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Carl Boenisch

Carl Boenisch

Born: April 3, 1941
Died: July 7, 1984
in New Castle, Pennsylvania
Carl Ronald Boenish (April 3, 1941 – July 7, 1984), considered the father of modern BASE jumping, was an American freefall cinematographer, who in 1978 filmed the first jumps from El Capitan using ram-air parachutes. These jumps were repeated, not as a publicity exercise or as a movie stunt, but as part of the development of a recurring recreational activity. This approach defined modern BASE jumping. These were the jumps that popularized BASE jumping more widely among parachutists, likely because Boenish filmed them and presented the footage exceptionally well. Boenish also published BASE Magazine to promote safety in this new sport.

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, Sunshine Superman.

Movies for Carl Boenisch...

Sunshine Superman
Title: Sunshine Superman
Character: Himself
Released: May 22, 2015
Type: Movie
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Documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.
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The Sky Divers
Title: The Sky Divers
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1969
Type: Movie
Click for Details
A behind-the-scenes, promotional short about the making of the feature film The Gypsy Moths (1969), which extensively features free fall skydiving.
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