Ralf D. Bode(1941-2001)

American cinematographer, originally from Germany. At fourteen, Bode came to the United States, where he was schooled at the University of Vermont. An avid photographer, he taught combat photography and made training films while serving with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Following his military service, he made a brief foray into acting in the New York theatre, then studied directing as a graduate student at the Yale Drama School. He began landing commercial cinematography jobs in the early Seventies, graduating to independent features in 1974. A second-unit job shooting the Philadelphia Museum of Art-steps sequence in _Rocky (1976)_ led to his first studio feature, Saturday Night Fever (1977). Thereafter he was in great demand for A-features. He shot several films for director Jonathan Kaplan. He also filmed several television adaptations of Broadway plays, winning an Emmy nomination for Annie (1999). He taught cinematography at the Los Angeles Film School. Though Bode was a non-smoker, he contracted lung cancer and died at 59 in 2001.