William A. Fraker

Camera operator

September 29, 1923 (86 years)

† May 31, 2010

Los Angeles, California, USA

Biography

William Ashman Fraker (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. 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)…

Filmography

7.4

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

7.1

Bullitt

Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.

7.1

WarGames

High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his friend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

7.6

Tombstone

Legendary marshal Wyatt Earp, now a weary gunfighter, joins his brothers Morgan and Virgil to pursue their collective fortune in the thriving mining town of Tombstone. But Earp is forced to don a badge again and get help from his notorious pal Doc Holliday when a gang of renegade brigands and rustlers begins terrorizing the town.

7.8

Rosemary's Baby

A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.

4.7

Street Fighter

Colonel Guile and various other martial arts heroes fight against the tyranny of dictator M. Bison and his cohorts.

5.8

1941

In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.

6.0

Vegas Vacation

The Griswold family hits the road again for a typically ill-fated vacation, this time to the glitzy mecca of slots and showgirls—Las Vegas.

6.3

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

When a Conservative TV crusader threatens to shut down beloved brothel The Chicken Ranch, proprietress Miss Mona Stangley and her girls won't go down without a fight.

4.5

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator and a research specialist free her from its grasp?

6.3

Father of the Bride Part II

Just when George Banks has recovered from his daughter's wedding, he receives the news that she's pregnant ... and that George's wife is expecting too. He was planning on selling their home, but that's a plan that—like George—will have to change with the arrival of both a grandchild and a kid of his own.

6.4

Baby Boom

J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in relationship with Steven, a successful investment broker who, along with J.C., agreed children aren't part of the plan. J.C.'s life takes an unexpected turn when a distant relative dies and the will appoints her the caretaker of their baby girl, Elizabeth. The baby's sudden arrival causes Steven to leave, breaking off their relationship. Juggling power lunches and powdered formula, she is soon forced off the fast track by a conniving colleague and a bigoted boss. But she won't stay down for long. She'll prove to the world that a woman can have it all and on her own terms too!

6.6

Chances Are

Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter.

6.3

Paint Your Wagon

A Michigan farmer and a prospector form a partnership in the California gold country. Their adventures include buying and sharing a wife, hijacking a stage, kidnapping six prostitutes, and turning their mining camp into a boom town. Along the way there is plenty of drinking, gambling, and singing. They even find time to do some creative gold mining.

4.9

The Island of Dr. Moreau

A plane crash surviving attorney stumbles upon a mysterious island and is shocked to discover that a brilliant scientist and his lab assistant have found a way to combine human and animal DNA—with horrific results.

6.6

Heaven Can Wait

Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.

6.3

The Freshman

After a film student gets his belongings stolen, he meets a mobster bearing a startling resemblance to a certain cinematic godfather. Soon, he finds himself caught up in a caper involving endangered species and fine dining.

5.9

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

After a freak accident, an invisible yuppie runs for his life from a treacherous CIA official while trying to cope with his new life.

6.2

Sharky's Machine

Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.

6.3

Rules of Engagement

A Marine Colonel is brought to court-martial after ordering his men to fire on demonstrators surrounding the American embassy in Yemen.