▲ Douglas Kirkland photographed Marilyn Monroe in 1961. "I technically owned everything," he later recalled, "but it was Marilyn Monroe who really created the pictures." ” © Douglas Kirkland
Among his many memorable shots is one of his earliest works, and probably his most famous: Marilyn Monroe lying in bed, wrapped in silk sheets.
"I technically have all the rights, but it was Marilyn Monroe who really created these images."
His career began in an era when journalists had access to his subjects and continued until the times when stars and their agents exerted more power over the media.
"In the '60s, there was an idea for the camera to reveal the truth, and today, it's more like Entertainment Tonight."
Douglas Kirkland is a photojournalist and portraitist whose subjects include Marilyn Monroe wrapped in silk sheets and Coco Chanel, who works in a Parisian studio.
For more than 60 years, Mr. Kirkland has been a renowned celebrity photographer, first shooting for Look and Life magazines and then freelancing for magazines, Hollywood studios and advertising agencies. Mr. Kirkland is well-mannered and energetic — he's not a nasty paparazzi — and he's welcomed into the star's homes and hotel rooms, as well as movie sets.
The tall, dashing Mr. Kirkland "has a magical quality," said Karen Mullarkey, who worked with Mr. Kirkland as director of photography for New York and Newsweek magazines. She recalled that during a shoot for New York magazine, she brought a bunch of peonies to model Kathy Ireland, and when he photographed the Irish lady, Ms. Muraki heard him say, "Touch them!" Kiss them! They are your boyfriends! ”
"I was new to the magazine," Mr. Kirkland recalled, telling Elizabeth Taylor, who was working for Prospect at the time. "Can you imagine what it would mean to me if you asked me to take pictures of you?" © Douglas Kirkland
In 1961, a year after joining Outlook, Mr. Kirkland experienced two dramatic encounters. For the first time, he accompanied journalist Jack Hamilton to Las Vegas to interview Elizabeth Taylor, one of the world's most famous stars at the time. When the three met, Ms. Taylor said she was willing to talk but would not sit down to take pictures.
After the interview, Mr. Kirkland tried to persuade her to pose for him. He shook her hand and said, "I'm new to this magazine." Can you imagine what it would mean to me if you asked me to take pictures of you? In 2021, Mr. Kirkland recalled to Vintage News Daily.
"I didn't let go of her hand; She sprayed jungle gardenia perfume and I smelled it later," he continued. "She thought about it and said, 'Come back tomorrow at eight o'clock.'"
▲ Mr. Kirkland hung himself on the balcony to take pictures of Marilyn Monroe. © Douglas Kirkland
▲ Hiding everything except her face in the sheet, holding the pillow, she seems to be directing herself. © Douglas Kirkland
The result — a photo of Ms. Taylor in a yellow jacket and ornate diamond earrings — appeared on the cover of the August 15, 1961 issue of Prospect magazine.
Later that year, Outlook sent Mr. Kirkland to Los Angeles to photograph Ms. Monroe. They met at her house, and she told him what she wanted to shoot: a white silk sheet, Frank Sinatra records, and Dom Perignon, the champagne king.
Four days later, when they met in the studio, she took off her robe, lay on the bed, wrapped herself in sheets, and posed for Mr. Kirkland, who hung from the balcony above her for part of the shoot. She seemed to be directing herself, with a feeling that seemed happy. She hugged the pillow, hid everything except her face in the sheets, and turned her back to the camera.
"I technically own everything," Mr. Kirkland said in a 2012 interview with "CBS This Morning." "My Hasselblad – click, click, click – but it was Marilyn Monroe who really created these images."
Ann-Margret in Las Vegas in 1971. © Douglas Kirkland
He recalled that shoot in his 2020 documentary That Click: The Legendary Photography of Douglas Kirkland, directed by Luca Severi: "The pillow represents what she wants to do to a man, and I could have been there to be that pillow." But I chose to keep taking pictures because that's what Douglas Kirkland really came to be the bottom line. ”
Outlook featured only one photograph of Monroe in the magazine, but Mr. Kirkland collected many of them in his 2012 book, With Marilyn: An Evening (1961). His other photography books include Light Years: 3 Decades Photography Among the Stars (1989), Icons (1993), and Legends (1999).
