Charles Correll Charles Correll was the director of photography for . In addition to this , he made a brief appearance in the movie - as a worker in the Earth Spacedock who watches the being stolen - after asking director Leonard Nimoy for a cameo . Correll was interviewed for the . Correll was a cinematographer for roughly fourteen years , earning an Emmy Award for his work on the 1983 mini - series " The Winds of War " . He then became a television director , directing episodes of such series as " MacGyver " , " Melrose Place " , and " CSI : Crime Scene Investigation " . Personal life . Correll was born in Los Angeles County , California . His father was radio personality , best known for playing Andy Brown on the long - running " Amos ' n ' Andy " radio program . Correll married " Star Trek III " stand - in Robin Kellick on 4 August 1984 , and they had three children together . Correll died of pancreatic cancer in Tarzana , California , at the age of 60 . Career . Cinematography . Correll was the Director of Photography on the hit 1978 comedy film , " National Lampoon ' s Animal House " , which featured Bruce McGill in the cast . Correll worked on two subsequent National Lampoon films , " National Lampoon ' s Movie Madness " ( 1982 ) and " The Joy of Sex " ( 1984 ) . He worked with " Star Trek III " actor Christopher Lloyd on both of these latter films . Other films for which Correll has directed photography include " Fast Break " ( 1979 ; featuring K Callan and Bert Remsen ) , " Cheech & Chong ' s Nice Dreams " ( 1981 ) , and " Revenge of the Nerds II : Nerds in Paradise " ( 1987 ; featuring James Cromwell and Ed Lauter ) . He was the Director of Photography on several television projects , as well . One of his earliest was the 1975 " Columbo " episode " Forgotten Lady " , which was directed by Harvey Hart . Some of his other episodic TV credits include " Kojak " ( where he replaced Jerry Finnerman ) and " The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries " . He and additional photographer Jim Dickson were both Directors of Photography on the 1978 mini - series " The Dark Secret of Harvest Home " , directed by Leo Penn and starring Rene Auberjonois and Norman Lloyd . Correll and Leo Penn previously collaborated on the television series " Kojak " and " Switch " . They worked together one last time on the 1981 TV movie " Hellinger ' s Law " . In addition , Correll collaborated with director Lou Antonio on four different made - for - TV movies : 1978 ' s " The Critical List " ( which featured Joanne Linville , Scott Marlowe , James Whitmore , Jr . , and Noble Willingham ) and " A Real American Hero " ( written by Samuel A . Peeples ) , 1981 ' s " The Star Maker " ( which featured art direction by Herman F . Zimmerman ) , and 1990 ' s " Face to Face " ( starring Robert Foxworth ) . The latter was Correll ' s final project as a cinematographer . In 1983 , Correll won an Emmy Award for his cinematography on the mini - series " The Winds of War " . He later received an Emmy nomination for his work on the 1985 TV movie " Wallenberg : A Hero ' s Story " , which starred Alice Krige . Correll ' s other TV movie credits have included " Freedom Road " ( featuring Alfre Woodard ) , " The Greatest American Traffic Jam " ( featuring James Gregory , Larry Hankin , Charles Napier , and Vic Tayback ) , " Missing Pieces " ( featuring Robin Gammell , Kurtwood Smith , and Kenneth Tigar ) , " The Jesse Owens Story " ( featuring LeVar Burton , Ronny Cox , James B . Sikking , Vic Tayback , and Ben Vereen ) , and " Gunsmoke : Return to Dodge " ( directed by Vincent McEveety and featuring Ken Olandt and W . Morgan Sheppard ) . Directing . In the late 1980s , Correll decided to retire as a cinematographer and begin working as a director . Among the many television series for which he has directed are " MacGyver " , " " , " " , " Melrose Place " , " Beverly Hills , 90210 " , " CSI : Crime Scene Investigation " ( the episode where they find the " alien " buried at Area 51 ) , " CSI : Miami " , and " Without a Trace " .