Billy Williams: Legendary Cinematographer of ‘Gandhi’ and ‘On Golden Pond’ Passes Away at 96

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Renowned British cinematographer Billy Williams, who jointly won an Oscar for his work on the movie ‘Gandhi’ and was also nominated for his contributions to ‘Women in Love’, starring Glenda Jackson, as well as Henry Fonda’s final film, ‘On Golden Pond’, has passed away at the age of 96.

The demise of Williams was shared in the British Cinematographer magazine, without disclosing the reason behind it.

With a heavy heart, we say goodbye to Billy Williams, a remarkable British cinematographer who was honored with the ‘Golden Frog’ award for his exceptional work in cinematography at the 2000 Camerimage Festival,” posted the official account of Camerimage, the Polish film festival focused on cinematography.

In my gaming world, I’ve taken on the role of a cinematographer, lighting up the screen for John Milius’ masterpiece, “The Wind and the Lion” (1975), Stuart Rosenberg’s “Voyage of the Damned” (1976), Martin Brest’s “Going in Style” (1979) and Peter Yates’ “Suspect” (1987).

Originally from London, this individual got a head start in his career when he was cast for Ken Russell’s movie “Billion Dollar Brain” (1967), which was the third film in the series starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer. Later, he worked again with the challenging director on “Women in Love” (1969) and “The Rainbow” (1989).

During my collaboration with Ken Russell, I discovered he would often propose tasks that hadn’t been attempted before. He believed these challenges could always be met, and he expressed this in an interview on Web of Stories in 2003. His sentiment was: ‘You simply have to find a way to accomplish it. It was an exciting test.’

Following his experience shooting scenes for William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) and The Wind and the Lion in challenging conditions in Spain, Williams was put to another test during Richard Attenborough’s production of Gandhi (1982), as numerous scenes were filmed on location in India.

Williams reminisced in 2020 about how it was extremely hot, dusty, and challenging to travel back then. The schedule was grueling; we’d depart at seven in the morning and return at eight at night, only to review the footage on a portable device. However, despite the hardships, it was incredibly gratifying to be part of such an impactful film because this person truly altered history.

After spending numerous hours watching newsreel footage of activist Mahatma Gandhi, Williams had to depart the project following approximately six weeks due to a medical issue in the U.K., requiring treatment for a herniated disc. He recommended Ronnie Taylor as his replacement, as Taylor had collaborated with Attenborough on the films “Oh! What a Lovely War” (1969) and “Young Winston” (1972), and had worked with Williams on “The Wild and the Lion.”

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Following long hours of viewing newsreel footage featuring activist Mahatma Gandhi, Williams needed to step away from the production after six weeks, due to a herniated disc that required treatment in the U.K. He proposed Ronnie Taylor take his place since Taylor had previously worked with Attenborough on “Oh! What a Lovely War” (1969) and “Young Winston” (1972), and collaborated with Williams on “The Wild and the Lion.

In the beginning, Taylor captured a scene where they recreated Gandhi’s 1948 funeral. This remarkable event boasted an impressive cast of 400,000 participants.

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The initial shot Taylor took was of a reenactment of Gandhi’s 1948 funeral, which had an astounding 400,000 people participating in it.

After spending four weeks recuperating, Williams found himself facing the same issue once more and decided to depart. In his absence, Taylor stepped in. This was reportedly the only two occasions he’d ever walked away from a film production.

According to Taylor, he and Billy worked on the project for roughly 10 weeks each, as stated in an interview with British Cinematographer magazine. Richard Attenborough made the decision that if there were any award nominations, the credit should be shared between Billy and him.

The film titled “Gandhi“, budgeted at approximately $22 million and filmed in 35mm anamorphic format, garnered a total of 11 nominations for the Academy Awards and went on to win 8 awards. Among these were the prestigious categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Ben Kingsley), and Best Cinematography. On Oscar night, Williams received his prize for cinematography as Taylor was unable to leave work on Champions.

Following the discovery that he was chosen for the role of Gandhi, Williams then ventured off to New Hampshire to work on “On Golden Pond” (1981), where he teamed up with Fonda, his daughter Jane, and Katharine Hepburn. During filming, when director Mark Rydell struggled with capturing a birthday party scene for Fonda’s character Norman Thayer, Williams came up with a solution.

He proposed that they should “mount the camera on a moving track, beginning in the kitchen region.” As Kate emerged from the kitchen with 80 candles alight, she provided a soft, warm light illuminating her face. The camera followed her for a brief moment before continuing past her to expose the dining area where the others were gathered, anticipating her arrival. She then joined Henry Fonda who delivered a heartfelt speech about the delights of reaching 80. Subsequently, they all leaned forward and assisted him in extinguishing the candles.

As the camera moves lower, they extinguish the candles, plunging everything into darkness – that’s when we made the edit, and it looked fantastic. There were no additional cuts to other scenes.

Born on the 3rd of June, 1929, Williams hailed from Walthamstow, a district within London. His father, Billy Sr., was a daring cameraman who captured the German fleet’s surrender at Scapa Flow, Scotland, in 1919, before moving on to documentaries.

In the midst of World War II, Williams dropped out of school at 14 to aid his father in work. Reflecting on those times, he stated, “He was an extremely demanding boss; everything needed to be perfect. Naturally, taking care of the camera was like caring for a newborn. It was incredibly valuable.

In 1946, he journeyed alongside his father to Kenya and Uganda, as his father was working on film projects for the Colonial Film Unit at that time.

For a couple of years, Williams worked as a photographer for the Royal Air Force. After that, he served as an assistant cameraman for British Transport Films, where he filmed documentaries about docks, railways, and the Queen Mary. He managed to save enough money to buy his own Arriflex camera, which he used for commercials. Eventually, he made his feature film debut with the black-and-white, sound-effects comedy “San Ferry Ann” in 1965.

In the case of cinematographer Otto Heller, known for films like “The Ladykillers” and “Alfie”, declined a medical examination required for insurance coverage on the upcoming film “Billion Dollar Brain”, set to be shot in freezing Finland. With that refusal, producer Harry Saltzman sought out Williams, who had experience in creating commercials with Russell, as an alternative option.

To create the iconic, bare-chested wrestling scene in “Women in Love,” Williams and Russell opted for an intense orange tone, similar to firelight. As explained in David A. Ellis’ book, “Conversations With Cinematographers“, they achieved this by adjusting all the lights to match the color of the fire and adding a flickering effect.

Williams’ resume contained a variety of films, including “Two Gentlemen Sharing” directed by Ted Kotcheff in 1969, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by John Schlesinger in 1971, “Pope Joan” and “X, Y and Zee”, both from 1972, directed by Michael Anderson, as well as “Kid Blue”, “The Silent Partner”, “Eagle’s Wing”, and “Boardwalk”, all released in the years 1973, 1978, 1979, and 1979 respectively. Additionally, he worked on “Monsignor” in 1982, “Eleni” directed by Yates in 1985, “The Manhattan Project” in 1986, “Stella” in 1990, and finally “Driftwood” in 1997.

A film professional who has been nominated for the BAFTA award four times, Williams held the position of president for the British Society of Cinematographers between 1975 and 1977. Starting from 1978, he began instructing cinematography at the National Film Theatre.

In 2000, he was granted a Lifetime Achievement honor at Camerimage, followed by recognition from the British Society of Cinematographers in 2006. Then, in 2009, he was bestowed with the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

He expressed his gratitude for having a fulfilling and thrilling career in filmmaking, stating it’s the best job he could ever imagine, bringing him immense satisfaction and joy.

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2025-05-22 08:27