Person Details

Birthday: 1941-04-03 00:58:18

Death: 1984-07-07 00:58:18

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Male

Place of birth: New Castle, Pennsylvania

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 2

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

Biography

Carl Ronald Boenish (April 3, 1941 – July 7, 1984), considered the father of modern BASE jumping, was an American freefall cinematographer, who in 1978 filmed the first jumps from El Capitan using ram-air parachutes. These jumps were repeated, not as a publicity exercise or as a movie stunt, but as part of the development of a recurring recreational activity. This approach defined modern BASE jumping. These were the jumps that popularized BASE jumping more widely among parachutists, likely because Boenish filmed them and presented the footage exceptionally well. Boenish also published BASE Magazine to promote safety in this new sport. Boenish's cinematography work included the 1969 John Frankenheimer parachuting film classic The Gypsy Moths, starring Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman, and a National Geographic Explorer segment on jumps from El Capitan. His life and death is the subject of the 2015 documentary film, Sunshine Superman.

Most Famous Work

The Gypsy Moths
Average
6

The Gypsy Moths

(1969) Aerial Camera

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2015 Himself
1969 Self
Year Character Movie/Tv

Camera

Year Role Movie/Tv
1969 Aerial Camera
Year Role Movie/Tv

Join the discussion

Please Log in to comment