Terence Patrick O'Neill CBE (30 July 1938 – 16 November 2019) was a British photographer, known for documenting the fashions, styles, and celebrities of the 1960s.[1][2] O'Neill's photographs capture his subjects candidly or in unconventional settings.
Terry O'Neill | |
|---|---|
 O'Neill in Oslo, 2016 | |
| Born | Terence Patrick O'Neill 30 July 1938 Romford, Essex, England |
| Died | 16 November 2019 (aged 81) London, England |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | Official website |
His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions. He was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2004[3] and the society's Centenary Medal in 2011.[4] His work is held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Life and career
editO'Neill was born to Irish parents in Romford, Essex,[5] and began his career working in a photographic unit for an airline at London's Heathrow Airport. During this time, he photographed a sleeping figure in a waiting area who, by happenstance, was revealed to be Home Secretary Rab Butler.[6] O'Neill thereafter found further employment on Fleet Street[7] with The Daily Sketch in 1959. His first professional job was to photograph Laurence Olivier.[8]
During the 1960s, in addition to photographing contemporary celebrities such as Judy Garland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he also photographed members of the British royal family[7] and prominent politicians, showing a more human side to these subjects than had usually been portrayed[9]—his photographs capture his subjects candidly or in unconventional settings.[10]
O'Neill's photographs of Elton John are among his best known. A selection of them appeared in the 2008 book Eltonography. Also considered among his most famous images[11] are a series of American actress Faye Dunaway (his girlfriend at the time) at dawn on 29 March 1977, lounging next to the swimming pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel the morning after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for Network, with several newspapers scattered around her and her Oscar statuette prominently shown on a table beside her breakfast tray.[12][13] The series was photographed in both colour and black and white.
O'Neill was credited (as Terrence O'Neill) as an executive producer of the film Mommie Dearest (1981).[14] His only other film credit was for still photography for the opera film Aria (1987).[15]
Personal life
editO'Neill was married to the actress Vera Day for 13 years;[16] they had two children together, Keegan Alexander and Sarah Jane.[17] He had a decade-long relationship with Faye Dunaway; they were married for five years in the 1980s and had a son, Liam.[16][18] In 2003, he was quoted in the U.S. tabloid magazine Star as saying Liam was adopted and not their biological son, contrary to Dunaway's public assertions.[19] In 2001 O'Neill married Laraine Ashton, a former model agency executive.[20][21]
O'Neill died on 16 November 2019 at his home in London from prostate cancer, at the age of 81.[22][23][24]
Exhibitions
edit- Terry O'Neill: Celebrity, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2003/4[25]
- Photographs by Terry O'Neill, San Francisco Art Exchange, San Francisco, CA, 2005[26]
- Kings and Queens: Photographs by Terry O'Neill, San Francisco Art Exchange, San Francisco, CA, 2007[26]
- Chairman of the Board, Knight of the Realm: Photographs of Frank Sinatra and Sir Elton John, San Francisco Art Exchange, San Francisco, CA, 2009[26]
- Getty Image Gallery, the Village, Westfield London, London, 2009. A retrospective.[27]
- Leeds Gallery, Munro House, Leeds, UK, 2011. A retrospective.[28][29]
- Terry O'Neill's Rock & Roll Opus, San Francisco Art Exchange, San Francisco, CA, 2014[26]
- Terry O'Neill: Stars, Fotografiska, Stockholm, 2022[30]
- Famous by Terry O'Neill, Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht, 2023. Curated by Feiko Koster.[31]
Books
edit- Legends. Jonathan Cape, 1985. ISBN 9780224028493
- Celebrity. Little, Brown, 2003. ISBN 978-0316724456
- Sinatra: Frank and Friendly- A Unique Photographic Memoir of a Legend. Evans Mitchell, 2007. ISBN 978-1901268324
- Eltonography: Sir Elton John a Life in Pictures. Evans Mitchell, 2008. ISBN 978-1901268331
- All About Bond. Evans Mitchell, 2012. ISBN 978-1901268577
- Terry O'Neill, 2013. ISBN 978-1851496921
- Terry O'Neill's Rock 'n' Roll Album. ACC, 2014. ISBN 978-1851497720
- Two Days That Rocked the World: Elton John Live at Dodger Stadium. ACC, 2015. ISBN 978-1851498062
