From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Burks, A.S.C. (July 4, 1909 – May 11, 1968) was an American cinematographer known for being proficient in virtually every genre and equally at home with black-and-white or color. Burks began his career as a special effects technician in the late 1930s before becoming a director of photography in the mid-1940s. His first credit in this field was Jammin' the Blues (1944), a short film featuring leading jazz musicians of the day. Burks collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock