Born and raised in Illinois, Clothier moved to California when he turned twenty in 1923. He began his career in films as a set painter at Warner Brothers before gaining work as an assistant cameraman at several Poverty Row studios. Clothier worked on the aerial photography crew of the Oscar-winning "Wings" (1927) for Paramount. He continued working there until 1929 when he moved to RKO. Because of a strike, he relocated to Mexico City in 1933 and moved to Spain the following year. In 1938, he was imprisoned by the Spanish Communist forces. Upon his release and return to the US, Clothier returned to work as a camera operator and as a second unit director of photography and aerial cameraman.
Clothier made his debut as director of photography with "Sofia" (1948). He went on to lens a variety of films including the aerial sequences in "The High and the Mighty" (1954), the sci-fi thriller "Killers from Space" (1954) and John Farrow's adventure "The Sea Chase" (1955). He shot his first western "Seven Men from Now" in 1956. Clothier went on to work with a number of top directors including Frank Borzage ("China Doll", 1958), John Ford ("The Horse Soldiers", 1959; "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", 1962; and "Cheyenne Autumn" 1964) and Sam Peckinpah ("The Deadly Companions" 1961). He shot John Wayne's directorial debut, "The Alamo" (1960), and other Wayne westerns including Howard Hawks' "Rio Lobo" (1970) and "Big Jake" (1971). Clothier also worked with director Andrew V McLaglen on eight films including "Shenandoah" (1965), "The Way West" (1967), "Bandolero!" (1968) and "Chisum" (1970). He retired after shooting his last film "The Train Robbers" (1973). Clothier died in January 1996 at the age of 92.
