Carl Gregory

Carl Louis Gregory (1882–1951) was an American cinematographer and director.

Carl Louis Gregory was born in Walnut, Kansas, in 1882. He ventured into photography while he was 11 years old. He grew up in Geneva, Ohio, the only boy among many sisters, two of whom, Anne (Anna) and Fana (Fanny) would later act in his silent films. He received degrees in pharmacy and chemistry from the Ohio State University in 1902 and 1904, respectively. He left the Thanhouser Company of New Rochelle to head Feature Film Manufacturing Co. in 1912, based on City Island, NY. (The Bioscope, June 27, 1912) He developed an optical printer in 1920 and as a result, his technical expertise was highly valued.: 20 

Gregory was senior cameraman for the first major Thanhouser release, St. Elmo. He photographed stills for a couple of advertisements.[unreliable source? ] Gregory was the head instructor at the U. S. Signal School of Cinematography at Columbia University.: 58  He also filmed the 1914 serial called The Million Dollar Mystery.: 38 

He was on the staff at the National Archives from 1936 to 1946. During his tenure there, he modified a process optical printer and was successful in restoring paper prints with simple techniques.: 38  In 1946, Gregory was hired by the Library of Congress, which was trying to acquire the film collection of Mary Pickford. Working in California, he created an inventory of Pickford's collection—films in which she had financial interest, and all of the films in which she appeared.: 41 

He died on March 6, 1951, at his home in Van Nuys, California.