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László Kovács
László Kovács.jpg
Kovács in 2006
Born (1933-05-14)14 May 1933
Cece, Hungary
Died 22 July 2007(2007-07-22) (aged 74)
Nationality Hungarian-American
Occupation Cinematographer
Years active 1964–2007
Spouse(s) Audrey (1984-2007) (his death) (2 children)
Children Julianna and Nadia

László Kovács ASC (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈkovaːt͡ʃ ˈlaːsloː]; 14 May 1933 – 22 July 2007) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer who was influential in the development of American New Wave films in the 1970s, collaborating with directors including Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Rush, Dennis Hopper, Norman Jewison, and Martin Scorsese. Known for his work on Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970), Kovács was the recipient of numerous awards, including three Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was an active member of the American Society of Cinematographers and was a member of the organization's board of directors.

Early life

Born in Cece, Hungary, to Julianna and Imre Kovács, Kovács studied cinema at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest between 1952 and 1956. Together with Vilmos Zsigmond, a fellow student and lifelong friend, Kovács secretly filmed the day-to-day development of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 on black and white 35 mm movie film, using an Arriflex camera borrowed from their school. In November that year, they smuggled the 30,000 feet (9,100 m) of film into Austria to have it developed, and they arrived in the United States in March 1957 to sell the footage. By that time, however, the revolution was no longer considered newsworthy and it was not until some years later, in 1961, that it was screened on the CBS television network, in a documentary narrated by Walter Cronkite.

Kovács decided to settle in the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1963. He worked at several manual labor jobs, including making maple syrup and printing microfilm documents in an insurance office, before making several "no-budget" and "low-budget" films with Vilmos Zsigmond, including The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. At the time Kovács would be credited as Leslie Kovacs and Zsigmond as William Zsigmond.

Film career

Kovács' breakthrough came with the 1969 film Easy Rider, starring and directed by Dennis Hopper. Kovács was reluctant to work on this film at first, having already worked on a number of B movie biker films, such as Hells Angels on Wheels. Hopper ultimately convinced Kovács that this film would be different and Kovács signed on as the film's director of photography. He earned second place for the Best Cinematographer Golden Laurel at the 1970 Laurel Awards. In 1970, he again worked with Hopper on the film The Last Movie. That same year, Kovács filmed Five Easy Pieces, for which he received the third place Golden Laurel for Best Cinematographer.

Kovács filmed more than 70 motion pictures. Among these were six films for director Peter Bogdanovich: Targets, What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, At Long Last Love, Nickelodeon, and Mask. Bogdanovich worked with Kovács more times than any other cinematographer.

Other notable films Kovács photographed include For Pete's Sake, Shampoo, New York, New York, Ghostbusters, Ruby Cairo, Say Anything..., Radio Flyer, My Best Friend's Wedding, and Miss Congeniality. He also did additional photography on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Last Waltz.

When working on The Last Waltz, camera operators were instructed to turn their cameras off at different intervals, in order to save battery life. One of these instances was during Muddy Waters' set, but Waters' outstanding performance led director Martin Scorsese to spontaneously change his mind, and ordered all cameras to be turned on. Because the cameras took several minutes to fully warm up, most caught only the last few bars of Waters' performance. Kovács, however, either did not hear or disregarded orders to shut down his camera, and was the only cameraman on set who managed to film Waters' entire performance.

Kovács' final work appears in Torn from the Flag, a 2006 feature documentary about the 1956 Hungarian Revolution which incorporates original footage he and Zsigmond shot as film students before fleeing to the United States.

Personal life

On July 22, 2007, Kovács died at his home in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 74. At the time of his death, Kovács had been married for 23 years to his wife, Audrey. He had two daughters, Julianna and Nadia, and a granddaughter, Mia.

Awards and honors

In 1995 he was a member of the jury at the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.

Kovács was honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards from Camerimage (1998), WorldFest (1999), and the American Society of Cinematographers (2002). The Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC is the organization's highest honor. In addition, Kovács received an Excellence in Cinematography Award from the 1999 Hawaii International Film Festival and a Hollywood Film Award at the 2001 Hollywood Film Festival.

The American Society of Cinematographers dedicated the 2008 Heritage Award for top student filmmakers in memory of Kovács.

The 2008 documentary film No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos explores the 50-year friendship between Kovács and Zsigmond and their influence on filmmaking. Film critic Leonard Maltin said that, without Kovács and fellow cinematographer Zsigmond, "the American New Wave of the late 1960s and early '70s wouldn’t have flowered as it did."

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director Notes
1964 Kiss Me Quick! Peter Perry as Lester Kovacs
1965 The Wonderful World of Girls as Art Radford
1966 Single Room Furnished Matt Cimber as Leslie Kovacs
A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine Byron Mabe as Art Radford
The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill Peter Perry
1967 Hells Angels on Wheels Richard Rush
1968 A Man Called Dagger Richard Rush
The Savage Seven
Psych-Out
Targets Peter Bogdanovich
Mantis in Lace William Rotsler as Leslie Kovacs
1969 Mark of the Gun Wally and Walter Campos
Blood of Dracula's Castle Al Adamson
Jean Hewitt
Easy Rider Dennis Hopper Golden Laurel Award for Best Cinematography
That Cold Day in the Park Robert Altman
1970 The Rebel Rousers Martin B. Cohen
Getting Straight Richard Rush
Five Easy Pieces Bob Rafelson Golden Laurel Award for Best Cinematography
Alex in Wonderland Paul Mazursky
1971 The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker Lawrence Turman
The Last Movie Dennis Hopper
1972 What's Up, Doc? Peter Bogdanovich
The King of Marvin Gardens Bob Rafelson
A Reflection of Fear William A. Fraker
1973 Steelyard Blues Alan Myerson With Stevan Larner
Slither Howard Zieff
Paper Moon Peter Bogdanovich
1974 Huckleberry Finn J. Lee Thompson
For Pete's Sake Peter Yates
Freebie and the Bean Richard Rush
1975 Shampoo Hal Ashby
At Long Last Love Peter Bogdanovich
1976 Baby Blue Marine John D. Hancock
Harry and Walter Go to New York Mark Rydell
Nickelodeon Peter Bogdanovich
1977 New York, New York Martin Scorsese
1978 F.I.S.T. Norman Jewison
Paradise Alley Sylvester Stallone
1979 Butch and Sundance: The Early Days Richard Lester
The Runner Stumbles Stanley Kramer
1980 Heart Beat John Byrum
Inside Moves Richard Donner
1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger William A. Fraker
1982 Frances Graeme Clifford
The Toy Richard Donner
1984 Crackers Louis Malle
Ghostbusters Ivan Reitman
1985 Mask Peter Bogdanovich
1986 Legal Eagles Ivan Reitman
1988 Little Nikita Richard Benjamin
1989 Say Anything... Cameron Crowe
1991 Shattered Wolfgang Petersen
1992 Radio Flyer Richard Donner
Ruby Cairo Graeme Clifford
1994 The Next Karate Kid Christopher Cain
The Scout Michael Ritchie
1995 Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home Dwight H. Little
Copycat Jon Amiel
1996 Multiplicity Harold Ramis
1997 My Best Friend's Wedding P. J. Hogan
1998 Jack Frost Troy Miller
2000 Return to Me Bonnie Hunt
Miss Congeniality Donald Petrie
2002 Two Weeks Notice Marc Lawrence

Documentary works

Year Title Director Notes
1965 National Geographic Specials Documentary series
The March of Time
1967 Mondo Mod Peter Perry
1971 Directed by John Ford Peter Bogdanovich
2007 Torn from the Flag Endre Hules
Klaudia Kovacs
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