László Kovács was born on May 14, 1933 in Cece, Hungary. He is known for his work on Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Ghostbusters (1984) and Copycat (1995). He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC in 2002.

Kovács’ ride to Hollywood was anything but easy. In 1956, during an uprising against Hungary’s Communist regime, he and Zsigmond risked their lives to shoot footage of the chaotic events. After they smuggled the film out of the country, portions of the footage were later used in a documentary. Kovács moved to the U.S. in 1957, despite the fact that he spoke no English. After settling briefly in New Jersey, he moved to Seattle. In 1959, he boarded a bus to Los Angeles, where he reunited with Zsigmond. During the 1960s, the duo honed their skills on a string of low-budget exploitation films, many of which were produced by B-movie king Roger Corman.

Kovács put his early experiences to great use on Easy Rider (1969), which showcased his considerable skill as a camera operator. He became renowned as one of the finest handheld shooters, demonstrating time and again his unerring eye for improvisational compositions rich with emotional subtext. He also became adept at filming with a zoom lens from a moving vehicle, a skill that lent dynamic energy to Easy Rider’s motorcycle sequences and left a lasting impression on director Dennis Hopper. “László is the greatest telephoto lens operator in the world,” Hopper told AC. “All of the shots using the telephoto on the rides are pure Laszlo magic.”

“He will be with us forever through his films and our collective memory. God bless László Kovács!”

— Dennis Hopper