Terry O’Neill: A Glimpse into Celebrity Photography
British photographer Terry O’Neill has spent his life peering into the world of celebrity. One of the world’s most collected photographers, he has snapped stars including Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, and Faye Dunaway.
Iconic Exhibition at The Little Black Gallery
Running until March 1 at The Little Black Gallery London, “The Best of Terry O’Neill” showcases some of his most iconic photos of leading ladies on set and in repose. “They were all beautiful,” the 75-year-old photographer says. “They don’t make girls like that today.”
A Winning Moment: Faye Dunaway
This remarkable photo shows Dunaway at the Beverly Hills Hotel the morning after she won an Oscar for “Network” in 1977. “I was sick to death of all those Oscar pictures of actresses holding up the Oscar and grinning like idiots,” he explains. “I knew her money would go up from half a million to like 10 million dollars a movie. I wanted to capture all that the next day.”
Audrey Hepburn: Capturing Essence
“She was sensational,” he says of Audrey Hepburn, who he photographed on the set of ‘Two for the Road’ in 1967. “I couldn’t take a bad picture of her. And she was the loveliest person you could ever meet. The circus surrounding today’s celebrities makes it difficult to get the same level of intimacy. “If I photograph someone now, the publicists only want one picture here and one picture there, and they want to control everything,” O’Neill states. “They’ve ruined it.”
The Luck of Brigitte Bardot
Luck was on O’Neill’s side when he photographed Brigitte Bardot on the set of the 1971 western “The Legend of Frenchie King.” “This was the last frame on a roll of 35mm,” he explains. “I had this great set up and just as I was waiting to take the picture the wind blew. I thought, ‘Should I shoot it?’ I did, and it turned out to be one of my best sellers ever.”
Raquel Welch: A Moment of Hesitation
Raquel Welch turned heads with her figure, but she wasn’t always comfortable putting it on display. In 1966, she worried that her provocative costume in the fantasy-adventure film “One Million Years B.C.” would stir controversy. “One day she said to me, ‘I’m going to get crucified for wearing that bikini,” O’Neill recounts. “I shot it, but I didn’t hand it in because I felt people would be offended by it. It wasn’t meant to be an offensive picture. I’ve only released it recently.”
Behind the Scenes with Elizabeth Taylor
O’Neill captured this photo inside Elizabeth Taylor’s dressing room as she shot the film “A Little Night Music” in the late 70s. “She was going to announce her engagement to John Warner later that day,” he remembers. Despite her big screen presence, O’Neill says Taylor was more of a delight than a diva: “She was really quite shy at being a star.”
Love Captured: Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor posed for this photograph on the set of Burton’s 1971 film “Villain.” “They were so publicized at that time,” O’Neill explains. “I wanted to get a picture of them as I knew them, a loving couple.”
A Moment in Time: Jean Shrimpton and Terence Stamp
In 1963, editors commissioned O’Neill to photograph English actors Jean Shrimpton and Terence Stamp for a feature on “Faces of the 60s.” “She was another great girl,” he says. “I really admired her because at the top of her career she chucked it, married a photographer and went down to live in Penzance.”