- Breaking Stones 1963–1965: A Band on the Brink of Superstardom. ACC, 2016. ISBN 978-1851498161
- Terry O'Neill: Every Picture Tells a Story. ACC, 2016. ISBN 978-1851498338
- When Ziggy Played The Marquee. ACC, 2017. ISBN 978-1851498666
- Led Zeppelin Live : 1975–1977. ACC, 2018. ISBN 978-1851498963
- Terry O'Neill: Rare & Unseen. ACC, 2018. ISBN 978-1851498918
- Bowie by O'Neill: The definitive collection with unseen images. Cassell, 2019. ISBN 978-1788401012
- Elton John by Terry O'Neill: The definitive portrait, with unseen images. Cassell, 2019. ISBN 978-1788401487
- Always Audrey: Six Iconic Photographers. One Legendary Star. ACC, 2019. ISBN 978-1788840323
Honours and awards
edit- 2004: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society[3]
- 2011: Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal[4]
- 2019: Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to photography[32]
Collections
edit- National Portrait Gallery, London: 80 prints (as of July 2022 )[33]
References
edit- ^ Hobbs, Thomas (6 August 2019). "Terry O'Neill on his best Bowie shoots: 'David never needed coaxing'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ O'Hagan, Sean (23 August 2011). "How one photograph can turn a musician into a rock star". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ a b "Honorary Fellowships (HonFRPS)". Royal Photographic Society. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Error - RPS". www.rps.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ Benedictus, Leo (18 December 2008). "Terry O'Neill's best shot". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ Greenstreet, Rosanna (28 January 2017). "Photographer Terry O'Neill: 'I was invited to Sharon Tate's house the night she was murdered'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ a b "Photographer to the stars Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". BBC News. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Guys & Dolls - GQ.COM (UK)". www.gq-magazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Interview: Terry O'Neill". The Scotsman. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ Nyren, Erin (17 November 2019). "Terry O'Neill, Celebrity Photographer of '60s and '70s, Dies at 81". Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Faye Dunaway, "Oscar Ennui"", background information published by the San Francisco Art Exchange. Accessed 28 January 2007.
- ^ O'Neill, Terry "Oscar Ennui" Archived 31 January 2013 at archive.today (1977) Rights owned by Getty Images.
- ^ O'Neill, Terry "Faye and Oscar" (1977) Image from print owned by Photographers Gallery, Los Angeles.
- ^ Mommie Dearest (1981), IMDb profile. Accessed 28 January 2007
- ^ Aria (1987), IMDb profile. Accessed 28 January 2007
- ^ a b Horwell, Veronica (17 November 2019). "Terry O'Neill obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ "Terry O'Neill obituary". The Sunday Times. 17 November 2019. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 18 November 2019 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Dunaway, O'Neill divorced". Gainesville Sun. 27 March 1987.
- ^ "Dunaway's Son Liam Adopted, Says Ex", ContactMusic news index, 11 March 2003. Accessed 28 January 2007.
- ^ Husband, Stuart (25 January 2004). "This much I know: Terry O'Neill, photographer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Photographer of choice for musicians and movie stars, Terry O'Neill, dies at 81". The Irish Times.
- ^ Bakare, Lanre (17 November 2019). "Photographer of swinging 60s Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Iconic photographer Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". Sky News. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Clifton, Katy (17 November 2019). "Iconic photographer Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". Evening Standard.
- ^ "Terry O'Neill: Celebrity - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d "San Francisco Art Exchange : Gallery of The Popular Image". www.sfae.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Terry O'Neill: Behind the Scenes". Dazed. 8 July 2009.
- ^ "Photographer's exhibition in city". BBC News. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Terry O'Neill: 50 Years at the Top". The Gallery at 164. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Terry O'Neill". Fotografiska Stockholm. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "famous". Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B9.
- ^ "Terry O'Neill - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2019.