William A. Fraker

American film director, producer and cinematographer

William A. Fraker

Born|

William Ashman Fraker

September 29, 1923

Los Angeles, California

Died| May 31, 2010 (aged 86)

Los Angeles, California

Occupation| Cinematographer
Title| A.S.C.
Board member of| A.S.C. (President 1979–1980, 1984, 1991–1992)
Spouse| Denise

William Ashman Fraker, A.S.C., B.S.C. (September 29, 1923 – May 31, 2010) was an American cinematographer, film director and producer. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In 2000, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) honoring his career. Fraker graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1950.[1]

## Life and career[edit]

Fraker was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of a Hollywood studio photographer. His mother was a native of Mexico who had fled the Mexican Revolution with her family. Fraker's parents died during his childhood and he was subsequently raised by his Mexican grandmother, who instructed him in photography like she had with his father before him.

He served four years in either the U.S. Navy[2][3][4] or the U.S. Coast Guard[5][6][7] during World War II, seeing action in the Pacific. Fraker then attended USC under the G.I. Bill, graduating with a degree in Cinema. He was admitted into the camera union in 1954 and subsequently spent years working in television before breaking into the film industry.[8][9][10]

As cinematographer, his films include The President's Analyst (1967), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Bullitt (1968), Paint Your Wagon (1969), The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Coonskin (1975), Looking For Mr. Goodbar (1977), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), Heaven Can Wait (1978), 1941 (1979), WarGames (1983), Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Murphy's Romance (1985), Tombstone (1993), and Street Fighter (1994).[citation needed]

He directed three theatrical films – Monte Walsh (1970), A Reflection of Fear (1971) and The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) – as well as episodes of several television series.[citation needed]

## Death[edit]

Fraker died on May 31, 2010, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. He was 86. He is survived by his wife Denise. He was predeceased in 1992 by son, William A. Fraker Jr., an assistant cameraman.[11]

## Filmography[edit]

Director

* Monte Walsh (1970)
* A Reflection of Fear (1972)
* The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)

Cinematographer

Year  | Title  | Director  | Notes

|
|
|

1966  | Incubus | Leslie Stevens | Uncredited
1967  | Games | Curtis Harrington |
The President's Analyst | Theodore J. Flicker |
The Fox | Mark Rydell |
1968  | Rosemary's Baby | Roman Polanski |
Bullitt | Peter Yates |
1969  | Paint Your Wagon | Joshua Logan |
1971  | Dusty and Sweets McGee | Floyd Mutrux |
1973  | The Day of the Dolphin | Mike Nichols |
1975  | Rancho Deluxe | Frank Perry |
Aloha, Bobby and Rose | Floyd Mutrux  |
Coonskin | Ralph Bakshi |
1976  | Gator | Burt Reynolds |
The Killer Inside Me | Burt Kennedy |
1977  | Exorcist II: The Heretic | John Boorman |
Looking for Mr. Goodbar | Richard Brooks |
1978  | American Hot Wax | Floyd Mutrux  |
Heaven Can Wait | Warren Beatty
Buck Henry |
1979  | Old Boyfriends | Joan Tewkesbury |
1941 | Steven Spielberg |
1980  | The Hollywood Knights | Floyd Mutrux  |
1981  | Sharky's Machine | Burt Reynolds  |
Inchon | Terence Young | Opening sequence only
1982  | Hey Good Lookin' | Ralph Bakshi  | Uncredited
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | Colin Higgins |
1983  | WarGames | John Badham |
1984  | Irreconcilable Differences | Charles Shyer |
Protocol | Herbert Ross |
1985  | Fever Pitch | Richard Brooks  |
Murphy's Romance | Martin Ritt |
1986  | SpaceCamp | Harry Winer |
1987  | Burglar | Hugh Wilson |
Baby Boom | Charles Shyer  |
1989  | Chances Are | Emile Ardolino |
An Innocent Man | Peter Yates  |
1990  | The Freshman | Andrew Bergman |
1992  | Memoirs of an Invisible Man | John Carpenter |
Honeymoon in Vegas | Andrew Bergman  |
1993  | Tombstone | George P. Cosmatos |
1994  | There Goes My Baby | Floyd Mutrux  |
Street Fighter | Steven E. de Souza |
1995  | Father of the Bride Part II | Charles Shyer  | With Elliot Davis
1996  | The Island of Dr. Moreau | John Frankenheimer |
1997  | Vegas Vacation | Stephen Kessler  |
Broadway Brawler | Lee Grant | Unfinished film
2000  | Rules of Engagement | William Friedkin | With Nicola Pecorini
2001  | Town & Country | Peter Chelsom |
2002  | Waking Up in Reno | Jordan Brady |

