Hugh B. Johnston ’51

Hugh B. Johnston ’51, an acclaimed cinematographer and documentary filmmaker, died on August 18, 2015. He resided in Princeton, New Jersey. His wife and 50-year collaborator, Suzanne, died in 2011. Three daughters and two grandchildren survive them, including Claire ’80. Included among Hugh and Suzanne’s 60 films were children’s programs for Sesame Street, Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corp. and other film distributors. Frequent themes were exploration, art and anthropology. Many of their documentaries were filmed in Latin America. Mystery of the Maya, broadcast on PBS, describes their rediscovery of a “lost” Mayan temple in southeastern Yucatan in Mexico. The film was featured at Hugh’s 25th Dartmouth reunion. The Johnstons led a Dartmouth trip to Mexico in 1976, visiting many of the sites they had come to know well. Other notable productions for PBS included The Pueblo Presence, filmed in the southwestern United States, where Hugh received rare permission to film on Hopi and Zuni reservations; Education Unbound, about excellent high school teachers; and ANIMALands, showing many North American animals in their essential environments, with the goal of protecting animal habitats. All were widely honored and prominently displayed. At Dartmouth Hugh served as assistant editorial chairman of The Daily Dartmouth and was a member of the Press Club. Following graduation he served for three years in the U.S. Army. In Princeton Hugh was an active member of the local Dartmouth club. He was a leader in creating Princeton Community TV.