---
name: "Donald Peterman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/donald-peterman"
fi1m_id: "donald-peterman"
imdb_id: "nm0676286"
tmdb_id: 9614
wikidata_id: "Q1240233"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "2 January 1932"
died: "5 February 2011"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_over: 9
updated: "2026-10-04T18:54:25.371337+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Donald Peterman

## Identity

Donald Peterman

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/donald-peterman
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** donald-peterman
- **IMDb ID:** nm0676286
- **TMDB ID:** 9614
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1240233
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Peterman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1240233, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0676286/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9614

Cinematographer. Born 2 January 1932 in Los Angeles. Died 5 February 2011.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 2 January 1932, Los Angeles
- **Died:** 5 February 2011
- **Active:** 1983–2000
- **Also known as:** Don Peterman
- **Frequently works with:** [Barry Sonnenfeld](https://film.one/person/barry-sonnenfeld.md), [Ron Howard](https://film.one/person/ron-howard.md), [Brian Grazer](https://film.one/person/brian-grazer.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 72 (4), 1990s 81 (4), 2000s 54 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 73 to 68 across 8 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 6, Fantasy 3, Science Fiction 3, Action 2, Adventure 2, Crime 2
- **Screen time:** 16 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,672m across 9 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Peterman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1240233, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0676286/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9614

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Men in Black*](https://film.one/film/men-in-black.md) (82)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Get Shorty*](https://film.one/film/get-shorty.md) (82)
- **AMC+:** [*Point Break*](https://film.one/film/point-break.md) (82)
- **Disney+:** [*Splash*](https://film.one/film/splash.md) (80)
- **Apple TV:** [*Addams Family Values*](https://film.one/film/addams-family-values.md) (78)
- **Hulu:** [*Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home*](https://film.one/film/star-trek-iv-the-voyage-home.md) (78)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Flashdance*](https://film.one/film/flashdance.md) (54)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Donald Peterman, also credited as Don Peterman, was an American cinematographer. He was born in Los Angeles on 3 January 1932 and died in Palos Verdes Estates, California, on 5 February 2011. He began his career as a film loader at Hal Roach Studios and later worked in television commercials before becoming a director of photography on feature films.

His first feature credit as cinematographer was the 1979 horror film *When a Stranger Calls*. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography for *Flashdance* (1983) and *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986). Peterman was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers from 1984. Among his other credits are *Splash* (1984), *Cocoon* (1985), *Planes, Trains and Automobiles* (1987), *Point Break* (1991), *Addams Family Values* (1993), *Get Shorty* (1995), *Men in Black* (1997) and *How the Grinch Stole Christmas* (2000). He frequently collaborated with directors Ron Howard, Ron Underwood and Barry Sonnenfeld. He was married to Sally.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, latimes.com, dailybreeze.com.*

## On Fi1m (9)

- *How the Grinch Stole Christmas* (2000), Fi1m 54, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas.md)
- *Men in Black* (1997), Fi1m 82, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/men-in-black.md)
- *Get Shorty* (1995), Fi1m 82, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/get-shorty.md)
- *Addams Family Values* (1993), Fi1m 78, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/addams-family-values.md)
- *Point Break* (1991), Fi1m 82, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/point-break.md)
- *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986), Fi1m 78, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/star-trek-iv-the-voyage-home.md)
- *Cocoon* (1985), Fi1m 75, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/cocoon.md)
- *Splash* (1984), Fi1m 80, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/splash.md)
- *Flashdance* (1983), Fi1m 54, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/flashdance.md)

## Complete filmography (25)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *How the Grinch Stole Christmas* (2000), Director of Photography — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas.md)
- *Mighty Joe Young* (1998), Director of Photography
- *Men in Black* (1997), Director of Photography — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/men-in-black.md)
- *Get Shorty* (1995), Director of Photography — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/get-shorty.md)
- *Speechless* (1994), Cinematography
- *Addams Family Values* (1993), Director of Photography — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/addams-family-values.md)
- *Mr. Saturday Night* (1992), Director of Photography
- *Point Break* (1991), Director of Photography — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/point-break.md)
- *She's Out of Control* (1989), Director of Photography
- *She's Having a Baby* (1988), Director of Photography
- *Planes, Trains and Automobiles* (1987), Director of Photography
- *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986), Director of Photography — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/star-trek-iv-the-voyage-home.md)
- *Gung Ho* (1986), Director of Photography
- *American Flyers* (1985), Director of Photography
- *Cocoon* (1985), Director of Photography — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/cocoon.md)
- *Mass Appeal* (1984), Cinematography
- *Best Defense* (1984), Director of Photography
- *Splash* (1984), Director of Photography — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/splash.md)
- *Flashdance* (1983), Director of Photography — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/flashdance.md)
- *Kiss Me Goodbye* (1982), Director of Photography
- *Young Doctors in Love* (1982), Director of Photography
- *Rich and Famous* (1981), Director of Photography
- *King of the Mountain* (1981), Director of Photography
- *When a Stranger Calls* (1979), Director of Photography
- *Domo Arigato* (1973), Director of Photography

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1987: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home*
- 1984: Best Cinematography (nominated), for *Flashdance*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/donald-peterman