and Garry Walberg
 * The Mechanic (1972) featuring Jill Ireland, Steve Vinovich and Celeste Yarnall
 * The Harrad Experiment (1973) featuring Eric Server; co-written by Ted Cassidy
 * The Don Is Dead (1973) featuring Sid Haig, Barry Russo and Vic Tayback
 * The Terminal Man (1974) featuring Robert Ito, James B. Sikking, Jason Wingreen, Ian Wolfe, and Nicholas Worth
 * I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? (1975) featuring Richard Libertini, Jay Robinson, and Ian Wolfe
 * Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) featuring Teri Garr, Keye Luke, Ricardo Montalban, Dean Stockwell
 * Tilt (1979) starring Kenneth Marshall and Don Stark
 * The Competition (1980) featuring James B. Sikking
 * Death Wish II (1982) featuring Jill Ireland and Paul Comi
 * Deal of the Century (1983) featuring Louis Giambalvo, John Hancock, Richard Herd, Graham Jarvis, Richard Libertini, Tony Plana, and Wallace Shawn
 * Hard to Hold (1984) featuring Gregory Itzin and Bill Mumy
 * Howard the Duck (1986) featuring Paul Comi, John Fleck and the voice of Richard Kiley

Television

 * Kate McShane (1975 pilot) featuring Stefan Gierasch
 * Coming Out of the Ice (1982 movie) featuring John Savage and Steven Berkoff
 * Home Song (1996 movie) directed by Nancy Malone

Star Trek interviews

 * Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) DVD-special feature, "A Bold New Enterprise", 2001
 * Return to Tomorrow - The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 2014