---
name: "Douglas Knapp"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/douglas-knapp"
fi1m_id: "douglas-knapp"
imdb_id: "nm0460475"
tmdb_id: 25194
wikidata_id: "Q84607168"
roles: ["Camera operator"]
born: "5 August 1949"
died: "3 February 2020"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-06T18:23:26.614446+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."
---

# Douglas Knapp

## Identity

Douglas Knapp

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/douglas-knapp
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** douglas-knapp
- **IMDb ID:** nm0460475
- **TMDB ID:** 25194
- **Wikidata ID:** Q84607168
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Knapp, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q84607168, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0460475/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25194

Camera operator. Born 5 August 1949 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Died 3 February 2020.

## Details

- **Work:** Camera operator
- **Born:** 5 August 1949, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- **Died:** 3 February 2020
- **Active:** 1973–1988
- **Also known as:** Doug Knapp
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 80 (2), 1980s 78 (2)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 3, Crime 1, Drama 1, Fantasy 1, Romance 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $176m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Knapp, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q84607168, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0460475/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25194

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Dark Star*](https://film.one/film/dark-star.md) (68)

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

## Biography

Douglas Knapp was an American cinematographer and camera operator. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1972, where he studied alongside John Carpenter.

Knapp served as cinematographer on Carpenter’s *Dark Star* (1974) and *Assault on Precinct 13* (1976). He worked as camera operator on Carpenter’s *Escape from New York* (1981) and on Tim Burton films including *Frankenweenie* (1984) and *Beetlejuice* (1988), as well as *Back to School* (1986), *Coming to America* (1988), *National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation* (1989) and *Driving Miss Daisy* (1992). His television credits include extensive work on *Star Trek: Voyager* and *Star Trek: Enterprise*.

Knapp received the President’s Award from the Society of Camera Operators in 1994. He taught cinematography at the Los Angeles Film School and West Los Angeles College. He died in 2020.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Beetlejuice* (1988), Fi1m 83, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice.md)
- *Back to School* (1986), Fi1m 72, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/back-to-school.md)
- *Dark Star* (1974), Fi1m 68, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/dark-star.md)
- *Badlands* (1973), Fi1m 91, Best Boy Grip — [page](https://film.one/film/badlands.md)

## Complete filmography (17)

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

- *Star Trek: Enterprise - In a Mirror, Darkly* (2014), Director of Photography
- *Star Trek: Enterprise* (2001), series, Director of Photography
- *Star Trek: Voyager* (1995), series, Director of Photography
- *National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation* (1989), Camera Operator
- *Skin Deep* (1989), Camera Operator
- *Beetlejuice* (1988), Camera Operator — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice.md)
- *Back to School* (1986), Camera Operator — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/back-to-school.md)
- *Buck Rogers in the 25th Century* (1979), series, Camera Operator
- *Battlestar Galactica* (1978), series, Camera Operator
- *Assault on Precinct 13* (1976), Director of Photography
- *The First Nudie Musical* (1976), Director of Photography
- *Joy Ride: An Auto Theft* (1976), Cinematography
- *Dark Star* (1974), Director of Photography — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/dark-star.md)
- *Badlands* (1973), Best Boy Grip — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/badlands.md)
- *The All-American Girl* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Directed by John Ford* (1971), Camera Operator, Director of Photography
- *The Love Garden* (1971), Director of Photography

---
© 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/douglas-knapp