David Abel

Motion Picture Cinematographer. Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands of Russian parents, he came to the United States as a child and worked as a portrait photographer before entering films with the Flying A studio in 1913. A solid craftsman, he was considered particularly good with complex action scenes. At RKO Radio studios during the 1930s, Abel was a favorite collaborator of director Mark Sandrich and was responsible for the photography of five Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals: "The Gay Divorcee" (1934), "Top Hat" (1935), "Follow the Fleet" (1936), "Swing Time" (1936), and "Shall We Dance" (1937). He retired in 1937 but Sandrich persuaded him to come back as cameraman for the classic "Holiday Inn" (1942). After two more films, "Follow the Boys" (1944) and "The Affairs of Susan" (1945), Abel left the Hollywood scene for good. His other credits include "Thais" (1917), "Rip Van Winkle" (1921), "Beau Brummel" (1924), "The Awful Truth" (1929), "Huckleberry Finn" (1931), "Hips, Hips, Hooray!" (1934), and "History Is Made at Night" (1937).