American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 64

O King of Cool

Colleagues fondly recall William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC whose charisma and skill made him a Society icon.
Introduction by Stephen Pizzello Interviews by Benjamin B, Bob Fisher, Jean Oppenheimer, Pizzello and David E. Williams •|•

ne of the ASC’s most beloved members, William A. “Billy” Fraker, died on May 31 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after a battle with cancer. He was 86 at the time of his death, but his energy and youthful exuberance were evident even in his last years of life. Fraker’s tremendous charm and charisma led him to become an ASC icon, but it was his work behind the camera that made him a cinematography legend. He was nominated for six Academy Awards, honoring his work on Looking for Mr. Goodbar , Heaven Can Wait , 1941 (for which he also shared a nomination for best visual effects with A.D. Flowers and Greg Jein), WarGames and Murphy’s Romance. He also earned BAFTA nominations for Bullitt and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (an honor he shared with fellow ASC members Haskell Wexler and Bill Butler), as well as a shared BAFTA nomination for Best Special Visual Effects on WarGames. Fraker received lifetime-achievement awards from the ASC in 2000 and from Camerimage in 2003, capping a career that produced many other movies, including Rosemary’s Baby, Paint Your Wagon, The Day of the Dolphin , Exorcist II: The Heretic , American Hot Wax , Sharky’s Machine, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , Irreconcilable Differences , SpaceCamp, Baby Boom, The Freshman, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Honeymoon in Vegas, Tombstone, Father of the Bride Part II, The Island of Dr. Moreau , Vegas Vacation, Rules of Engagement and Town and Country . He also directed three pictures — Monte Walsh, Reflections of Fear and The Legend of the Lone Ranger — and episodes of numerous TV series. Born in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, 1923, Fraker grew up amid the glitter of Hollywood. His maternal grandmother, who arrived in Los Angeles from Mazatlan, Mexico, in 1910 with his mother and aunt, worked downtown as a still photographer at Monroe Studios. After Fraker’s parents married, she schooled his father, William Fraker Jr., who excelled at the craft. “My father started out at Universal, Pathé and First National before running the stills gallery at Columbia from 1928-’29 to 1934, when he died of pneumonia,” Fraker told AC in Feb. ’00. “My uncle Charles started out working for him, but moved over to work at Paramount, where he later took over the department and ran it until after World War II, when the studios eliminated all of their stills galleries. “My mother died a year after my father passed away, so I was raised by my grandmother and my aunt. They told me I was going to become a cameraman, so from the time I was 14, that’s what I was going to be.” Fraker quit high school during World War II to do a four-year hitch in the Coast Guard, and he saw action throughout the Pacific. He grew up as a die-hard University of Southern California football fan, an allegiance that came to full fruition when he attended USC Film School under the G.I. Bill and, many years later, taught there as an instructor. At USC, Fraker became fast friends with fellow

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November 2010

American Cinematographer



American Cinematographer - November, 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November, 2010

American Cinematographer - November 2010
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: “Sextape”
Production Slate: The LXD • Monsters
Horse Power
The World’s Most Wanted Man
A Modern Romance
King of Cool
Primetime Artistry
Post Focus: New Hat
Tricks of the Trade
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Phedon Papamichael
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - American Cinematographer - November 2010
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 1
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 2
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Contents
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 4
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 5
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 6
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 7
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 9
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 11
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Short Takes: “Sextape”
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 13
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 14
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 15
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 16
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 17
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Production Slate: The LXD • Monsters
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 19
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 20
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 21
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 22
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 23
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 24
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 25
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 26
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 27
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 28
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 29
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Horse Power
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 31
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 32
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 33
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 34
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 35
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 36
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 37
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 38
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 39
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 40
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 41
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - The World’s Most Wanted Man
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 43
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 44
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 45
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 46
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 47
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 48
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 49
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 50
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 51
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 52
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 53
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - A Modern Romance
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 55
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 56
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 57
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 58
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 59
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 60
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 61
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 62
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 63
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - King of Cool
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 65
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 66
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 67
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 68
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 69
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 70
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American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 76
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 77
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 78
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 79
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Primetime Artistry
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 81
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Post Focus: New Hat
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 83
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 84
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 85
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Tricks of the Trade
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 87
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 89
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 90
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 91
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 92
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 93
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 95
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 97
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - 99
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - ASC Close-Up: Phedon Papamichael
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - November, 2010 - Cover4
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