In addition to photographing for Prospect and Life magazines, Mr. Kirkland has worked as a live photographer on the production of more than 100 films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), A Space Odyssey (1968), A Space Odyssey (1968), and Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Sophie's Choice (1982), Rain Man (1988) and several Baz Luhrmann films starting with Moulin Rouge in 2001. Mr. Ruchmann said in That Click, that Mr. Kirkland's photography "captures the romance of cinema."
Sophia Loren in Rome in 1972. © Douglas Kirkland
His career began in an era when journalists had access to his subjects and continued until the times when stars and their agents exerted more power over the media. "In the '60s, there was an idea for cameras to reveal the truth," he told The New York Times in 1990. "Today, it's more like Entertainment Tonight."
Douglas Morley Kirkland was born in Toronto on August 16, 1934, and grew up in Fort Erie, Ontario at age 3. His father, Morley, owned a shop where he made men's tailoring, while his mother, Evelyn (Reid) Kirkland, kept accounts in the store.
He took his first photo with a brownie camera as a child: his family standing at the front door of their home on Christmas Day. By the age of 14, he started photographing weddings. After graduating from high school, he studied at the New York Institute of Photography before returning to Canada to work at two local newspapers before moving to Richmond, Virginia, as a commercial photographer.
▲ In 1962, Mr. Kirkland spent three weeks in Paris with designer Coco Chanel's "Coco Chanel". © Douglas Kirkland
There, he wrote three letters to Irving Penn, an influential fashion photographer, seeking a job. In 1957, Mr. Payne hired him as an assistant.
"I was paid $50 a week, which wasn't too simple even on those days in New York," he said in a 2017 interview with the American Society of Media Photographers. "But I was with Payne and I learned it quickly."
In 1960, he joined Outlook. He stayed there until the magazine collapsed in 1971. When he was hired by Life, he stayed there until the magazine stopped publishing weekly the following year. For the rest of his career, he worked as a freelancer, working for Time, Paris Match, Sports Illustrated, Town & Country and other magazines.
In 2011, he received the President's Award from the Society of American Cinematographers for his photographic work on film sets. The following year, he was commissioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create a series of official portraits of Oscar nominees in four performance categories: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close.
Among them, Michelle Williams was nominated for her role as Ms. Monroe in My Week with Marilyn (2011). In the documentary "That Click," she said it was a moving experience to be filmed by the same person who filmed Ms. Monroe half a century ago.
"I never thought that would happen," she said.
▲ Mr. Douglas Morley Kirkland. © Francoise Kirkland
Mr. Douglas Molly Kirkland died on October 2 at his home near the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles at the age of 88.
His wife and agent Françoise (Kemmel-Coulter) Kirkland confirmed his death without giving a reason.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Kirkland had his son Mark, and his daughters Karen Kirkland and Lisa Kirkland Gadway from his marriage to Marian Perry, whose marriage to Marianne Perry ended in divorce. and five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
In August 1962, Mr. Kirkland spent three weeks in Paris with Coco Chanel on the shoot for Prospect. At first she was wary of him and only allowed him to photograph the costumes she designed, not her. But after he showed her his first set of photos, she began having him observe her work — always wearing a hat and usually surrounded by her staff. On his last day there, she suggested that they take a ride to Versailles. He took one last picture of her as she walked alone in the palace garden.
"It was August, but it was cold and it was already raining, so I gave her my raincoat," Mr Kirkland told The Guardian in 2015. She draped it over her shoulders and looked like a funky cape. She said she often likes to go there because it gives her the opportunity to get lost in time while being surrounded by the immense influence of ancient French culture. (End)
原文：Douglas Kirkland, Who Took Portraits of Movie Stars, Dies at 88
Written by Richard Sandomir
Published: nytimes.com
Translated by Lin Xi
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