Ed Bonja

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Ed Bonja ( 1945 in Chicago , Illinois - September 4, 2019 in Berlin ) was an American photographer and tour manager . He was the longtime photographer of Elvis Presley .

life and work

Ed Bonja saw and heard Elvis for the first time in 1957 at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, where he gave concerts for two days in a row. According to his own account, Bonja got to know the rock'n'roll musician personally in the 1960s and eventually became the assistant to Elvis manager Colonel Tom Parker . He accompanied Elvis on his tours as a concert photographer and tour manager from 1970 until shortly before his death in 1977.

There was no other photographer who took more pictures of Elvis Presley than Ed Bonja. This work is said to comprise around 9,000 pictures, around a thousand of which were published in a photo book; the majority is unpublished. Bonja's recordings can be found on several LP covers and posters by the musician and have been shown in exhibitions. Bonja was present at around a thousand Elvis concerts around the world and occasionally was even allowed to take photos on stage; he experienced and documented the hysterical enthusiasm and the deep admiration of the fans up close. The Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said Ed Bonja, Elvis loved his camera: "Whenever he saw me, he made poses."

Bonja worked with the music producer Bernhard Kurz and made his experience available for the tribute show about Elvis Presley. In August 2004, he was involved in a serious car accident when he went off the road as a driver. His co-driver and friend was the Elvis tour manager Al Dvorin ; as he was not buckled up, he was thrown out of the car and died at the scene of the accident. Bonja survived the accident with injuries.

In 2008 Ed Bonja moved to Soest . He died at the age of 74 after a serious illness in a Berlin hospital.

Book publication

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Der Spiegel (Hamburg): Ed Bonja is dead , September 4, 2019

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bonja, Ed
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American photographer
DATE OF BIRTH 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois , USA
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 2019
Place of death Berlin