London, Aug 24 (IANS): Gilbert Taylor, the veteran British cinematographer behind classic films “Star Wars” and “The Omen”, is no more. He was 99.

Taylor passed away Friday at his home on the Isle of Wight, reports contactmusic.com.

Born in Hertfordshire in 1914, Taylor started his career in the late 1920s as a camera assistant at Gainsborough Studios in London and shot daring Royal Air Force raids over Germany during World War II following a request from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

His film credits also include “Ice Cold in Alex”, Alfred Hitchcock's “Frenzy” and two movies with Roman Polanski, Repulsion and Cul-de-Sac, which earned him back-to-back BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations.

He retired from filmmaking in 1994 to concentrate on his passion for painting. Taylor was even honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the British Society of Cinematographers, an organisation he helped found, in 2001.