He worked for a few days on "Bonnie And Clyde" after director Arthur Penn and cameraman Burnett Guffey had quarreled. However, Penn got on even less well with Fredericks and Guffey was persuaded to return, eventually winning an Oscar for his work.
He became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers in 1954.
American cinematographer who was especially prolific in the medium of television during the 1950's. Fredericks had started as an assistant cameraman at First National in 1927. He then worked as a camera operator at MGM from 1933 to 1940 before re-joining Warner Brothers. His best known work was on Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Seven Days in May (1964). He retired in 1969.
From 1943 to 1944, he served as a major in the U.S. Army in the capacity of official cinematographer for Roosevelt.