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Cinematographer Robert DeGrasse entered films through the auspices of his uncles, actor Sam DeGrasse and director Joseph DeGrasse. Working his way up from camera operator to full director of photography, De Grasse soon proved he was more than just another stray Hollywood relative. In the early talkie era, De Grasse returned to his humble beginnings as a cameraman; reportedly, he did so willingly, anxious to learn the new techniques required for sound films. By 1935, De Grasse was restored to Director of Photography status at RKO, working on several of the Astaire/Rogers musicals; he also lensed a number of Ginger Rogers' solo efforts, including her Oscar-winning turn in Kitty Foyle. In the mid-1940s, DeGrasse focused his cameras on the Val Lewton epics Leopard Man (1943) and The Body Snatcher (1945), the popular Cary Grant comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and the thrilling "sleeper" The Window (1949). DeGrasse free-lanced in the 1950s, contributing to the success of the early Stanley Kramer productions Home of the Brave (1949) and The Men (1950). Robert DeGrasse retired after working on the Robert Cummings/Marie Wilson comedy Marry Me Again in 1953.