Carl Boenish
{{Short description|American BASE jumper}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Carl Boenish
| image = Boenish Trollevggen 1984 n2 crop.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Carl Boenish after successful jump from Trollveggen in 1984 the day before his death.
| birth_name = Carl Ronald Boenish
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1941|04|03}}
| birth_place = New Castle, Pennsylvania, United StatesU.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936-2007
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|mf=yes|1984|07|07|43}}
| death_place = Trolltindane range in Rauma Municipality, Møre og Romsdal, Norway
| parents =
| spouse =Jean Boenish (December 30, 1979 – July 7, 1984; his death)
| occupation = Cinematographer
| years_active =
|
}}
Carl Ronald Boenish ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|eɪ|n|ɪ|ʃ}} {{Respell|BAY|nish}};{{Cite web |date=20 March 2015 |title=Sunshine Superman Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Carl Boenish Documentary HD |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuLeyND1OMA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/GuLeyND1OMA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=1 October 2020 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} April 3, 1941 – July 7, 1984), considered the father of modern BASE jumping,{{Citation |last=Suddath |first=Claire |title=A Brief History of BASE Jumping |date=October 18, 2008 |work=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1851418,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021080903/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1851418,00.html |archive-date=October 21, 2008 |url-status=dead}} was an American freefall cinematographer, who in 1978 filmed the first jumps from El Capitan using ram-air parachutes.
Biography
Boenish repeated his jumps, not as a publicity exercise or as a movie stunt, but as part of the development and popularization of BASE jumping as recreational activity, distinct from other disciplines of parachuting. This approach defined the modern sport of BASE jumping. Boenish helped popularize this sport by filming and presenting the footage. Boenish also published BASE Magazine to promote safety in this new sport.{{Cite news |last=Di Giovanni |first=Nick |title=BASE Jumping History |url=http://www.basicresearch.com/base_history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128115533/http://www.basicresearch.com/base_history.htm |archive-date=2007-01-28 |access-date=2007-02-05}}
Boenish's cinematography work included the 1969 John Frankenheimer parachuting film classic The Gypsy Moths, starring Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman, and a National Geographic Explorer segment on jumps from El Capitan.
His life and death is the subject of the 2015 documentary film by Marah Strauch, Sunshine Superman.[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sunshine-superman-2015 Rogerebert.com] Boenish was a Christian Scientist and had an improperly-set broken leg that hampered his walk.{{Cite web |date=20 May 2015 |title=BASE-Jumping Doc Sunshine Superman Plunges You From Cliffs and Skyscrapers |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/05/20/base-jumping-doc-sunshine-superman-plunges-you-from-cliffs-and-skyscrapers/ |access-date=2018-10-03 |website=The Village Voice}}{{Cite news |date=2015-05-20 |title=Exhilarating film follows inventor of BASE jumping |url=https://nypost.com/2015/05/20/exhilarating-film-follows-inventor-of-base-jumping/ |access-date=2018-10-03 |work=New York Post |language=en-US}}
File:Trolltindane Stabben Trollspiret.jpg.]]
Boenish died in a BASE jump off the Stabben pinnacle in Trolltindane range (not Troll Wall proper){{Cite web |last=Lindin |first=Ina-Kristin |date=2012-07-18 |title=Basehoppulykke i Stabben |url=https://www.nrk.no/mr/basehoppulykke-i-stabben-1.8248834 |access-date=2019-09-25 |website=NRK |language=nb-NO}} in Rauma Municipality, Møre og Romsdal, Norway, the day after completing a successful double BASE jump with his wife, Jean Boenish, for a Guinness World Records television special hosted by David Frost and young Kathie Lee Johnson, now Kathie Lee Gifford.[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sunshine-superman-2015 Rogerebert.com] Jean Boenish did another jump two days after the fatal jump.{{Cite web |last=Ellingseter |first=Tore |date=2011-09-06 |title=Tilbake 27 år etter basehoppulykke |url=https://www.nrk.no/mr/tilbake-27-ar-etter-basehoppulykke-1.7781194 |access-date=2019-09-25 |website=NRK |language=nb-NO}}
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0091292|name=Carl Boenish}}
- {{Cite web |title=Carl Boenish photo |url=http://shutter.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Base/Carl+Boenish.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224103924/http://shutter.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Base/Carl+Boenish.jpg |archive-date=2013-12-24 |access-date=2012-12-18}}
- [http://digitaltmuseum.no/011012691679 Jean Boenish jumping off Bruraskaret], Trollveggen, photo at DigitaltMuseum/Romsdalsmuseet
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boenish, Carl Ronald}}
Category:American cinematographers