Stars Stars Stars [antikvár]

Preface When I was a child and my mother used to rave about Hollywood's silent movie stars — Mary Pickford. Douglas Fairbanks, Ramon Novarro, Rudolph Valentino, Lillian Gish —little did I know that years later I would meel and get to know many of (heir even more famous successors. ¦ I was born in Dublin and like many young Irishmen knew [hat one day I would leave the country. I started out making my living as a musician, and during World War II played with a small band in Belfast in Northern Ireland. The days were broken by frequent German air raids when we would all have to run for cover. One day I found myself in a church which was used as a shelter. Suddenly a section of the roof fell in right next to where I was silting. It was a miracle I wasn't hurt. This incident made me decide to join the RAF in England, and so I became a radio navigator. ¦ When the war was over, I continued in aviation, flying charter planes in Europe and Africa and later taking part in the Berlin airlift during the 1948 Soviet blockade. At this point, my future career seemed set. But everything changed when I visited a friend in Monte Carlo. I was enchanted by the Côte d'Azur and by the beauty of the countryside, and very impressed by the quiet, old-fashioned elegance of Monte Carlo. My friend lent me a camera and I rambled around taking snapshots as souvenirs, already, subconsciously, as a reporter. ¦ Local newspapers carried stories about the important personalities and famous stars who liked to come to this part of the world —just after the war, it hadn't yet been touched by popular tourism — either they lived here or came for holidays. I began to think it might be worthwhile becoming a photographer, and that I might be able to make a living photographing these VIPs relaxing, away from their professional lives. ¦ I learned all I could about photography from books and photo-magazines, mostly American ones. I invested in a Retina camera, and later in a Rolleiflex, as well as an old enlarger. I also bought a car, a 1930 Mathys cabriolet. At that time I lived in a very small flat on the Rocher in Monaco, not far from the Prince's palace. I did my very first developing and printing in the kitchen under pretty unreliable conditions, and whenever my landlady wanted to prepare a meal, I had to clear all my equipment away. ¦ A local journalist, Guy Riffet, taught me the rudiments of the trade and after a while 1 got to know how to find out the whereabouts of newsworthy people and how to approach them. I read the local daily papers, Nice Matin and Espoir, and also the English dailies, because they might carry news of any celebrities coming south. But I found this didn't give me enough information. Some stars preferred to stay incognito in a hotel or at a private villa, and gradually I developed a network of friendly barmen, secretaries, porters and hotel receptionists at the most luxurious hotels along the coast. They tipped me off, and they knew I would not betray them. ¦ Being a freelance photographer—I eventually worked for newspapers and magazines all over the world — wasn't easy. It required a lot of personal initiative, investment and responsibility. But it also meant I had a certain freedom. I could choose my own subjects and I got to meel all kinds of interesting people. And it was always a great satisfaction to see a photograph published. Asking a celebrity to pose for pictures was difficult for a freelancer. An introduction by an important newspaper or magazine was always very helpful. But I only remember one film star who refused categorically to be photographed, it was "La Divine", Greta Garbo. I didn't like using a tele-photo lens, but faced with so much obstinacy, I resorted to it this time to get the picture. ¦ Photographing stars has an