October 6, 1943 – March 18, 2016
Kenneth Lee (Ken) Kramer, loving husband, father, grandfather and brother, passed away peacefully at home in Sylmar, California on March 18th after a brief illness. He leaves his wife and companion of 37 years, Kathy (Losso), his son Jayson, three grandchildren (Kyle, Austin, and Ryan), and brothers Ron and Robert. He was predeceased by his parents Lawrence Henry and Jeanette Jeraldine (Weiner) Kramer. Ken was 72 years old.
Ken was born on October 6th, 1943, in Plainfield, New Jersey. His family moved to Los Angeles when Ken was around five years old. Ken was part of the first graduating class of Grant High School in Van Nuys in 1962.
His life and his passion was always movies. At ten years old he was showing 8mm films on any blank wall he could find. That passion drove him to not only amass a great and diverse collection of hundreds of feature films, but equally as important, to become a film historian and activist in film preservation, a cause that was extremely important to him. Film was his life, and with his incredible sense of recall, he would amaze friends by reciting scene after scene from some of the most obscure, vintage films. He had a particular affinity for the musical genre, and, taking a page from Will Rogers, Ken never met a musical he didn't like.
At a young age, Ken founded "The Clip Joint for Film," an innovative company that for many years licensed film clips to studios, ad agencies, and other entities that needed vintage film clips for a variety of media usage.
Ken also had an abundance of creative energy, and he wore many hats throughout his career. In addition to the successful Clip Joint, Ken wrote and directed a documentary about the making of 1978's "The Revenge of the Pink Panther" (That's Panthertainment), produced film clip tributes for celebrities, and acquired the rights to several unique projects.
In addition to being a film historian, Ken was a film preservationist. His zeal for the unique color saturation of the IB Technicolor 3-strip print process popular in the 1950's resulted in Ken's gradual acquisition of outdated but pristine films that studios often threw out. In recent years, major studios have borrowed Ken's prints to match the original color to new digital DVD releases of classic films.
Ken screened many of his pristine prints at the Motion Picture Academy, where he also produced several star-studded evenings. A particular highlight was his reunion of the original cast of 1958's "Damn Yankees," where Ken brought together stars Ray Walston, Gwen Verden, Tab Hunter, composer Richard Adler, and co-stars James Komack, Rae Allen, and Shannon Bolin, to the delight of the industry-filled audience.
Not only did Ken loan his films to organizations, but he opened the door to his private theater for regular screenings of his films. He wanted to share his love of film with as many people as he possibly could.
Beyond the charm and magic of film was Ken's personal charm. He could easily ingratiate himself to everyone and anyone. His sly sense of humor made life-long friends out of virtual strangers. When he walked into a room, his presence was felt as Ken offered his "hello" and usual one-liner. Yes, everyone knew that Ken Kramer was there.
Ken had deep compassion for those less fortunate, and a sense of humanity so strong that from time to time he shed heartfelt tears for those whom he felt that life had treated unfairly. On the other hand, he was himself a true character, a one-of-a-kind unique human being. Shortly after he passed, a friend wrote on his facebook page, "I was a Ken Kramer fan. I think maybe the fact that he was such a character obscured the fact that he was a man of great character."
Indeed, Ken Kramer was a man of great character. A man of passion and compassion…a rare and profound quality which he shared with such ease and honesty. Ken will be forever missed by all who knew him. His was a Technicolor life.
A celebration of Ken's life is scheduled for Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 2pm at the New Beverly Cinema - 7165 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. Questions, email kathylosso@gmail.com. Private interment at Forest Lawn Glendale will take place before the end of the year.
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