Kramer Morgenthau

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Kramer Morgenthau
Born (1966-06-06) June 6, 1966 (age 57)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1990–present
Spouse
Tracy Fleischman
(m. 2011)
Children2
Parents
Family

Kramer Morgenthau, A.S.C. (born June 6, 1966), is an American cinematographer known for his expertise as a visual storyteller in both television and film. The six-time Emmy nominee was director of photography for television projects such as HBO's Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and Fahrenheit 451.[1] He is also widely known for his work in films such as Respect,[2] The Many Saints of Newark,[3] Creed II and Thor: The Dark World. He is a member of both the Morgenthau family and the Lehman family.

Biography[edit]

Morgenthau's early career began in New York as a documentary filmmaker, which led to shooting Oscar-winner Allan Miller's Academy Award-nominated film, Small Wonders as well as Sundance Festival feature film, Joe & Joe, which began his years as a festival fixture, shooting seven more features and documentaries that played there. Initially, he was artistically inspired by his family and unique childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  His father, Henry Morgenthau III,[4] was a producer of documentaries for the flagship PBS station, WGBH-TV, in Boston and his mother, Ruth,[5] was a Polish Jewish refugee of WWII Vienna, African politics professor and trusted advisor to three American Presidents. It is through them that Morgenthau was first exposed to the importance and influence of film on culture, politics, art and rural development with the family's extensive travel and various documentary location shoots around the globe.

His great-great-grandfather was businessman Mayer Lehman. He has one brother, Henry "Ben" Morgenthau and one sister, Sarah Elinor Morgenthau Wessel.[6] His grandfather was Henry Morgenthau Jr., the U.S. Treasury secretary during the Roosevelt administration. His great-grandfather, Henry Morgenthau, was the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I; his uncle is Robert M. Morgenthau, Manhattan district attorney for 35 years.

Morgenthau is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Society of Cinematographers, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the International Cinematographers Guild. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and twin children.

Filmography[edit]

Short films[edit]

Year Title Director Notes
1994 The Deflowering Alyce Wittenstein With Carlo Scialla
1995 Victor Freddy Vargas
Union Jonathan Yudis

Feature films[edit]

Year Title Director Notes
1995 Give a Damn Again Adam Isidore With Robert Levi and Maryse Alberti
Multiple Futures Alyce Wittenstein With Richard E. Brooks
1996 Joe & Joe David Wall
1997 Dogtown George Hickenlooper
Destination Unknow Nestor Miranda
1998 Bombay Boys Kaizad Gustad
Welcome to Hollywood Tony Markes
Adam Rifkin
With Rob Bennett, Nick Mendoz and Howard Wexler
1999 The Big Brass Ring George Hickenlooper
Wirey Spindell Eric Schaeffer
Pigeonholder Michael Swanhaus
The Woman Chaser Robinson Devor
2000 Cowboys and Angels Gregory C. Haynes
2001 Green Dragon Timothy Linh Bui
The Man from Elysian Fields George Hickenlooper
2002 Empire Franc. Reyes
2003 Dreaming of Julia Juan Gerard
2004 Godsend Nick Hamm
2005 Havoc Barbara Kopple
2007 Full of It Christian Charles
Fracture Gregory Hoblit
Feast of Love Robert Benton
2008 The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Gary Fleder
2012 The Factory Morgan O'Neill
2013 Thor: The Dark World Alan Taylor
2014 Chef Jon Favreau
2015 Terminator Genisys Alan Taylor
2017 Rebel in the Rye Danny Strong
2018 The Darkest Minds Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Creed II Steven Caple Jr.
2021 Waiting for Godot Scott Elliot
Respect Liesl Tommy
The Many Saints of Newark Alan Taylor
2022 Spirited Sean Anders
2023 Creed III Michael B. Jordan
2025 Captain America: Brave New World Julius Onah Post-production

Television[edit]

Year Title Director Notes
1998 Itzhak Perlman: Fiddling for the Future Allan Miller TV special
2005 Blind Justice Gary Fleder Episode "Pilot"
Over There Also directed episode "Orphans"
2006 The Evidence Gary Fleder Episode "Pilot"
Saved Darnell Martin Episode "A Day in the Life"
2008 Life on Mars Gary Fleder Episode "Out Here in the Fields"
2009 FlashForward David S. Goyer Episode "No More Good Days"
2010 Boardwalk Empire Jeremy Podeswa
Tim Van Patten
Brian Kirk
Simon Cellan Jones
Episodes "Anastasia, "Family Limitation", "Hold Me in Paradise",
"The Emerald City" and "A Return to Normalcy"
2011 The Playboy Club Alan Taylor Episode "Pilot"
2012 Game of Thrones Episodes "The North Remembers" and "The Night Lands"
Vegas James Mangold Episode "Pilot"
2013 Sleepy Hollow Len Wiseman Episode "Pilot"
2017 The Orville Jon Favreau Episode "Pilot"

Television films

Year Title Director
1999 The Caseys Michael Steinberg
2002 Untitled Paul Simms pilot Timothy Van Patten
2004 The Five People You Meet in Heaven Lloyd Kramer
2011 Too Big to Fail Curtis Hanson
2018 Fahrenheit 451 Ramin Bahrani
2019 American Son Kenny Leon

Documentary works[edit]

Film

Year Title Director Notes
1995 Synthetic Pleasures Iara Lee With Marcus Hahn Toshifumi Furusawa
Small Wonders Allan Miller
Varga Girl Wolfgang Hastert
1999 Music Bridges Over Troubled Waters Marc Cadieux
2003 Mayor of the Sunset Strip George Hickenlooper With Igor Meglic
2004 Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family Susan Kaplan With Sarah Cawley, Samuel M. Henriques and Don Lenzer
A Different Kind of Blue Murray Lerner

Short film

Year Title Director
1997 Monte Hellman: American Auteur George Hickenlooper
The Big Brass Ring

TV series

Year Title Director Notes
1990 Real Sex
1999 American Masters Joshua Waletsky Episode "Dashiel Hammett"

TV movies

Year Title Director Notes
1998 Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof David M. Thompson
The Art of Influence Deborah Dickson
Roberto Guerra
With Russell Lee Fine, Wolfgang Held and Frédéric Labourasse
2002 Shirtless: Hollywood's Sexiest Men Elizabeth Meeker
2004 The Seinfeld Story Morgan Sackett

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Burn After Reading: Fahrenheit 451". American Cinematographer.
  2. ^ "Different Times". Panavision.
  3. ^ "Returning to the World of 'The Sopranos'". Variety. October 2021.
  4. ^ "Henry Morgenthau III obituary". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (12 November 2006). "Ruth S. Morgenthau obituary". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Morgenthau Family Tree Archived 2015-12-20 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved October 3, 2015.

External links[edit]