J. Peter Happel

1922 - 2015
August 20, 1922 - February 22nd 2015 J. Peter Happel, 92 years old, passed away peacefully in hospice care in Port Washington NY on Sunday, February 22nd, 2015. Peter was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to two physicians. His mother, Clara, was a noted psychiatrist and his father, Paul, was a leading internist. Peter grew up in Berlin and Hamburg during the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Third Reich. In 1936, he, his mother and his sister, Erika fled to the United States. During World War II, Peter became a US citizen while serving in the US Navy. Following the war, he graduated from the New School for Social Research. While at the New School, Peter, now a budding photographer, met actor Herbert Berghof. Berghof asked Peter to photograph him while performing in the new medium of television. Peter's photographs were noticed by the likes of Yul Brynner and Jackie Gleason. Peter was hired by Gleason and he covered all the Honeymooner episodes. He photographed numerous tv shows including The Gary Moore Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The You Are There show with Walter Cronkite. Peter retired from professional photography at age 87. He is survived by his third wife Sing Tom-Happel, his son Adrian, daughter-in-law Kirsten and granddaughters Eliza and Gretchen. He is also survived by his sisters Gertrud and Brigitte. He was a true part of America's Greatest Generation. He and his sense of humor will be terribly missed by all his family and friends.

Peter will be interred at Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton.