Floyd Delafield Crosby, A.S.C. (December 12, 1899 – September 30, 1985)^[1] was an Academy Award-winning American cinematographer, descendant of the Van Rensselaer family,^[2] and father of musicians Ethan and David Crosby.

Early life

Crosby was born and raised in West Philadelphia, the son of Julia Floyd (née Delafield) and Frederick Van Schoonhoven Crosby.^[3] Through his maternal grandmother, he was descended from the prominent Van Rensselaer family.^[2]

His maternal grandfather was Dr. Francis Delafield.^[4] His maternal uncle was Edward Henry Delafield (1880–1955).^[5]

Career

During his career, Floyd Crosby was involved in the cinematography of more than 100 full-length movies. He won the 1931 Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film Tabu: A Story of the South Seas. In 1973, Crosby participated in an oral history sponsored by the American Film Institute, part of which dealt with his work on Tabu: A Story of the South Seas.^[6] He was also the cinematographer for High Noon (1952), for which he won a Golden Globe Award. Crosby also worked with B-movie director Roger Corman on several films.

Crosby served as a cinematographer for the U.S. Army Air Corps film wing, and made flight training films in World War II. He left the Air Corps in 1946.

Personal life

On December 11, 1930,^[4] he married Aliph Van Cortlandt Whitehead. She was the daughter of John Brinton Whitehead.^[2] Together, they had two children:

• Ethan Crosby (1937–1997), a reclusive singer-songwriter
• David Crosby (1941-2023), a member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby divorced in 1960, and married Betty Cormack Andrews in the same year. He retired in 1972^[3] to Ojai, California, where he died in 1985.

Selected filmography