Sam Shaw (photographer)

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Sam Shaw (born January 15, 1912 in New York City , New York , † April 5, 1999 in Westwood , New Jersey ) was an American photographer , film producer and painter . He was best known as the photographer of Marilyn Monroe , with whom he was also personally friends. In 1954 he painted his iconic image of the actress in a white dress that is blown up over a subway duct.

Life

Shaw was born in Manhattan and grew up on the Lower East Side . Early on he showed an artistic interest and by the end of high school he had turned to painting.

After a brief position as the art director of the Brooklyn Eagle , he worked as a photojournalist for Collier’s magazine from the 1940s . Later, his photos were also used in Life and Look magazines , often as covers .

At the same time, Shaw worked increasingly in the film industry and was involved in various film shoots as a still photographer . In 1951 he photographed Marlon Brando on the set of Endstation Sehnsucht in a T-shirt, which Brando himself had previously rejected as " vulgar ".

In 1952 he learned while filming Viva Zapata! Marilyn Monroe , who had unsuccessfully sought a role in the film and was instead assigned to drive Shaw. A friendship developed between them. In 1954, Shaw worked as a still photographer on the production of Billy Wilder's The Itchy 7th Year , which was Marilyn Monroe's ultimate breakthrough. During this filming, the picture of the actress in the white dress was created above the subway duct. While reading the script, Shaw remembered a similar incident at an amusement park on Coney Island and suggested the implementation of the scene to producer Charles K. Feldman .

From the early 1960s, Shaw was also active as a film producer. He has repeatedly produced films by director John Cassavetes , including Husbands, A Woman Under Influence , Opening Night and Gloria, the gangster bride . In 1990 Romuald Karmakar shot the short documentary Sam Shaw on John Cassavetes with him .

In 1994 Shaw sued his son Larry Shaw for damages for the unauthorized exploitation of numerous photos. The lawsuit was ongoing when Shaw died and his family continued thereafter.

Shaw died in Westwood, New Jersey in 1999. He left behind his son Larry Shaw, the two daughters Meta Shaw Stevens and Edith Shaw Marcus, seven grandchildren and one great-grandson.

reception

From November 2015 to February 2016, the Opelvillen Rüsselsheim presented the first comprehensive retrospective of his work with over 200 photographs, some of which were still unknown, and various original documents.

The exhibition has been a guest at the Filmmuseum Potsdam since the beginning of 2017 .

Filmography (selection)

Works (selection)

exhibition

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christian Huther: Recordings of Marilyn Monroe: The nice girl next door . In: Frankfurter Neue Presse from November 20, 2015
  2. ↑ a b c d e Sam Shaw, 87, Film Producer and Photographer . In: New York Times, April 9, 1999
  3. ↑ Sam Shaw Collection . In: marlonbrando.com, accessed February 9, 2017
  4. ^ Adrian Dannatt: Obituary: Sam Shaw . In: The Independent of June 16, 1999
  5. ↑ Marilyn Monroe by Sam Shaw . In: amateurphotographer.co.uk April 29, 2014
  6. ↑ a b Joyce Wadler: The Seven-Year Lawsuit; Battle Over Monroe Photographs Rips a Family Apart . In: New York Times, March 14, 2001
  7. ↑ Marilyn and Other Divas: Remembering Sam Shaw. 60 years of photography . In: Opelvillen.de, accessed on February 9, 2016
  8. ↑ Sam Shaw - 60 Years of Photography . In: filmmuseum-potsdam.de, accessed on February 10, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Shaw, Sam
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American photographer, film producer, and painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1999
Place of death Westwood , New Jersey