John P. Fulton, A.S.C. (born 1902 in Nebraska and died October 1, 1965 in London, England) was an American special effects supervisor and cinematographer. Though Fulton began his adult life as a surveyor, he became involved in the movie industry after accepting a job as an assistant cameraman. In time he became a camera operator and acted as cinematographer in his first official credit in 1929 with the early sound drama She Goes to War. His experiments and experience with camerawork eventually lead him to the special effects department at Universal Pictures, assisting in the special effects of the landmark horror film Frankenstein in 1931. Fulton followed his early success as special effects supervisor with a number of memorable films, many of them of the horror film genre, including John Ford's Air Mail and The Mummy in 1932. The following year he created some of the most astounding effects of the time in The Invisible Man as well as 1935's Bride of Frankenstein. Between other film projects, he worked on the special effects for three sequels to the successful Invisible Man, and received Academy Award nominations for his work in all three films, as well as the 1940 musical The Boys from Syracuse. While on loan to Samuel Goldwyn in 1945, he earned a Special Effects Academy Award for his work in the Danny Kaye fantasy Wonder Man. Fulton also became known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock. Though he had worked on 1942's Saboteur, the two didn't begin their frequent collaborations until 1954's Rear Window. Fulton's work for Hitchcock culminated with 1958's Vertigo. Though the film met lukewarm reception when released, it has gained almost legendary status in recent years, especially for its innovative special effects. In 1957, Fulton won his final Best Special Effects Academy Award for his still impressive work on The Ten Commandments, in which he parted the Red Sea (among other miracles). After leaving Paramount Pictures in the early '60, he continued to work until his death in 1965. While working in Spain on The Battle of Britain, Fulton contracted a rare infection and died shortly thereafter in a London hospital. John Fulton's legacy lives on through his tremendous body of work, which includes some 250 films spanning nearly four decades.
