Kovács was born in the village of Cece on May 14, 1933. Between 1952 and 1956, he attended the Theatre and Film Arts College in Budapest, studying cinematography under György Illés.
During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Kovács and his classmate (and later colleague) Vilmos Zsigmond filmed events on the street with a camera concealed in a shopping bag. The two fled Hungary after the revolution, bringing with them the reels of film they had shot. In Austria, they edited the footage and sold it to a producer. However, it was not shown until 1961, when it was broadcast by CBS in the United States.
Kovács worked in Austria for a short time, then left for the US together with Zsigmond in 1957. Between 1958 and 1967, Kovács worked for an insurance company in Los Angeles and in television in Seattle, as well as a children's photographer. Finally, he went to Hollywood to rejoin Zsigmond as an assistant cinematographer. In 1967, his first credit as cinematographer appeared.
Kovács shot more than 70 films, among them EasyRider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Shampoo (1975), Ghost Busters (1984), Say Anything (1989) and My Best Friend's Wedding (1997).
Kovács was presented lifetime achievement awards by Cameraimage in 1998 and by the Hungarian Association of Cinematographers in 2005. Kovács accepted the latter at a ceremony in Budapest together with György Illés, János Tóth and Vilmos Zsigmond. In November 2006, Kovács received the Arriman Prize at the Aranyszem Festival, organised to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He was recongised along with other filmmakers who captured the historical event on film. In December 2006, Kovács was given a lifetime achievement award at the Santa Fe Film Festival.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
