FRED KOENEKAMP

#2: [Left] with dir Sidney Poitier - "Uptown Saturday Night" [1973]

FRED KOENEKAMP

Born: 11 November 1922, Los Angeles, USA, as Frederick James Koenekamp, son of Hans F. Koenekamp [1891-1992], one of the film industry's pioneer spec pfx experts.

Died: 31 May 2017, Bonita Springs, Florida, USA.

Career: Served in the US Navy during WWII. 'I had planned to go to the University of Southern California, where I had begun classes before I went in the service, but a job opportunity came up as a camera loader at RKO Studios. I was 23 years old and decided I probably shouldn't spend another two or three years at school. I took the job and fell in love with the movie industry. There were no young cameramen in Hollywood in those days. They were all older men, and from the stories I heard, no one had been promoted to first cameraman in ages. There were five or six cameramen on salary at RKO, including Robert De Grasse and J. Roy Hunt. After a couple of years, there was a lot of excitement because Joe Biroc was promoted to first cameraman. It was tough being a younger crewmember, because the work wasn't steady. You would get laid off in-between films. It was kind of hard in the beginning, but I got used to it after a couple of years. I got a job as a camera loader at Technicolor for about a year, and then RKO called me back as an assistant cameraman. I did a picture with a cameraman named Harry Wild. It was called 'Underwater!'. I was taught how to do underwater camera work, including scuba diving. The timing couldn't have been better because MGM was just getting started with a series of films featuring Esther Williams. They needed an assistant cameraman who could do underwater work. I went to MGM anticipating a month's work, and ended up staying there for 14 years. I did many pictures as an assistant cameraman. I worked with Joe Ruttenberg and other great cameramen. They eventually moved me up to operator on 'The Brothers Karamazov'. […] What happened was that feature work had slowed down, so I took a job as an operator on [the tv-series] 'Gunsmoke'. One day [in 1963] I got a phone call from the MGM camera department. They asked me to come over and meet Norman Felton, a producer who might be interested in making me a first cameraman on a television series called 'The Lieutenant'. It turned out that he had a new show coming up called 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' I worked on that show for about four seasons. It might have been the best break in my life. That series was fun to shoot, and it gave me a chance to experiment with lighting and other things.' [From the KODAK OnFilm website.]

Ph commercials dir by Stan Freberg, a.o.

Was a member of the ASC since 1967. Retired in 1989.

Awards: 'Emmy' Award nom [1964-65] for 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; 'Emmy' Award nom [1965-66] for 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1971] & Golden Laurel Award [1971] for 'Patton'; 'Oscar' AA [1975; shared] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1976] for 'The Towering Inferno'; 'Oscar' AA nom [1978] for 'Islands in the Stream'; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [2005].

'Mr. Fred Koenekamp's camera has moved slowly from walls [for the small screen] to 'monoliths' [for the cinema screen]. The 'monoliths' have been 'Patton' [in the form of George C. Scott], 'Kansas City Bomber' [in the form of Ms. Welch], 'Papillon', 'The Towering Inferno', 'Doc Savage', et cetera, et cetera. With all this in his way the concept of 'painting with light' doesn't stand a chance.' [Tise Vahimagi in 'Film Dope', #31, January 1985.]

George C. Scott in "Patton" [1969]

FILMS
1964	The Spy with My Face [John Newland] c; theatrical release of expanded ep #8 'The Double Affair' from tv-series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; released in 1965
1965	One Spy Too Many [Joseph Sargent] c; theatrical release of 2-part ep (#30-31) 'The Alexander the Greater Affair' from tv-series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; released in 1966
1965	One of Our Spies Is Missing! [E. Darrell Hallenbeck] c; theatrical release of 2-part ep (#49-50) 'The Bridge of Lions Affair' from tv-series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; released in 1966
1966	The Spy in the Green Hat [Joseph Sargent] c; theatrical release of 2-part ep (#70-71) 'The Concrete Overcoat Affair' from tv-series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; released in 1967
1966	Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding/This Way Out, Please/Three for a Wedding [Peter Tewksbury] p/c
1967	The Karate Killers [Barry Shear] c; theatrical release of 2-part ep (#87-88) 'The Five Daughters Affair' from tv-series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; released in 1967
1967	The Helicopter Spies [Boris Sagal] c; theatrical release of 2-part ep (#93-94) 'The Prince of Darkness Affair' from tv-series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'; released in 1968
1967	Sol Madrid/The Heroin Gang [Brian G. Hutton] p/c
1967	Stay Away, Joe [Peter Tewksbury] p/c
1968	Live a Little, Love a Little [Norman Taurog] p/c
1968	Heaven with a Gun [Lee H. Katzin] p/c
1968	The Great Bank Robbery [Hy Averback] p/c; 2uc: Mark Davis; aph: Jack Willoughby
1969	Patton/Patton: Lust for Glory/Blood and Guts [Franklin Schaffner] D150/c; 2uc: Clifford Stine & Cecilio Paniagua; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott & Art Cruickshank
1970	Beyond the Valley of the Dolls/Hollywood Vixens [Russ Meyer] p/c
1970	Flap/The Last Warrior [Carol Reed] p/c
1970	Billy Jack [T.C. Frank (= Tom Laughlin)] c; cph: John M. Stephens
1971	Skin Game [Paul Bogart & (uncred) Gordon Douglas] p/c
1971	Stand Up and Be Counted [Jackie Cooper] c
1971	Happy Birthday, Wanda June [Mark Robson] c
1971	Rage [George C. Scott] p/c
1972	The Magnificent Seven Ride! [George McCowan] c
1972	Kansas City Bomber [Jerrold Freedman] c
1972	Harry In Your Pocket [Bruce Geller] p/c

