Fred Prouser (2015)

Fred Prouser was born in Greenville, Mississippi. His first camera was an instamatic that his mother gave him when he was 19. 

He began his photographic career in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania shooting for his college newspaper and later the Harrisburg Independent Press. 

While in Harrisburg, Fred was hired as a stringer photographer by United Press International and the Associated Press. He married Rose in 1976, and the two began Prouser Photographic. They moved to Los Angeles in 1992, just in time to cover the Rodney King beating trial as a freelancer for Reuters.

Rose had perused a career in nursing after moving to Los Angeles, however would later return to her love of photography. Fred worked consistently for Reuters covering entertainment stories, and Rose would join him. Rose became the set photographer for Larry King Live, working at CNN for over 10 years.

The first premier that Fred recalled covering was for “Lethal Weapon 3” in 1992. He got to know Alan and Alex Berlin, from the well-known celebrity photo agency Berliner Studios. They showed him the ropes.

In the late 1990’s Reuters provided Variety with a majority of photos for its celebrity coverage. Fred and Rose would work until 2 o’clock in the morning three to four times a week shooting premiers and then parties. Rose would take rolls of film to the lab from the premier to get processed, while Fred would stay late shooting the soirees.

Variety launched its party page in 1997, and Fred’s photos were a main source of material. According to Variety, Fred covered nearly 3,000 Hollywood galas and premiers from the red carpet. He was a familiar face to the many of the celebrities.

When Rose developed brain cancer, Fred was stricken with liver cancer 9 months later. While Rose battled her illness with caregivers and hospice, Fred continued to work. Fred later claimed that he would not have been able to continue working without the support of his Reuters boss, Sam Mircovich.

Rose passed away in January of 2013, and Fred soldiered on. His liver cancer continued to take its toll, and work became increasingly more difficult. His last assignment was the Oscars in 2014.

Shortly before retirement Fred met a wonderful woman, Cindy Klundt. The two of them became inseparable. They traveled, dined, and enjoyed each other’s company for the remainder of his life. According to Fred, he had found love again.

Fred is survived by his sons Scott and Jeff; two granddaughters Macy and Olivia Bornman, his sister Debra, brother Alan, and many nieces and nephews, as well as his loving companion Cindy Klundt