Fred J. Koenekamp

Frederick James Koenekamp, A.S.C. (November 11, 1922 – May 31, 2017) was an American cinematographer. He was the son of cinematographer Hans F. Koenekamp.Koenekamp worked in television and feature films from the 1960s, earning two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He was nominated for an Oscar for Patton (1970) and Islands in the Stream (1977) and won the Oscar for The Towering Inferno (1974), along with Joseph Biroc. Other films shot by Koenekamp include Papillon (1973), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), The Swarm (1978) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984). He was a frequent collaborator of director Franklin J. Schaffner.

Fred J. Koenekamp was the son of American cinematographer H. F. Koenekamp, ASC. Hans was the cameraman of Mack Sennett and his career worked with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson and the Keystone Cops. Hans would later receive the ASC Presidents Award in 1991. On occasion, as a young boy, Fred would go with his father on the weekends to visit the studios which he worked in. He took particular interest in the Camera and Special Effects Department at Warner Bros.Despite this background in film, Koenekamp developed a much greater interest in aviation and enrolled in the commercial aviation program at the University of Southern California. When World War II broke out, Koenekamp enlisted in the Navy and served in the South Pacific for three and a half years. Koenekamp would resume his education after the end of the war.