James Pergola obit

James Pergola, Longtime ‘Baywatch’ Cinematographer and Producer, Dies at 93

His credits also included ‘Gentle Ben,’ ‘Lenny,’ ‘Caddyshack,’ ‘Major League’ and ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ and ‘Police Academy’ movies. 

He was not on the list.

James Pergola, who worked on Gentle Ben, Caddyshack and Major League before serving as a cinematographer on the first eight seasons of Baywatch, has died. He was 93.

Pergola died of natural causes in hospice care on Feb. 23 in Naples, Florida, his wife of 63 years, Virginia Pergola, told The Hollywood Reporter.

His feature credits as a director of photography included Dom DeLuise’s Hot Stuff (1979), Jerry Lewis’ Hardly Working (1980), Nobody’s Perfekt (1981), the Amy Madigan-starring Love Child (1982), Smokey and the Bandit 3 (1983), What Comes Around (1985) and Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988).

The respected Pergola shot 145 episodes of the David Hasselhoff-starring Baywatch from its start on NBC in 1989 and through its years as a syndication juggernaut until his retirement in 1998. He was also a producer on the show about lifeguards for seven seasons, starting with season two.

“Jim had a lot of experience working on films shooting on and under the water … he was perfect for Baywatch and brought a calm presence to the hectic shoot days on the water,” veteran underwater cinematographer Pete Romano told the American Society of Cinematographers. “I always enjoyed working with him; he wasn’t one to micromanage.”

James Charles Pergola was born in New York City on Nov. 1, 1932. He was not yet 5 when his father, camera operator James V. Pergola, was among the 19 people killed when a United Airlines Mainliner crashed in the Uinta Mountains in Utah in October 1937, the worst U.S. airplane disaster at the time.

His dad, who was on assignment for Pathé News, had covered serious news stories like the Lindbergh baby kidnapping in 1932 and the Cuban revolution of 1933 and more frivolous events like an Esther Williams aqua ballet in Miami Beach.

“I humbly attempted to follow in my father’s footsteps, but I could never fill them,” Pergola wrote in 2009. “He was truly a great man.”

His mother, Eleanor, took him to Miami after his dad’s death, and he graduated from Miami Senior High School.

After serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, Pergola in 1955 landed a job with Fox Movietone in New York — his father also had worked there — as an assistant cameraman on CinemaScope short subjects and travelogues.

He returned to Miami and manned a camera on such films as Safe at Home! (1962), starring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and William Frawley, and Birds Do It (1966), starring Soupy Sales, while also finding work on the TV series Flipper and Gentle Ben, both produced by Ivan Tors.

Later, he was a camera operator on Robert Clouse’s Darker Than Amber (1970), John Milius’ Dillinger (1973) and Bob Fosse’s Lenny (1974).

Pergola graduated to cinematographer on the 1974-75 CBC series Salty, co-created by Ricou Browning of Creature of the Black Lagoon and Flipper fame, and his first feature as a D.P. was Thunder and Lightning (1977), filmed in Naples and starring David Carradine and Kate Jackson.

He was an additional photographer on Caddyshack (1980) and a second-unit cinematographer on Paul Newman’s Harry & Son (1984) and David S. Ward’s Major League (1989).

In the 1990s, Pergola also shot the Baywatch telefilms Forbidden Paradise and White Thunder at Glacier Bay and the spinoff Baywatch Nights and worked on the Hulk Hogan-starring Thunder in Paradise.

In addition to his wife, survivors include his daughters, Mary, Susan and Holly (a makeup artist on Baywatch), and his granddaughters, Dylan, Katerina, Juliet, Greta, Scarlett, Willow and Roxy.

 

Cinematographer

Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, David Hasselhoff, David Chokachi, Gena Lee Nolin, and Jaason Simmons in Baywatch (1989)

Baywatch

5.5

TV Series

director of photography

1989–1998

145 episodes

 

Carmen Electra and David Hasselhoff in Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay (1998)

Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay

5.2

Video

Cinematographer

1998

 

Shannon Tweed, Hulk Hogan, and Carl Weathers in Assault on Devil's Island (1997)

Assault on Devil's Island

4.1

TV Movie

director of photography

1997

 

Steel Chariots (1997)

Steel Chariots

5.2

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1997

 

David Hasselhoff in Baywatch Nights (1995)

Baywatch Nights

3.8

TV Series

director of photography

1995–1996

22 episodes

 

California Dreams (1992)

California Dreams

7.0

TV Series

Cinematographer

1995

1 episode

 

Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, and David Hasselhoff in Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise (1995)

Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise

4.7

Video

Cinematographer

1995

 

Carol Alt, Hulk Hogan, and Chris Lemmon in Thunder in Paradise II (1994)

Thunder in Paradise II

4.4

Video

Cinematographer

1994

 

Hulk Hogan, Felicity Waterman, and Robin Weisman in Thunder in Paradise (1994)

Thunder in Paradise

5.4

TV Series

director of photography

1994

8 episodes

 

Hulk Hogan in Thunder in Paradise II (1994)

Thunder in Paradise

4.4

Video

Cinematographer

1993

 

David Caruso, Richard Thomas, Stacy Keach, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis (1991)

Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis

6.3

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1991

 

Guess Who's Coming for Christmas? (1990)

Guess Who's Coming for Christmas?

