The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Death of Ron Galella, “the godfather of the American paparazzi”

2022-05-03T10:36:52.725Z


The New York photographer, obsessive star stalker, died on April 30 at the age of 91. In 1976, Marlon Brando, tired of being relentlessly followed, went so far as to break his jaw.


If Fellini and Mastroianni have forever magnified the “

paparazzo

” in

La dolce vita

, it is Ron Gallela who, camera slung over his shoulder, will represent from New York to Paris, the quintessence, often reviled by his victims, of the star hunter.

The Italian-American photographer, born in the Bronx in 1931, died on April 30 at the age of 91.

To discover

  • YOUR COMMUNE - The results of the second round of the presidential election in your area

  • Discover the “Best of the Goncourt Prize” collection

Read alsoRon Galella, the man who chased the stars

Jackie Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Mick Jagger, Aristotle Onassis, Sean Penn, Madonna, Robert Redford... the exhaustive list of great international stars surprised by an indiscreet snapshot of Ron Gallela would be endless.

Read alsoPrince Harry and Orlando Bloom join forces in Montecito paparazzi hunt

For this "people" photographer before his time, who was operating when the iPhones and other marvels of high technology had not yet revolutionized the flow of images, the stolen shot represented the only way for readers of the tabloid press to penetrate into the private lives of the jet-set and the greats of this world.

The Italian-American paparazzo, born in poverty like Frank Sinatra, in addition to his amorality, did not hide his greed, an ostentatious sign of social success.

Around the 2000s, he would say that some of his photos, bought by reputable newspapers such as

Vanity Fair, Time, Vogue, The New York Times,

would have been negotiated at around 5000 dollars per publication.

The patina of time, however, will change the "

trash digger

" of the Bronx into "

king of the paparazzi

".

In 2014, the Center-Pompidou-Metz organized an exhibition entitled Paparazzi!

Photographers, stars and artists. 

"The Ordinary Guy" pointed out yesterday by Andy Warhol came straight into the French lair of contemporary art.

An artistic revenge that the kid from the Bronx will experience with unfeigned joy.

Hunts in the trash cans at the Center-Pompidou

It must be recognized that before exhibiting not far from Picasso or Marcel Duchamp, Ron Gallela had had a blast.

In order to take a unique shot, which the press was soon going to tear off with hard and stumbling dollars, the star tracker had to hide for hours and hours, hidden in a stinking trash can, in a cellar full of rats or perched on the branch of a tree overlooking the bedroom windows of his famous object of desire.

These spy methods, these numerous attempts to bribe concierges and neighbors who are finally happy to “

take a small ticket by doing a favor

”, have ended up tiring the stars.

Some raised their heads and did not hesitate to sue him.

A judge in 1972 ruled that the implacable Ron had to stay at least 10 meters away from Jackie Kennedy, whose love affair (and money) with Aristotle Onassis was a bonanza for the image thief. -yorker.

However, not all Gallela prey will react the same way.

Marlon Brando will end up beating the photographer up in 1976 when he had just had dinner in Chinatown with a friend.

And this time justice agreed with the paparazzi.

The great actor will be ordered to pay him some 40,000 dollars in damages.

What made Ron Gallela spend his life spying on famous people?

The taste for lucre, social recognition, certainly.

But we must not overlook his almost erotic obsession with portrait photography.

In the 2000s, finally recognized by his peers and by the public, because his photos were finally becoming historical evidence, he declared with that form of cynical humor that characterized him all his life: "

Why was I obsessed with Jackie Kennedy? ?

I analyzed it.

I didn't have a girlfriend.

She was my girlfriend, sort of.

»

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-05-03

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-29T12:24:01.815Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.