Steven Spielberg pays tribute to E.T. cinematographer Allen Daviau, who died of COVID-19

Oscar-nominated cinematographer Allen Daviau has died at the age of 77 from complications related to the coronavirus.

Born in New Orleans in 1942, the filmmaker had a TV and film career that spanned four decades. He would receive his first Oscar nomination for cinematography in 1983 for E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, his first collaboration with Stephen Spielberg.

He would go on to shoot The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun for the prestigious director, netting Academy Award nominations again for both movies, and later work with filmmakers like Barry Levinson and Albert Brooks on their respective classics Bugsy and Defending Your Life.

Upon confirmation of his former collaborator's death, Spielberg released a statement that calls Daviau "a singular talent and a beautiful human being."

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While the last major film he worked as the director of photography on was Van Helsing in 2004, he remained an active member of groups like the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and was given Lifetime Achievement awards from both the Art Directors Guild, and the American Society of Cinematographers.

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