[Right/cap] with actor Steve McQueen [left] - "Papillon"

1973	Papillon [Franklin Schaffner] p/c; spec pfx: Albert Whitlock
1973	Uptown Saturday Night [Sidney Poitier] c
1974	The Towering Inferno [John Guillermin & (action unit) Irwin Allen] p (+ 70bu)/c; ph 1st unit; ph action unit: Joseph Biroc; aph: Greg MacGillivray & Jim Freeman; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott; optical ph: Frank Van der Veer
1974	Posse [Kirk Douglas] p/c; addph: Jules Brenner
1974	The Wild McCullochs/McCullochs [Max Baer Jr.] c
1975	White Line Fever [Jonathan Kaplan] c
1975	Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze [Michael Anderson] c
1975	Islands in the Stream [Franklin Schaffner] p/c; 2uc: William Fraker
1975	Embryo/Created to Kill [Ralph Nelson] c
1976	The Domino Principle/The Domino Killings [Stanley Kramer] c; fill-in ph (temporarily replaced Koenekamp due to an accident during shooting): Ernest Laszlo; aph: Donald M. Morgan

"Fun with Dick and Jane"

1976	Fun with Dick and Jane [Ted Kotcheff] c
1976	The Other Side of Midnight [Charles Jarrott] p/c; 2uc: Robert Huke
1977	The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training [Michael Pressman] c
1977	The Swarm [Irwin Allen] p/c; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott
1977	Love and Bullets [Stuart Rosenberg & (uncred) John Huston] p/c; European ph: Anthony Richmond

With actress Faye Dunaway - "The Champ"

1978	The Champ [Franco Zeffirelli] c; remake of film (1931, King Vidor (uncred); ph: Gordon Avil)
1978	The Amityville Horror [Stuart Rosenberg] c
1979	When Time Ran Out.../The Day the World Ended/Earth's Final Fury [James Goldstone] p/c; miniature ph: Stanley Cortez; spec pfx: L.B. Abbott
1979	The Hunter [Buzz Kulik] c; aph: Frank Holgate
1980	First Family [Buck Henry] c
1980	Carbon Copy [Michael Schultz] p/c
1980	First Monday in October [Ronald Neame] p/c; 2uc: Jack Priestley & Dick Kratina
1981	Wrong Is Right/The Man with the Deadly Lens [Richard Brooks] c
1981	Yes, Giorgio [Franklin Schaffner] c
1982	It Came from Hollywood [Malcolm Leo & Andrew Solt] b&w-c; comp film/80m; addph (ph new footage)
1983	Two of a Kind [John Herzfeld] c; New York ph: Warren Rothenberger
1983	The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension [W.D. Richter] p/c; efx ph: William Hayward
1983	Stick [Burt Reynolds] c; addph; ph: Nick McLean
1985	Stewardess School [Ken Blancato] p/c
1988	Listen to Me [Douglas Day Stewart] c
1988	Welcome Home [Franklin Schaffner] c
1989	Flight of the Intruder [John Milius] s35/c; aph: David Nowell; vfx ph: Michael Lawler & John P. Mesa

TELEVISION
1963	The Lieutenant [29 ep dir by various] 29-part drama series/b&w, 1963-64 (NBC-tv); ep #29 'To Kill a Man', dir by Vincent McEveety, was also released theatrically in Europe
1964	The Outer Limits [ep #49 'The Probe' dir by Felix Feist] 49-part science fiction anthology series/b&w, 1963-65 (ABC-tv); 2nd season, 1964-65; other ph: Kenneth Peach

1964	The Man from U.N.C.L.E. [28 ep dir by various] 105-part spy spoof series/b&w-c, 1964-68 (NBC-tv); 1st season/b&w, 1964-65 (29 ep); ph pilot: Joseph Biroc
1965	Jericho [pilot 'Dutch and Go' dir by Barry Shear] 16-part war drama series, 1966-67 (CBS-tv)

