Donald E. Thorin

Career During the 1970s, he worked as a camera operator for notable cinematographers like Richard H. Kline, Jordan Cronenweth, Haskell Wexler, Owen Roizman and Gordon Willis. Thorin's first feature film as cinematographer was Thief (1981), the directorial debut of Michael Mann. Thorin's slick, neo-noir photography was singled out in praise by critics at the time.

He worked with Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman, Against All Odds), Michael Ritchie (Wildcats, The Golden Child, The Couch Trip), Martin Brest (Midnight Run, Scent of a Woman), and Steve Oedekerk (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Nothing to Lose). Thorin was also cinematographer on well-known films such as Purple Rain, Lock Up and Tango & Cash, Boys on the Side, The First Wives Club, and Shaft. Critic Odie Henderson called his work on Purple Rain "awe-inspiring, both in shot composition and lighting."

He joined the American Society of Cinematographers in 1986.

Personal life Throin was married to his wife Dagmar for over 40 years. He was the father of cinematographer and TV director Donald E. Thorin Jr. (born 1957), and camera operator Jeffrey Thorin (born 1961).

Death Aged 81, Thorin died in Tucson, Arizona on February 9, 2016.

Filmography