In memoriam: William E. Greenfield

Television lighting designer William E. Greenfield died of cancer on January 24 in Riverdale, NY. He was 68. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1953 from Alfred University in Alfred, NY, Greenfield continued his studies at Yale University's School of Drama where he received a master's degree in fine arts in 1959. At Yale, he became involved in lighting and stagecraft for theatrical productions, which led to work on the Broadway productions of Damn Yankees in 1955 and West Side Story in 1958.

Greenfield transferred his talents from Broadway to television in the early days of the medium, designing the lighting for The Ed Sullivan Show. This began a 30-year career as lighting director for CBS where, after Ed Sullivan retired, Greenfield worked on soap operas including As the World Turns and The Guiding Light. Other credits at CBS include lighting director for the primetime drama series Beacon Hill and several news shows including 60 Minutes, Face the Nation, 48 Hours, and the CBS Evening News, first with Walter Cronkite, and later with Dan Rather.

In 1988, Greenfield left CBS to become an independent lighting designer and contractor. For four years he was the lighting designer and studio supervisor for World Monitor, a television news program produced in Boston by the Christian Science Publishing Society. Greenfield continued his work there, expanding his responsibilities when additional programming was added to create the Monitor Channel, a 24-hour cable outlet.

Awards include Emmys for Live from Lincoln Center in New York and The Hermitage with Rod MacLeish, a three-hour documentary videotaped in St. Petersburg, Russia. He also designed the lighting for several presidential debates and shows on ESPN and PBS.

Greenfield is survived by his wife of 39 years, Marcia, two sons, John William and James Learned, and a daughter, Nancy Holly. Contributions can be made to Greenfield's alma mater, Alfred University Powell Campus Center, Saxon Drive, Alfred, NY 14802, or the charity of one's choice.