5.2

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1990

 

Joan Rivers in How to Murder a Millionaire (1990)

How to Murder a Millionaire

5.3

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1990

 

Thunderboat Row (1989)

Thunderboat Row

6.2

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1989

 

Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)

Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach

4.6

director of photography

1988

 

David Rappaport in The Wizard (1986)

The Wizard

7.8

TV Series

Cinematographer

1986–1987

8 episodes

 

Charley Hannah (1986)

Charley Hannah

6.5

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1986

 

Miracle of the Heart: A Boys Town Story (1986)

Miracle of the Heart: A Boys Town Story

6.9

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1986

 

On Our Way

TV Movie

Cinematographer (as Jim Pergola)

1985

 

Jerry Reed in What Comes Around (1985)

What Comes Around

5.1

Cinematographer

1985

 

Mr. T in The Toughest Man in the World (1984)

The Toughest Man in the World

5.2

TV Movie

director of photography

1984

 

Brooke Shields in Wet Gold (1984)

Wet Gold

4.8

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1984

 

Linda Evans in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (1983)

Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues

6.3

TV Movie

director of photography

1983

 

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3

3.5

Cinematographer

1983

 

Love Child (1982)

Love Child

5.7

director of photography (as Jim Pergola)

1982

 

The Mississippi (1982)

The Mississippi

6.3

TV Series

director of photography

1982

1 episode

 

Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (1982)

Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn

6.6

TV Movie

director of photography

1982

 

Nobody's Perfekt (1981)

Nobody's Perfekt

4.6

director of photography

1981

 

The Intruder Within (1981)

The Intruder Within

4.7

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1981

 

Island Claws (1980)

Island Claws

4.4

director of photography

1980

 

Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Winfield in Angel City (1980)

Angel City

6.9

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1980

 

Jerry Lewis in Hardly Working (1980)

Hardly Working

4.6

director of photography

1980

 

OHMS (1980)

OHMS

6.0

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1980

 

Dom DeLuise, Suzanne Pleshette, and Jerry Reed in Hot Stuff (1979)

Hot Stuff

6.2

director of photography

1979

 

Crash (1978)

Crash

5.7

TV Movie

Florida sequence

1978

 

The Wilds of Ten Thousand Islands

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1978

 

Thunder and Lightning (1977)

Thunder and Lightning

5.3

director of photography

1977

 

Mariette Hartley and Warren Oates in The African Queen (1977)

The African Queen

6.9

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1977

 

Vincent Dale and Johnny Doran in Salty (1974)

Salty

6.7

TV Series

Cinematographer

1974–1975

 

Producer

Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, David Hasselhoff, David Chokachi, Gena Lee Nolin, and Jaason Simmons in Baywatch (1989)

Baywatch

5.5

TV Series

producer

1991–1998

124 episodes

 

Carmen Electra and David Hasselhoff in Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay (1998)

Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay

5.2

Video

producer (as Jim Pergola)

1998

 

David Hasselhoff in Baywatch Nights (1995)

Baywatch Nights

3.8

TV Series

producer

1995

2 episodes

 

Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, and David Hasselhoff in Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise (1995)

Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise

4.7

Video

producer

1995

 

Carol Alt, Hulk Hogan, and Chris Lemmon in Thunder in Paradise II (1994)

Thunder in Paradise II

4.4

Video

producer

1994

 

Hulk Hogan in Thunder in Paradise II (1994)

Thunder in Paradise

4.4

Video

producer

1993

 

Camera and Electrical Department

Don Johnson and Mickey Rourke in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

6.1

director of photography: second unit (as Jim Pergola)

1991

 

Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Corbin Bernsen in Major League (1989)

Major League

7.2

director of photography: second unit

1989

 

Paul Newman and Robby Benson in Harry & Son (1984)

Harry & Son

5.8

director of photography: second unit

1984

 

The Sender (1982)

The Sender

6.0

photography: USAunit cinematographer

1982

 

The Funhouse (1981)

The Funhouse

5.9

camera operator

1981

 

The Hunter (1980)

The Hunter

6.2

camera operator

1980

 

Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight in Caddyshack (1980)

Caddyshack

7.2

additional photographer

1980

 

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979)

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?

6.9

camera operator (as Jim Pergola)

1979

 

Minstrel Man (1977)

Minstrel Man

8.4

TV Movie

camera operator (as Jim Pergola)

1977

 

Joe Panther (1976)

Joe Panther

6.9

camera operator

1976

 

Weed (1975)

Weed

4.2

camera operator

1975

 

Lord Shango (1975)

Lord Shango

5.3

camera operator (as Jim Pergolla)

1975

 

Gene Hackman in Night Moves (1975)

Night Moves

7.1

camera operator (as Jim Pergola)

1975

 

Dustin Hoffman in Lenny (1974)

Lenny

7.5

camera operator (uncredited)

1974

 

Cicely Tyson in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

7.8

TV Movie

camera operator (as Jim Pergola)

1974

 

Lady Ice (1973)

Lady Ice

4.7

camera operator (uncredited)

1973

 

Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, and Michelle Phillips in Dillinger (1973)

Dillinger

6.9

camera operator (as Jim Pergola)

1973

 

Rod Taylor and William Smith in Darker Than Amber (1970)

Darker Than Amber

6.1

camera operator

1970

 

Jim Backus, Janet Leigh, Roddy McDowall, Ken Berry, and Tony Randall in Hello Down There (1969)

Hello Down There

5.7

camera operator: "a" camera

1969

 

Gentle Ben (1967)

Gentle Ben

6.6

TV Series

camera operator

1967–1969

56 episodes

 

The Search for the Evil One (1967)

The Search for the Evil One

5.0

camera operator (as Jim Pergola)

1967

 

Birds Do It (1966)

Birds Do It

4.6

camera operator (uncredited)

1966

 

Safe at Home! (1962)

Safe at Home!

5.5

assistant camera

1962