William A. Fraker

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^[5][6][7] or the U.S. Coast Guard^[8][9][10] 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.^[11][12][13]

Fraker was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography five times - Looking For Mr. Goodbar (1977), Heaven Can Wait (1978), 1941 (1979), WarGames (1983), and Murphy's Romance (1985). He was also nominated for Best Visual Effects for 1941.

In addition to cinematography, Fraker also served as director on 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]}

Fraker was a six-term President of the American Society of Cinematographers (1979, 1980, 1984, 1991, 1992).^[4]

Aged 86, Fraker died on May 31, 2010, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer.^[3] He was survived by his wife Denise. He was predeceased in 1992 by son, William A. Fraker Jr., an assistant cameraman.^[14]

A room at the American Society of Cinematographers' clubhouse is named in honor of Fraker.^[2]