Victor J. Kemper Dies: Former ASC President & Cinematographer On ‘Dog Day Afternoon,’ ‘Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,’ ‘And Justice For All’ Was 96

Victor J. Kemper, the former president of the American Society of Cinematographers whose career spanned four decades and included films as diverse as Dog Day Afternoon and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, has died according to the ASC. He was 96.

Kemper made films with many of the greats of ’70s cinema, including John Cassavetes, Arthur Hiller, Michael Ritchie, Peter Yates, Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Robert Wise, Carl Reiner, Richard Attenborough and Norman Jewison.

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His very first film was Cassavetes’ Husbands, and it was an education in itself.

“We shot more than a million-and-a-half feet of film during 10 weeks in New York and 12 weeks in London,” Kemper recalled. “That’s the way Cassavetes worked.”

He went on to make Mikey & Nicky with the director.

Subsequent work included The Candidate, And Justice for All, Audrey Rose, Slap Shot, Oh God!, The Gambler, The Jerk, The Four Seasons, Coma, Mr. Mom, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Magic, Eyes of Laura Mars, Author! Author!, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Tommy Boy, Beethoven and Jingle All the Way.

Assessing his wide-ranging career, Kemper said he found comedy much more difficult to shoot than drama.

“Timing is essential,” he said. “The reactions of people in the cast, the scenery and environment are all part of every joke. Everyone in the cast has to be looking in the right place at the right time, and responding flawlessly. That requires rehearsals, but if you over-prepare, the humor loses its edge and it’s not funny any more.”

In honor of his career, the American Society of Cinematographers named Kemper the recipient of its 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Earlier today, the society remembered him with a post to social media, which read in part, “We were very sorry to learn last night that former Society president Victor J. Kemper, ASC has passed away.”

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