Mr. Torben Vilhelm Johnke

Obituary

Torben Johnke, cinematographer and former faculty on the School of Image Arts at Ryerson University died peacefully at the age of 89 on December 25th, 2011. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and in 1943 he established his studio, Illustra Films, in Copenhagen, producing and directing theatrical commercials, musical shorts and animated production. In 1948 he moved to New York where he worked as freelance Director of Photography on industrials and documentaries for Edward R. Murrow, Max Lasky, Transfilm Inc., Audio Productions Inc., Pathe N.Y., Lois de Rochemont and Villard Van Dyke. He photographed amongst other pictures "The Lonely Heart" and "The House in Sea Cliff" produced by the U.S. State Department. He subsequently joined Astor Pictures Corp. as vice president, producing and photographing "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "La Traviata" with Mario del Monaco and the Metropolitan Opera. In 1956 he produced, co-directed and photographed "Etude" a ballet feature with the Paris Opera Ballet, starring Tony Lander, co-directed and choreographed by Harald Lander and art directed and production designed by Salvador Dali. He became staff cinematographer for Robert Lawrence Productions (1957), E.U.E. Screen Gems (1958), TeleVideo Inc. (1960) and M.P.O. of California (1968). He collaborated with Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, introducing the single source soft light technique in commercials and winning several Clio awards. In 1973 he moved to Canada to work for Glenn Warren Productions a subsidiary of CFTO. From 1997 to 2009, he taught cinematography at the School of Image Arts, Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. He was co-creator and co-producer of "Craft of Cinematography", an educational video series on the craft and theory of cinematography. He was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, member of the Directors Guild of America, and an honorary lifetime member of International Cinematographers Guild. He is survived by his son, Erik Johnke, who lives with his wife and three children outside of New York City.

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