Frank Lafayette "Del" Ankers (August 1, 1916 – May 15, 2008) was an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

and documentary

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

. His career, which spanned

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, lasted for more than 50 years. Ankers was known for his photographs of presidents of the United States ranging from

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. His other subjects included celebrities such as Grace Kelly, Soong Mei-ling, and Larry King. He also filmed

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for both

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and American

as a producer. Among his most famous work as a

and

were a series of shorts called '' Wilson's Meats Meeting'', which he shot for Jim Henson during the mid-1960s. The shorts, which were called '' Wilson's Meats Meeting Film#1'' (1965) and '' Wilson's Meats Meeting Film#2'' (1965), featured some of Henson's early Muppets. Ankers also appeared on camera as himself in ''Wilson's Meats Meeting Film #1''. He later shot Jim Henson's actual commercials for Wilson's Meats. Examples of Ankers work can presently be seen in the

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

of the Newseum and the National Cathedral, which are both located in Washington D.C. Del Ankers died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on May 15, 2008, at the age of 91 at his home in Great Falls, Virginia. He was survived by his wife, Maria Elizabeth Freire.

References

External links

*
Cinematical: RIP: Reel Important People -- May 27, 2008: Del Ankers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankers, Del 1916 births 2008 deaths American cinematographers 20th-century American photographers The Jim Henson Company people People from Great Falls, Virginia Television producers from Virginia