Trivia

In a spectacular seven-year period from 1971-77, seven of the films he worked on as director of photography accumulated 39 Oscar nominations with 19 wins. Among these wins were three Best Picture winners (Le Parrain (1972), Le Parrain, 2ᵉ partie (1974) and Annie Hall (1977)) and six for acting (Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, John Houseman, Robert De Niro, Jason Robards and Diane Keaton). Incredibly, Willis failed to secure a single nomination for himself during this period.

His father worked as a make-up artist at Warner Brothers.

Member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 1975.

Received an honorary Academy Award in 2009. Other honorees were Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman and Thalberg Award recipient John Calley.

He was the cinematographer for five films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Le Parrain (1972), Le Parrain, 2ᵉ partie (1974), Les Hommes du président (1976), Annie Hall (1977), Le Parrain, 3e partie (1990). Of those, Le Parrain (1972), Le Parrain, 2ᵉ partie (1974) and Annie Hall (1977) are winners in the category.

He served in the US Air Force motion-picture unit for four years during the Korean War, where he learned about making movies. After the war, he spent some time in advertising, where he learned to pare down his style.