Biography
Vilis Lapenieks was a Latvian-born cinematographer who worked primarily in American film and television. Born in Riga on 10 November 1931, he was the son of film director Vilis Janis Lapenieks. After emigrating to the United States he studied film at the University of Southern California and later assisted cinematographer James Wong Howe.
Lapenieks served as director of photography on numerous low-budget features including Night Tide (1961), Eegah (1962), Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965), Queen of Blood (1966) and Capone (1975). His television credits encompassed episodes of MASH, Toma and nine episodes of Kojak (1973). He received a Primetime Emmy nomination in 1975 for outstanding cinematography for a series for his work on Kojak*, shared with Sol Negrin. He was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers and also worked under the pseudonym Denny Lavil. Lapenieks died in North Hollywood, California, on 3 July 1987.
