Ken Higgins BSC (26 December 1919 – 22 January 2008). Higgins entered the film industry in 1934 with the General Post Office Film Unit. During the Second World War, he served with the Army Film Unit in Burma as a film cameraman. After the war, he worked as a newsreel cameraman with Gaumont British News.
In 1952, Higgins joined the BBC Film Unit, where he worked as a film cameraman on television series, documentaries and arts programmes. His BBC work included Our Mutual Friend, Jane Eyre and productions for Monitor. He was also the cinematographer on Ken Russell's Elgar (1962). During this period, he worked with director John Schlesinger on Terminus (1961), a British Transport Films documentary, using a pseudonym.
After leaving the BBC, Higgins worked as a freelance director of photography. He reunited with Ken Russell for French Dressing (1964), and subsequently photographed Schlesinger's Darling (1965). Darling earned Higgins a BAFTA nomination for Best British Cinematography.
His cinematography on Georgy Girl (1966), directed by Silvio Narizzano, resulted in nominations for both the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and the BAFTA Award for Best British Cinematography. Other feature credits included Salt and Pepper (1968), Julius Caesar (1970) and Golden Rendezvous (1977).
Higgins subsequently worked extensively in television. His credits included the LWT series ** The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972–1974) and Dick Turpin (1979–1982), on which he was director of photography. He retired from professional filmmaking after Dick Turpin and later lived on the Isle of Wight, where he devoted time to gardening.
Ken Higgins died on 22 January 2008, aged 88. His career covered more than seven decades, beginning with documentary filmmaking at the GPO Film Unit and continuing through newsreel, BBC television, feature films and television drama.