Jim Rodnunsky, best known as the developer of the Cablecam system, used frequently for sports events and concerts, as well as some motion pictures, died June 10, 2011, in Los Angeles. He was 54.

According to news reports, the cause was brain cancer.

Cablecam, a rope-mounted, remote-control camera system, provides overhead and rapid-moving shots. The eye-in-the-sky device is considered one of the most significant innovations in sports broadcasting.

A predecessor to Cablecam, Skycam, invented by Garrett Brown (who also invented the Steadicam), also remains in use in sports television. The two devices were once competitors, but are now owned by the same company, Outdoor Channel Holdings.

Rodnunsky, a former professional skier, conceived the Cablecam in the late 1980s when he was seeking film images for the development of a skiing simulator. To film skiers above the Saudan Couloir at Blackcomb Mountain in British Columbia, he rigged a system of ropes fitted with an aluminum basket as high as 80 feet above the ski run and, with a partner (who was responsible for plying the brakes), hurtled down the mountain, feet first, face down, running a camera.

The creation of the device led to the foundation of a company, Cablecam International, which was hired for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Rodnunsky, a native of Canada, earned a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from UCLA, after which he studied filmmaking and acting. More recently, he attended the Academy for Jewish Religion of Los Angeles, where he pursued rabbinic studies.

Survivors include his wife, two daughters, a son and two brothers.