Ralf Bode; Cinematographer Noted for Capturing Emotion in Movies
Ralf D. Bode, a cinematographer who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and who was known for capturing mood and emotion as well as place, has died. He was 59.
Bode, said by his family to have been a nonsmoker, died of lung cancer Feb. 27 in his Santa Monica home.
At the beginning of Bode’s career, working as a second unit photographer, he won praise for scenes he shot of Sylvester Stallone running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the 1976 “Rocky.”
The following year, Bode photographed his breakthrough feature film, “Saturday Night Fever,” memorably capturing the heated dance floor scenes featuring the young John Travolta.
Among about 40 feature films he photographed were “Dressed to Kill,” “Gorky Park,” “The Accused,” “Bring On the Night,” “Cousins,” “Made in America” and “Love Field.”
Bode also worked extensively in television, earning an Emmy nomination for the ABC and Disney production of “Annie” in 1999. He also handled cinematography for the Bette Midler television version of “Gypsy” and Jessica Lange’s “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Born in Germany, Bode immigrated to the United States when he was 14. He graduated from the University of Vermont and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, making films and teaching combat photography.
After working as an actor in several off-Broadway productions, Bode went to Yale Drama School for graduate study in directing.
He began his behind-the-scenes work in commercials and independent films, and photographed his first motion pictures in 1974--”Foreplay,” “Saturday Night at the Baths” and “There Is No 13.”
Last year, Bode taught at the Los Angeles Film School, which has named its annual student award for cinematography in his honor.
Bode is survived by his wife, Christine; two sons, Paul and Max; and a brother, Peer.
The family has asked that memorial donations be made to the City of Hope’s West Los Angeles Cancer Center, Attn. Jennifer Johnson, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010.
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