Biography
Thomas E. Ackerman is an American cinematographer. Born on 14 September 1948 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he studied at the University of Iowa and later worked for documentary filmmaker Charles Guggenheim. He served in the US Air Force before moving to Los Angeles in 1973, where he began as a camera operator on feature films.
Ackerman's credits as director of photography include Beetlejuice (1988), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Jumanji (1995), George of the Jungle (1997), Rat Race (2001) and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004). He has also worked as a second-unit director on several films. Since 2009 he has taught at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
