---
name: "Vilis Lapenieks"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/vilis-lapenieks"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "10 November 1931"
died: "3 July 1987"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:49:21.650301+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."
---

# Vilis Lapenieks

Cinematographer. Born 10 November 1931 in Riga, Latvia. Died 3 July 1987.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 10 November 1931, Riga, Latvia
- **Died:** 3 July 1987
- **Also known as:** Vilis Lapeneicks, Denny Lavil

## 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 *M*A*S*H*, *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.

*Sources: imdb.com, de.wikipedia.org, televisionacademy.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Kojak* (1973), Fi1m 80, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)

## Also known for

- *Capone* (1975), Director of Photography
- *Night Tide* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Eegah* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Queen of Blood* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Cisco Pike* (1972), 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/vilis-lapenieks