[Right/at camera] - "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

1965	The Man from U.N.C.L.E. [27 ep dir by various] 2nd season/c, 1965-66 (30 ep); see 1964
1966	The Man from U.N.C.L.E. [27 ep dir by various] 3rd season/c, 1966-67 (30 ep); see 1964
1967	The Man from U.N.C.L.E. [8 ep dir by various] 4th season/c, 1967-68 (16 ep); see 1964
1967	Mission: Impossible [ep #52 'Trial by Fury' dir by Leonard Horn & #53 'Recovery' dir by Robert Totten] 171-part international intrigue series, 1966-73 (CBS-tv); 2nd season, 1967-68
*1968*	U.S. [?] pilot
1968	Shadow on the Land [Richard Sarafian] tvm
1970	Night Chase/The Man in the Back Seat/L.A. Cab [Jack Starrett] tvm
1970	In Search of America [Paul Bogart] tvm
1971	The Deadly Hunt [John Newland] tvm
1971	The Cable Car Murder/Crosscurrent [Jerry Thorpe] tvm
1972	Kung Fu [ep #1 'King of the Mountain' dir by Jerry Thorpe (JT), #2 'Dark Angel' dir by JT & #3 'Blood Brother' dir by JT] 63-part western series, 1972-75 (ABC-tv); 1st season, 1972-73 (15 ep)
1973	Hawkins [ep #4 'Life for a Life' dir by Jud Taylor] 8-part lawyer series, 1973-74 (CBS-tv)
1974	The Runaway Barge/River Bandits [Boris Sagal] tvm
1975	Conspiracy of Terror [John L. Moxey] tvm
1978	Salvage 1 [pilot 'Salvage' dir by Lee Philips] 20-part (4 unaired) adventure series, 1979 (ABC-tv); other ph: Gerald Perry Finnerman
1979	Disaster on the Coastliner [Richard Sarafian] tvm; aph: Frank Holgate
1982	Tales of the Gold Monkey [2-part pilot dir by Ray Austin] 22-part series, 1982-83; other ph: Jack Whitman
1982	Money on the Side [Robert Collins] tvm
1982	Summer Girl/The Hands That Rob the Cradle [Robert M. Lewis] tvm
1982	The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Fifteen Years Later Affair [Ray Austin] 2-part pilot/tvm (1983)
1983	Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac [Robert M. Lewis] tvm; addph: Gayne Rescher
1983	Summer Fantasy [Noel Nosseck] tvm
1983	Whiz Kids [ep #1 'Programmed for Murder' dir by Corey Allen] 18-part series, 1983-84; other ph: Charles W. Short
1984	Obsessive Love [Steven H. Stern] tvm
1984	City Killer [Robert M. Lewis] tvm
1984	The Vegas Strip War/Las Vegas Strip War [George Englund] tvm
1984	A Touch of Scandal [Ivan Nagy] tvm
1984	Not My Kid [Michael Tuchner] tvm
1985	The Other Lover [Robert Ellis Miller] tvm
1985	Amos [Michael Tuchner] tvm
1985	Alice in Wonderland [Harry Harris] 2-part tvm; spec vfx: John Dykstra
1985	Pleasures [Sharron Miller] tvm
1985	News at Eleven [Mike Robe] tvm
1986	The B.R.A.T. Patrol [Mollie Miller] tvm; ep ABC-tv series 'Disney Sunday Movie/Disney Summer Classics' (1986-88)
1986	The Leftovers [Paul Schneider] tvm; see above
1986	The Thanksgiving Promise [Beau Bridges] tvm; see above
1986	Double Switch/Switching Places [David Greenwalt] tvm; see above
1987	Double Agent [Mike Vejar] tvm; see above
1987	Student Exchange/Foreign Exchange [Mollie Miller] 2-part tvm; see above
1987	The Return of the Shaggy Dog [Stuart Gillard] 2-part tvm; see above
1988	14 Going on 30 [Paul Schneider] 2-part tvm; see above
1988	Splash, Too [Greg Antonacci] 2-part tvm; uwph: Jordan Klein Sr.; see above; originally announced as a theatrical release
1988	Hard Time on Planet Earth [various] 13-part series, 1989

FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR
1953	Underwater!/The Big Rainbow [John Sturges] c.asst uwph; uwph: Lamar Boren; ph: Harry J. Wild
1955	Kismet [Vincente Minnelli & (fill-in) Stanley Donen] co-c.asst; ph: Joseph Ruttenberg
1956	Raintree County [Edward Dmytryk] c.asst; ph: Robert Surtees
1957	The Brothers Karamazov/The Murderer Dmitri Karamazov [Richard Brooks] c.op; ph: John Alton
1958	Watusi/The Quest for King Solomon's Mines [Kurt Neumann] c.op; ph: Harold Wellman
1959	Bells Are Ringing [Vincente Minnelli] c.op; ph: Milton Krasner
1961	The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse [Vincente Minnelli] c.op; ph: Milton Krasner
1961	Two Weeks in Another Town [Vincente Minnelli] c.op; ph: Milton Krasner
1962	The Hook [George Seaton] c.op; ph: Joseph Ruttenberg
1963	Gunsmoke [various; tv-series] c.op; ph: Frank Phillips