Tom Neuwirth, Cinematographer on ‘Cagney & Lacey,’ Dies at 78
Tom Neuwirth, the cinematographer who worked alongside his wife, history-making TV director Karen Arthur, on episodes of Cagney & Lacey and many other projects, has died. He was 78.
Neuwirth died June 29 at his home in Manhattan, friend and producer Craig Anderson announced (they worked on six films together). No cause of death was revealed.
Over four decades, “Neuwirth’s career was defined by his extraordinary eye for capturing emotion, character and place — whether through the lens of his camera or from the cockpit of his own plane,” Anderson noted. “He earned his pilot’s license in high school and found joy and freedom in flying throughout his life. That same spirit guided his work behind the camera: bold, precise and always seeking a new perspective.”
Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Arthur, who became the first woman to receive a Primetime Emmy for outstanding directing for a drama series when she won in 1985 for helming the Cagney & Lacey fourth-season episode “Heat,” which featured a guest-starring turn by a young Michael Madsen.
Her husband was the cinematographer on that installment and five others directed by Arthur during that 1984-85 season.
“We fell madly in love on the first show that we did together, which was ‘Heat,’” Arthur said on a 2023 episode of the 80s TV Ladies podcast. “And we made all my movies, his movies, our movies, from Cagney & Lacey on together.”
Born in the Bronx, Neuwirth served as a photography apprentice in New York City before opening his own studio and moving to Hollywood after a photo assignment in Puerto Rico ignited his passion for filmmaking.
Starting as a camera assistant on such films as Russ Meyer’s Supervixens (1975), he advanced to helicopter camera operator on Ted Kotcheff’s First Blood (1982) and second-unit director of photography on J. Lee Thompson’s Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987).
Neuwirth shot 18 of 22 episodes of Cagney & Lacey during its fourth season, which culminated with the show winning six Emmys, including its first for outstanding drama series and the trophy presented to Arthur. (In the “Heat” episode, Tyne Daly’s Mary Beth is taken hostage in a railroad yard by a psychopathic teenager portrayed by Madsen.)
Over the years, Neuwirth also brought his visual storytelling to such acclaimed productions as the five-hour 1992 ABC miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream; the 1997 CBS miniseries True Women, starring Dana Delany and Angelina Jolie; the 1998 CBS telefilm The Staircase, starring Barbara Hershey; and the 2001 PBS telefilm The Song of the Lark, starring Maximilian Schell. (All were directed by Arthur.)
“When we started out together, most people, like agents and producers, said [their business relationship] would never work. We might get into an argument, but it was never an issue. It’s always been professional,” Neuwirth said in 2012.
“When we watch a rehearsal, we look at each other and communicate with subtle movements and statements, and it allows Karen to focus more on the bigger picture.”
Neuwirth and his wife also lived in the Bahamas, where they co-founded Island Films; their 2008-12 documentary series Artists of the Bahamas, which premiered at the Bahamas International Film Festival, spotlighted some of the nation’s leading visual artists.
“Make a lot of films,” he often told young filmmakers. “With every one, you realize mistakes and keep getting better.”
In addition to Arthur, survivors include his son, Adam, and his twin sister, Hilary. A private memorial will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of America.
