Friday, March 8, 2013

Bud Fraker, famous Audrey Hepburn "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Photographer among other stars

Bud Fraker was born in 1916 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He became interested in photography and decided to go California to pursue a career. In 1934 he studied photography at Los Angeles City College and began working part-time at the Columbia Studios stills laboratory under his brother William 'Bill' Fraker, who was the director of the department.  Following his brother's death, Fraker was hired by Hollywood photographer A. L. 'Whitey' Schafer at Columbia.

Soon after he became the Director of Still Photography at Columbia Studios and took many photos of the stars in the late 1930s.

He moved on from there with Schafer in 1942 to work for Paramount studios in the Publicity Photography Department and assisted in the portrait gallery.  Upon Schafer's death he became the studio's own Director of Still Photography, which he did in the 1940s to the 1960's.

Among the films he did still photography on included "Twentieth Century," with Carole Lombard, "King Creole" with Elvis Presley and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn.  He took the famous portrait photos of her with the long cigarette holder, Tiffany diamond jewelry and black dress.

As a matter of fact, although he photographed many of Paramount's top stars, his most enduring work records Audrey Hepburn during the production of her first two films as a star, 'Roman Holiday' (1953) and 'Sabrina' (1954).

After that he decided to leave Paramount and he began doing freelance work for other studios while running his own photo lab. He retired in 1979.  He passed away in 2002.


Anita Ekberg
 
Anna Magnani
 
Anne Baxter
 


Barbara Stanwyck
 

Betty Hutton
 
Marlon Brando
 
Carole Lombard and John Barrymoore
 
Dean Martin
 
Elvis Presley
 
Clark Gable
 
Ginger Rogers
 
Tragic star Inger Stevens
 
Lizbeth Scott
 

Paulette Goddard
 


Sophia Loren
 
Rosemary Clooney
 
Jane Russell
 
Shelly Winters
 
Sylvia Lewis
 
Elizabeth Taylor
 
Vera Ellen
 
William Holden
 
The photographer had a great relationship with Grace Kelly as well as Audrey Hepburn as you can see below:
 




 



 
Grace below with Fraker:
 
The famous sessions with Audrey during filming and publicity shots made for the filming of "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
 





 


 
 






 
Audrey's great love of animals shown below:




 
Filming 'Tiffany's':
 







 
 Other shots of Fraker taking photos of Audrey:
 


 
 His famous photos of Audrey with the long cigarette holder have influenced many art illustrators as shown below:
 


 


Go to Deviant Art for more.  A great place to find art of all kinds.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Ned Scott: Hollywood Film Industry Still Photographer

Ned Scott (April 16, 1907-November 24, 1964) was an American photographer who worked in the Hollywood film industry as a still photographer from 1935-1948. As a member of the Camera Club of New York from 1930–34, he was heavily influenced by fellow members Paul Strand and Henwar Rodakiewicz.

While living in New York and visiting the Camera Club, Ned Scott began commercial work with still lifes and x-ray tubes. He experimented with light and form during this period. Unfortunately little survives except that which he saved for his own personal collection. His other photographic efforts during this time included a study of La Iglesia de San Francisco in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.

Ned Scott spent the latter half of 1934 working for Paul Strand on location in Alvarado, Mexico to produce the Mexican protest film, Redes.  Fred Zinnemann, who also worked on this film, referred to Ned Scott's stills as "classics" in his autobiography.

Ned Scott arrived in Hollywood in February, 1935 and took up residence with Fred Zinnemann and Henwar Rodakiewicz in a studio apartment complex at 7900 Honey Drive, North Hollywood. With his New York experience and recently finished film effort in Mexico, Ned Scott began free lance work as a still photographer. He was soon to come to the notice of producers David Loew and Walter Wanger for whom he photographed films in the latter half of the 1930s and early 1940s. Most notable are the two Walter Wanger films "Stagecoach" 1939 and "Long Voyage Home" 1941. Both of these films were directed by John Ford. Some of his most recognizable work was yet to be created, however. In March 1945, Ned Scott signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, becoming a contract employee for the first time since entering Hollywood. Over the next three years Ned Scott worked with such stars as Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Humphrey Bogart, and Janet Blair.

Ned Scott married Gladys Matthews, daughter of Presbyterian minister Reverend Mark A. Matthews of Seattle, in 1936. They lived for four years on Mesa Drive in Santa Monica Canyon, California and then moved to La CaƱada where he raised a family including one daughter and son.

There is an archival site that continues to keep his work alive:

http://www.thenedscottarchive.com/

Here are some examples of his work that do not appear on his website, so no doubles.

Ann Miller

Joan Bennett

Rhonda Fleming

Hedy Lamarr

Jinx Falkenburg
 
Leslie Brooks
 
Adele Jergens

Evelyn Anders
 
And many of the great Rita Hayworth:
 
With Charles Vidor







The above is what appeared on the back of the last photo.

A closer look at Scott's stamp.