William A. Fraker

William Ashman Fraker, A.S.C., B.S.C. (September 29, 1923 – May 31, 2010) was an American cinematographer and film director.

William A. Fraker
Born	William Ashman Fraker September 29, 1923 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	May 31, 2010 (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	USC School of Cinematic Arts[1]
Years active	1956–2002
Board member of	A.S.C. (President 1979–1980, 1984, 1991–1992)
Spouse	Denise

Life and career

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

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

Cinematographer

Film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1961	Forbid Them Not	Robert L. Kimble	Also credited as producer
1966	Incubus	Leslie Stevens	Uncredited
1967	Games	Curtis Harrington
	The Fox	Mark Rydell
	The President's Analyst	Theodore J. Flicker
1968	Rosemary's Baby	Roman Polanski
	Bullitt	Peter Yates
1969	Paint Your Wagon	Joshua Logan
1971	Dusty and Sweets McGee	Floyd Mutrux	Also cast as "The Cellist"
1973	The Day of the Dolphin	Mike Nichols
1975	Coonskin	Ralph Bakshi
	Rancho Deluxe	Frank Perry
	Aloha, Bobby and Rose	Floyd Mutrux
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
1982	The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas	Colin Higgins
	Hey Good Lookin'	Ralph Bakshi	Uncredited
1983	WarGames	John Badham
1984	Irreconcilable Differences	Charles Shyer	Also cast as 'Gabrielle' Cinematographer
	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	Also credited as associate producer
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	Dennis Dugan Lee Grant	Unfinished
2000	Rules of Engagement	William Friedkin	With Nicola Pecorini
2001	Town & Country	Peter Chelsom	Also credited as 2nd unit director (South Carolina)
2002	Waking Up in Reno	Jordan Brady

Documentary film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1975	Fritz Lang Interviewed by William Friedkin	William Friedkin
1980	Divine Madness	Michael Ritchie	Concert film

Television

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1966-1969	Daktari
1973	Ozzie's Girls	Ozzie Nelson	Episode "Pilot"
1987	Frank's Place	Hugh Wilson	Episode "Pilot"

TV movies

Year	Title	Director
1973	Fade In	Jud Taylor[a]
1995	Death in Small Doses	Sondra Locke

1. Credited as Alan Smithee

Director

Film

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

Television

Year	Title	Episode(s)
1988	Houston Knights	"Cajun Spice"
	J.J. Starbuck	"Rag Doll"
1989	Unsub	"Silent Stalker"
	B.L. Stryker	"The Dancer’s Touch"
	Wiseguy	"Fascination for the Flame"
		"The Merchant of Death"
		"How Will They Remember Me?"
		"The Reunion"
		"Day Seven"
		"Sanctuary"
1991	The Flash	"Tina, Is That You?"
1993	Walker, Texas Ranger	"Night of the Gladiator"

Accolades

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)