William “Bill” Klages, a television lighting design pioneer and seven-time Emmy winner, died in Santa Monica, Calif., on July 7, his son Jonathan Klages confirmed. He was 97.
Klages won one Emmy Award for outstanding visual achievement in special visual effects and six for outstanding lighting direction for his work on “The Lie,” “Mitzi & 100 Guys,” “The Dorothy Hamill Special,” “The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of Performing Arts,” “Great Performances: Dance in America” and the 33rd Grammy Awards. Klages was nominated for 21 Emmys throughout his career.
In 2012, Klages became the first lighting designer to be inducted into the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. Three years later, he was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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Klages entered the entertainment industry in 1948 when the NBC network hired him as a maintenance engineer at its flagship New York City studios. He would soon become a video engineer in the operations department, and he made his lighting director debut on the live dramatic series “Playwrights ’56.” He would go on to light shows for early television stars such as Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ernie Kovacs and Perry Como.
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Klages lighted a wide range of variety shows, dramatic productions, entertainment specials and award presentations throughout his career. Some of his biggest jobs included the 1984 Olympics Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles, the “Liberty Weekend” Statue of Liberty Celebration and four Republican National Conventions.
Klages is survived by his son, the writer, editor and musician Jonathan Klages.
