Person · Cinematographer

Thomas E. Ackerman

Born

September 14, 1948

From

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

Also:
Camera Department
Assistant Director

Credits on file

Decades active

In short · Shooting since 1979, 5 decades active, 40 credits.

Known for

Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.

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Biography

Thomas Ackerman, born on 14 September 1948 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, attended the University of Iowa, where he studied cinema. While there, he was employed to shoot football games and training films for the university's School of Dentistry. In 1968, he began working for Oscar-winning filmmaker Charles Guggenheim, who became his mentor. After serving in the US Air Force, Ackerman returned to work with Guggenheim in Washington, DC. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1973, where he reconnected with his Air Force acquaintance Mike Robe and was hired as a camera operator on several Hollywood films, including Francis Ford Coppola's *One from the Heart* (1981). Ackerman served as director of photography for *Beetlejuice* (1988), directed by Tim Burton, for whom he had previously worked on *Frankenweenie* (1984). In addition to cinematography, he has also worked as a second-unit director, including on *Alvin and the Chipmunks* (2007) and *Furry Vengeance* (2010).

Filmography · 40 of 40

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