Fred J. Koenekamp
About
Biography
Biography
This son of famed special effects cameraman Hans F. Koenekamp developed a reputation as a consistent and meticulous director of photography. He began his film career at RKO as a film loader and gradually worked his way through the ranks. By 1957, he had graduated to camera operator, working under Robert Surtees on "Raintree County." Koenekamp first graduated to full-fledged cinematographer working on the small screen, notably on the NBC spy series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." His first feature credits as director of photography were for three quickie compilations that were cobbled from episodes of that show, "One Spy Too Many" and "The Spy in the Green Hat" (both 1966) and "The Karate Killers" (1967). Koenekamp really did not hit his stride as a lenser until he was teamed with director Franklin J. Schaffner, beginning with "Patton" (1970), for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination. He also handled less high-brow fare like "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" (1970) and "Billy Jack" (1971). With veteran cinematographer Joseph Biroc, Koenekamp shared an Oscar for their work on "The Towering Inferno" (1974). He continued working in both TV and features into the 1990s, providing the glossy look to such projects as Franco Zeffirelli's remake of "The Champ" (1979), the cult hit "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension" (1984), the CBS miniseries "Alice in Wonderland" (1985) and several entries of ABC's "Disney Sunday Movie" in 1986 and 1987.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Special)
Cinematography (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1957
Early film credit, as camera assistant on "Raintree County"
1959
Served as camera operator on "Watusi"
1966
Received first credits as feature cinematographer for compilation films "One Spy Too Many" and "The Spy in the Green Hat", both assembled from episodes of TV's "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
1968
Shot the TV-movie "Shadow on the Land" (ABC)
1971
Earned first Oscar nomination for his work on "Patton", directed by Franklin J Schaffner
1973
Reteamed with Schaffner for "Papillion"
1973
Served as director of photography on the ABC sitcom "Adam's Rib"
1974
Shared Oscar with Joseph Biroc for their combined cinematography on "The Towering Inferno"
1977
Received third Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography for "Islands in the Stream", directed by Schaffner
1983
Was cinematographer on the reunion TV-movie "The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E." (CBS)
1983
Shot the CBS series "Whiz Kids"
1986
Worked as cinematographer on a number of TV-movies produced under the umbrella "Disney Sunday Night Movie"
1989
Final collaboration f
1989
Served as director of photography on the CBS series "Hard Time on Planet Earth"
1991
Last feature credit, "Flight of the Intruder"
Videos
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Trailer
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