Michael Ballhaus: German cinematographer

(5 August 1935 – 11 April 2017) was a German cinematographer.

Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C.
Ballhaus in Berlin in 2010
Born	(1935-08-05)5 August 1935 Berlin, Germany
Died	11 April 2017(2017-04-11) (aged 81) Berlin, Germany
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1959–2013
Spouse(s)	Helga Maria Betten Ballhaus (1958–2006) (her death) Sherry Hormann (2011–2017;his death)
Children	Sebastian Ballhaus Florian Ballhaus

When his career began, Ballhaus became known for his works with Rainer Werner Fassbinder beginning with Whity (1971) and, including The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Chinese Roulette (1976) and The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978).

After settling in the United States, he worked on many American movies, including Baby It's You (1983), Old Enough (1984), After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Air Force One (1997), Gangs of New York (2002) and The Departed (2006). He is also known for his works in Dracula (1992) and Sleepers (1996).

Ballhaus was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, for Broadcast News (1987), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), and Gangs of New York (2002), but never won. However, he did win the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography for Goodfellas.

Ballhaus died on 11 April 2017 in Berlin, aged 81.