Freddie Young; Epic Cinematographer

Freddie Young, who won three Academy Awards for his innovative and sweeping cinematography in the epic motion pictures “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago” and “Ryan’s Daughter,” has died. He was 96.

The cinematographer died Tuesday in London, where he was born Frederick A. Young and had lived most of his life.

Revered in international cinema, Young elevated certain scenes to classic status. High on that list is the three-minute segment in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” in which Peter O’Toole and his guide watch the figure of Omar Sharif slowly emerge from the desert heat.

The veteran cameraman was unusual for both his productive longevity and for his phenomenal success far from Hollywood.

He was 60 by the time he won his first Oscar for “Lawrence” in 1962. As a septuagenarian, he earned an Emmy for shooting a version of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” for television. In his 80s, he directed a small film, “Arthur’s Hallowed Ground,” about an elderly man’s devotion to his cricket pitch. And in his 90s, he completed an autobiography, “Seventy Light Years: A Life in Movies,” which is scheduled for publication in February.

Young did make one foray to Hollywood, planning to work here about the time World War II erupted in Europe. The loyal Briton promptly returned to England to serve as chief cameraman for the British army’s Kinematograph Unit, and never moved back.

He did work for several Hollywood directors, including George Cukor, Richard Thorpe and John Ford, when they were shooting in Europe. Young rated Ford his favorite because of the director’s willingness to try unconventional photographic effects.

The cameraman cherished innovation, and considered “Doctor Zhivago” his favorite among his Oscar winners because it enabled him to try the greatest variety of camera techniques.

Young started working in silent films when he was 15, learning the craft as an apprentice in London’s old glass-topped Gaumont Studios. He took still photos, printed movie film, edited shorts, operated cameras and fetched tea for his superiors.

“The studios were in a glass house to get the light,” he once explained. “If a cloud came over the sun, the set would go very dark. It was very crude.”

He earned his first credit, as assistant cameraman, in 1922 on the silent film “Rob Roy” and was first listed as cinematographer in 1926 on “The Flag Lieutenant.”

“Victoria the Great” in 1937 was Young’s first big-budget film and also launched him, with its final reel in color, as a color cinematographer. Four years later, he made what is considered his breakthrough film, “49th Parallel,” starring Laurence Olivier.

Young was first nominated for an Academy Award for his work on “Ivanhoe” in 1953. He started winning Oscars only when he became the regular cinematographer for Lean.

When Young earned his second Oscar, for “Doctor Zhivago” in 1965, one critic noted that in that film he did for snow what he had done for sand in “Lawrence of Arabia.”

He earned the third Oscar for Lean’s 1970 “Ryan’s Daughter,” which took a grueling 15 months to shoot on Ireland’s rugged but scenic west coast.

Over the years, Young wrote several articles on cinematography for trade magazines and in 1972 coauthored the book “The Work of the Motion Picture Cameraman.”

Widowed by his first wife, Marjorie, in 1963, Young is survived by his second wife, Joan, and a son, David.