William A. Fraker

William Ashman Fraker, A.S.C., B.S.C. (September 29, 1923 – May 31, 2010) was a cinematographer, film director, and producer. He has been 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. Fraker graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1950.

Fraker was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of a Hollywood studio photographer. 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).

He directed three theatrical films, Monte Walsh (1970), A Reflection of Fear (1971), and The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), as well as several television films and series.

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.

Academy Awards

• Nominee Best Cinematography - Murphy's Romance (1985)
• Nominee Best Cinematography - WarGames (1983)
• Nominee Best Cinematography - 1941 (1979)
• Nominee Best Visual Effects - 1941 (1979) (also nominated - A.D. Flowers, Gregory Jein)
• Nominee Best Cinematography - Heaven Can Wait (1978)
• Nominee Best Cinematography - Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

BAFTA

• Nominee Best Visual Effects - WarGames (1983) (also nominated - Michael Fink, Joe Digeatano, Jack Cooperman, Don Hansard, Colin Cantwell)
• Nominee Best Cinematography - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (also nominated - Haskell Wexler, Bill Butler)
• Nominee Best Cinematography - Bullitt (1968)

American Society of Cinematographers

• Winner Lifetime Achievement Award (2000)

Camerimage

• Winner Lifetime Achievement Award (2003)

National Society of Film Critics

• Winner Best Cinematography - Bullitt (1968)

• Waking Up in Reno (2002)
• Town & Country (2001)
• Rules of Engagement (2000)
• Vegas Vacation (1997)
• The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
• Father of the Bride Part II (1995)
• Street Fighter (1994)
• There Goes My Baby (1994)
• Tombstone (1993)
• Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)
• Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
• The Freshman (1990)
• An Innocent Man (1989)
• Chances Are (1989)
• Baby Boom (1987)
• Burglar (1987)
• SpaceCamp (1986)
• Murphy's Romance (1985)
• Fever Pitch (1985)
• Protocol (1984)
• Irreconcilable Differences (1984)
• WarGames (1983)
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
• Sharky's Machine (1981)
• Divine Madness (1980) (documentary)
• The Hollywood Knights (1980)
• 1941 (1979)
• Old Boyfriends (1979)
• Heaven Can Wait (1978)
• American Hot Wax (1978)
• Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
• Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• The Killer Inside Me (1976)
• Gator (1976)
• Coonskin (1975)
• Aloha Bobby and Rose (1975)
• Rancho Deluxe (1975)
• Fritz Lang Interviewed by William Friedkin (1974) (documentary)
• The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
• Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971)
• Paint Your Wagon (1969)
• Bullitt (1968)
• Rosemary's Baby (1968)
• The President's Analyst (1967)
• The Fox (1967)
• Games (1967)
• Incubus (1966) (uncredited)
• Forbid Them Not (1961)