Joe Epperson, the three-time Emmy-nominated digital camera operator who had lengthy stints on All within the Household, The Jeffersons, Full Home and The Tonight Present, has died. He was 80.
Epperson died Saturday of cardiac arrest at Southwest Basic Well being Middle in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, his spouse of 58 years, Patty Epperson, instructed The Hollywood Reporter. He had been out and in of the hospital and rehab since April 29 when his appendix burst.
Identified for his ability with hand-held cameras, Epperson in 1981 shot from the Roxy in West Hollywood The Pee-wee Herman Present, which ran on HBO and put Paul Reubens and his hilarious alter ego on the map.
He additionally educated his lens on Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr. over three nights on the Fox Theatre in Detroit for a 1989 Showtime particular and labored on the James Keach-directed Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, the 2014 documentary that adopted the music legend on his last tour as he struggled with Alzheimer’s.
He was a constitution member of the Society of Digital camera Operators — it was based in 1979 — a member of its board of administrators and the recipient of its lifetime achievement honor in 1995.
Epperson manned a digital camera on CBS’ All within the Household from 1975-79 and its spinoff The Jeffersons from 1976-82 and labored on ABC’s Full Home throughout its total eight-season run from 1987-95.
He additionally spent greater than 15 years as an operator for The Tonight Present, beginning in 1992 when Jay Leno succeeded Johnny Carson.
Joseph Epperson was born on Feb. 9, 1945, in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in Berea, Ohio. His father, Joseph Sr., was a chief engineer for E.W. Scripps out of WEWS in Cleveland, the primary TV station in Ohio. (His dad labored on the 1948 World Sequence between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Braves and the 1954 NFL title sport between the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.)
Epperson graduated from Berea Excessive College and Ohio College and had jobs at WEWS and WUAB-TV round a 1966-69 tour with the U.S. Military. In 1971, he accepted a job with Tv Manufacturing Co. in Pittsburgh, then moved in 1975 to Los Angeles, the place he would spend a number of years at KTTV.
Epperson went on to work on TV specials/live shows that includes the likes of Paul Simon, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Massive Fowl — for a PBS particular in China — Richard Pryor, Linda Lavin, the Doobie Brothers, Corridor & Oates, George Carlin, Dixie Chicks, The Go-Go’s, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones and Elton John.
He acquired his Primetime Emmy noms for his work on live performance specials from Rod Stewart, Sheena Easton and Cher that aired in 1982, 1983 and 2000, respectively.
His résumé included such different exhibits as Fernwood Tonight, America 2-Evening, Bosom Buddies, Household Ties, Webster, Amen, Married … With Kids, Massive Brother, American Idol and The X Issue. He shot a lot of Oscar purple carpets and Rose Parades.
Epperson moved again to Berea in 2000 and spent 5 years because the treasurer of the Berea Historic Society.
He and his spouse, highschool sweethearts, first met in 1959, began courting in 1961 and have been married in October 1966. Survivors additionally embody their daughters, Amanda and Rebecca, and their grandchildren, Jaquelyn, Kirsten, Isabella and Joseph.
In Hollywood, Epperson additionally served as a technical director, stage supervisor, assistant director and lighting director.
“Joe will get the large image,” cinematographer Steven Poster mentioned in 1995. “He doesn’t characterize himself as both a lighting director or digital camera operator. He describes himself as a part of the crew with a accountability to the viewers. Each director needs individuals like Joe on their crew, as a result of that is all about teamwork and collaboration.”