Bernie Abramson (3 November 1923–14 August 2010; age 86) was an American photographer and cinematographer who was the Second Unit Director of Photography on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He did not receive on-screen credit for his work.
Abramson was born in Los Angeles, California, and began studying photography in junior high school. In 1942, he joined the United States Navy as an aerial cameraman. He received several decorations for his photographs after they assisted the Navy in destroying hundreds of Japanese ships and aircraft. In 1945, Abramson's plane was shot down and he spent two and a half days in the ocean before being rescued.
After World War II ended, Abramson became a photographer in the motion picture industry. He served as a still photographer on many films over the years, one of which was the original Ocean's Eleven (1960). While working on this film, Abramson became a favorite of the film's stars (collectively known as the Rat Pack) and was subsequently invited to attend and photograph their private functions.
Another film Abramson worked on was West Side Story (1961), co-directed by Robert Wise, who later directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Later, Abramson worked on Deathwatch (1969, co-starring Leonard Nimoy and featuring Star Trek: The Original Series guest actor Michael Forest, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home actor and Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star Robert Ellenstein).
Among the other films on which Abramson served as still photographer were Some Like It Hot (1959, co-starring Nehemiah Persoff), Cleopatra (1963, featuring John Hoyt), The War Wagon (1967, featuring Robert Walker), In Cold Blood (1967, co-starring Jeff Corey and John McLiam), The Wild Bunch (1969, with music by Jerry Fielding), Which Way to the Front? (1970, featuring George Takei), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Dirty Harry (1971, co-starring Jeffrey Combs), THX 1138 (1971, featuring Sid Haig and Ian Wolfe), and The Omega Man (1971, starring Anthony Zerbe).
In 1972, Abramson gave up still photography and became a cinematographer. He was a Director of Photography on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids during the show's early years, after which he directed photography on such films as Pony Express Rider (1975), Mickey and Nicky (1976), Biker's Hawk (1976), and It Happened at Lakewood Manor (1977, directed by Robert Scheerer and starring Robert Foxworth). (Bernie Casey and Bruce French also had roles in the movie.) He also directed second unit photography for several films besides Star Trek, including McQ (1974, starring Diana Muldaur) and All the President's Men (1976, featuring Stephen Collins, F. Murray Abraham, Nicolas Coster, Gene Dynarski, Richard Herd, and Paul Lambert).
Later in his career, Abramson was a cinematographer on War and Remembrance (1988) and on such films as Ghost Rock (2004), which co-starred Adrienne Barbeau and Craig Wasson. Abramson died in California on 14 August 2010, at the age of 86. [1] [2]