Additional photography

Year  | Title  | Director  | DoP

|
|
|

1975  | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Miloš Forman | Haskell Wexler
Bill Butler
1977  | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Steven Spielberg | Vilmos Zsigmond

## Awards[edit]

Academy Awards

Year  | Category  | Title  | Result

|
|
|

1977  | Best Cinematography | Looking for Mr. Goodbar | Nominated
1978  | Heaven Can Wait | Nominated
1979  | 1941 | Nominated
Best Visual Effects | Nominated
1983  | Best Cinematography  | WarGames | Nominated
1985  | Murphy's Romance | Nominated

BAFTA Awards

Year  | Category  | Title  | Result

|
|
|

1968  | Best Cinematography | Bullitt | Nominated
1983  | Best Special Visual Effects | WarGames | Nominated

National Society of Film Critics

Year  | Category  | Title  | Result

|
|
|

1968  | Best Cinematography | Bullitt | Nominated

American Society of Cinematographers

* Lifetime Achievement Award (2000)

Camerimage

* Lifetime Achievement Award (2003)

## References[edit]

1. ^ Notable Alumni Archived August 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, USC School of Cinematic Arts. Accessed March 10, 2008.
2. ^ Cinematographer William A. Fraker dies The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
3. ^ In Memoriam: William A. Fraker, 86 University of Southern California. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
4. ^ William A. Fraker dies at 86; Hollywood cinematographer Los Angeles Times via Internet Archive. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
5. ^ Colleagues fondly recall William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC whose charisma and skill made him a Society icon. American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
6. ^ William A Fraker: Celebrated cinematographer who shot Steve McQueen's famous car chase in 'Bullitt' The Independent. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
7. ^ WILLIAM A. FRAKER www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
8. ^ "William A. Fraker, 1923 – 2010". June 2, 2010.
9. ^ "The ASC -- American Cinematographer: King of Cool".
10. ^ "William A. Fraker Biography".
11. ^ ""Coonskin" cinematographer William A. Fraker dies Archived July 8, 2012, at archive.today". forum.bcdb.com, June 1, 2010

## External links[edit]

* William A. Fraker at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography

1967–2000|

* Haskell Wexler (1967)
* William A. Fraker (1968)
* Lucien Ballard (1969)
* Néstor Almendros (1970)
* Vittorio Storaro (1971)
* Sven Nykvist (1972)
* Vilmos Zsigmond (1973)
* Gordon Willis (1974)
* John Alcott (1975)
* Haskell Wexler (1976)
* Thomas Mauch (1977)
* Néstor Almendros (1978)
* Caleb Deschanel (1979)
* Michael Chapman (1980)
* Gordon Willis (1981)
* Philippe Rousselot (1982)
* Hiro Narita (1983)
* Chris Menges (1984)
* Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, and Asakazu Nakai (1985)
* Frederick Elmes (1986)
* Philippe Rousselot (1987)
* Henri Alekan (1988)
* Michael Ballhaus (1989)
* Peter Suschitzky (1990)
* Roger Deakins (1991)
* Zhao Fei (1992)
* Janusz Kamiński (1993)
* Stefan Czapsky (1994)
* Tak Fujimoto (1995)
* Robby Müller (1996)
* Roger Deakins (1997)
* John Toll (1998)
* Conrad L. Hall (1999)
* Agnès Godard (2000)

2001–present|

* Christopher Doyle and Pin Bing Lee (2001)
* Edward Lachman (2002)
* Russell Boyd (2003)
* Xiaoding Zhao (2004)
* Christopher Doyle, Lai Yiu Fai, and Kwan Pun Leung (2005)
* Emmanuel Lubezki (2006)
* Robert Elswit (2007)
* Anthony Dod Mantle (2008)
* Christian Berger (2009)
* Roger Deakins (2010)
* Emmanuel Lubezki (2011)
* Mihai Mălaimare Jr. (2012)
* Bruno Delbonnel (2013)
* Dick Pope (2014)
* Edward Lachman (2015)
* James Laxton (2016)
* Roger Deakins (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Claire Mathon (2019)
* Joshua James Richards (2020)
* Andrew Droz Palermo (2021)
* Michał Dymek (2022)
* Rodrigo Prieto (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Spain
* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Korea
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Artists|

* Photographers' Identities

Other|

* SNAC
* IdRef

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