Richard Leiterman

Richard Leiterman (March 7, 1935 to July 14, 2005) was a renowned Canadian cinematographer who worked in the 1960s and 1970s. He was involved with the cinéma vérité (or direct cinema) style. He has won several awards, including a Canadian Film Award  (1975) a Genie Award, (1981), and three Emmy Awards.

Early Career
Leiterman was born in Northern Ontario, and grew up in Vancouver. His brother-in-law, Allan King, another Canadian filmmaker, encouraged him to take a camera technician course at the University of British Columbia.

He began his career shooting stock footage for Canadian broadcasters such as the CBC. Soon after, he began working with his brother-in-law, Allan King, as a second camera operator on a documentary. In 1962, they co-founded Alan King Associates, a film production company which made news-related pieces. Over the next few years, they worked on a number of documentaries around the world.

Canadian Films
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Leiterman shot a number of Canadian feature films. In 1969, he was the cinematographer on Allan King's A Married Couple, which was featured at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes in 1970. He collaborated frequently with Donald Shebib on Goin Down the Road (1970), Wedding in White (1972), Between Friends (1973), and Change of Heart (1993). His documentary experience played a key role in providing a cinéma vérité look to these films.

Later Years
After the 1960s and 1970s, Leiterman continued to work on a number of films and television shows. He was the cinematographer for Stephen King's It (1990), and a Canadian TV series called Cold Squad. He also taught cinematography at Sheridan College before retiring in 2004.

In 2005, Leiterman died after complications due to Amyloidosis.



Partial Filmography

 * 1963: One More River


 * 1970: Goin Down the Road (cinematographer)
 * 1972: Wedding in White (cinematographer)
 * 1973: Between Friends (cinematographer)
 * 1990: It (cinematographer)
 * 1993: Change of Heart