L. B. Abbott

Lenwood Ballard "Bill" Abbott, A.S.C. (June 13, 1908 – September 28, 1985) was an American special effects expert, cinematographer and cameraman.

He became the head of the Special Effects Department at 20th Century Fox in 1957, a post he held until retirement in 1970. He was called out of retirement, however, to work on the TV series M*A*S*H in 1972 (Abbott had worked on the film on which the series was based). Abbott was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Awards and nominations Academy Awards: Special Visual Effects for Doctor Dolittle (1967) Special Visual Effects for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects) for The Poseidon Adventure (1972), with A. D. Flowers Special Visual Effects for Logan's Run (1976), with Glen Robinson and Matthew Yuricich

Academy Award nominations: Special Effects for Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959): Abbott (visual), James B. Gordon (visual) and Carlton W. Faulkner (audible)

Selected filmography The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) The Enemy Below (1957) Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) The Sound of Music (1965) Fantastic Voyage (1966) Doctor Dolittle (1967) Planet of the Apes (1968) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Patton (1970) The Poseidon Adventure (1972) The Towering Inferno (1974) Logan's Run (1976) The Swarm (1978) When Time Ran Out (1980)

Television credits Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968) Lost in Space (1965–1968) The Time Tunnel (1966–1967) M*A*S*H (1972)