RIP Douglas Kirkland

 

Farewell to Douglas Kirkland

 

Cinecitta News

3/10/2022

 

Douglas Kirkland, one of the greatest and most sought-after photographers in the world of cinema and entertainment, died last night at the age of 88. A legendary artist, unique witness of the Hollywood star system and, last but not least, a great friend of Italian cinema. Born in Toronto in 1934, he died peacefully in his home in Los Angeles where he lived with his wife and professional partner, Françoise.

Known to readers all over the world, Kirkland broke through the industry at a very young age with what remains imprinted as one of the most memorable photo shoots of the '900: made at 24 years old, the set of 55 images made for Look Magazine closed in a room with Marylin Monroe, wrapped in simple white sheets.

A service that was already a figure of Kirkland's later work, and that would then project him among the main photographers of 'Life': Marylin in the photos is complicit, she gives herself to the unarmed, seductive, true look. A complicity that Kirkland has obtained and returned with all his immortalized characters, in a prolific career: with over 2000 assignments, over 600 celebrities photographed, and special visits on the sets of incredible films.

Just to name a few from a list of 150: 2001 A Space Odyssey, New York, New York, Titanic, Saturday Night Fever, Moulin Rouge!, Novecento, My Africa.

His relationship with our cinema is intense, especially thanks to the collaboration with Cinema Italian Style, the festival organized by Cinecittà that every year brings the best of our production to Los Angeles and launches the campaign of the Italian film in the running for the Oscars, on the occasion of which the Italian talents were immortalized in a usual event in the villa of Kirkland. A memory that remains to frame the deep relationship between our cinema and that of the United States. The partnership with Cinecittà was then crowned by two important exhibitions: in 2014 "Douglas Kirkland: A Life in Pictures" in Venice, in collaboration with Vanity Fair, which brought portraits of 50 great American stars (Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Brigitte Bardot, Warren Beatty, Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman, John Lennon, Susan Sarandon, Elizabeth Taylor and Raquel Welch ...) and 30 Italian actors (including Monica Bellucci, Raoul Bova, Pierfrancesco Favino, Isabella Ferrari, Beppe Fiorello, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Laura Morante).

And in 2017 the exhibition-event always organized by Cinecittà, with the support of Mastercard, at MAXXI in Rome, "Douglas Kirkland – Fermo Immagine" accompanied by a precious publication containing a section dedicated to contemporary Italian artists.

KIRKLAND, Douglas

Born: 8/16/1934, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada

Died: 10//2/2022, Hollywood Hilla, California, U.S.A.

 

Douglas Kirkland’s westerns – still photographer:

4 for Texas - 1963

Viva Maria - 1965

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – 1969

McCabe & Mrs. Miller – 1971

Rancho Deluxe - 1975

The Shootist – 1976

Dead Bones - 2004

Australia – 2008