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Celeb Photog Herb Ritts Dies
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Posted by: Turtleboy

http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/12/...t.ap/index.html

-- Photographer Herb Ritts, whose access to celebrities, even at their most fragile moments, gave him an edge in a competitive field, died Thursday of complications of pneumonia, his publicist said. He was 50.

Ritts -- whose stylish, mostly black-and-white portraits helped define the image-conscious 1980s and '90s -- died at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, publicist Stephen Huvane said.

Ritts gained entree to celebrities' lives even at unglamorous moments. He photographed Christopher Reeve, wired up and immobile in a high-tech wheelchair. In another photograph, Elizabeth Taylor sported a crew cut and the scar resulting from her brain surgery.

"He could get people to do things that they were reluctant to do, because in the end it would make a great photograph," said David Fahey, Ritts' gallery representative.

Edward Norton, one of Ritts' subjects, once told the Los Angeles Times: "I feel like Herb really does see everything as beautiful. ... It's almost as if he can't help but see it in its idealized form."

Ritts was born in Los Angeles in 1952, and the family furniture business provided a comfortable life for him and three siblings. He moved to the East Coast to attend New York's Bard College, studying economics and art history.

After graduation he returned to California and took a job as a salesman in the family business.

Taking pictures started as a hobby for Ritts, and chance and connections propelled him into the world of celebrity photography in the '70s. He got to know Richard Gere through someone who was dating the actor at the time.

A drive in the desert led to a flat tire and an impromptu photo session in a service station. The result was a photo of a steamy Gere in a white vest, his arms over his head and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"I can't remember whether I told Richard to put his arms over his head or whether I just clicked when he stretched. And he really smoked a lot. He was like that, a handsome kid and very sexy," Ritts said in an interview for a catalog that accompanied a show at Paris' Fondation Cartier in 2000.

At the time, Gere was an unknown. A year later he was a star, and Ritts' photos were being used as publicity shots.

Ritts shot celebrities from Madonna to Michelle Pfeiffer to Dizzy Gillespie for top fashion and culture magazines -- Interview, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Elle. When Taylor married construction worker Larry Fortensky in 1991, Ritts had exclusive rights to photograph her eighth trip down the aisle.

He showed Madonna grabbing her crotch, Cindy Crawford dressed as a man, Annette Bening pregnant and lounging on a couch.

Ritts believed his pictures would endure, even as his subjects faded from public awareness.

"Fifty or 60 years from now, if someone sees a portrait of Madonna, they really won't care that it was Madonna or they won't know" who she was, he told the Los Angeles Times. "But it'll hold up as a portrait of an interesting woman you want to know. You feel her. There's something coming from it."

His subjects ranged far beyond pop culture -- Ronald Reagan, Stephen Hawking and the Dalai Lama all went before his lens.

Ritts published at least eight books of photographs and did work for top fashion designers including Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Revlon and Giorgio Armani. He took pictures for album covers and directed music videos.

In 1991 two of his videos won MTV Awards: best female video, with Janet Jackson, and best male video, with Chris Isaak.

His work was displayed at studios and museums, including a major retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1996-'97. The show attracted more than 253,000 people, including some critics who dismissed Ritts' work as pop art.

Ritts also helped raise charity funds, often for AIDS groups.

He is survived by his mother, Shirley Ritts; a brother, Rory; a sister, Christy; and his partner, Erik Hyman.

Posted by: murgatroyd

While I was watching the obit on the news like that, they were showing a slideshow of his work. And I was sitting there checking them off: oh, yeah, I know that photo -- and that one -- and that one -- and oh, boy, that Chris Isaak video.

And seeing all the photos again reminded me of just how much I love black and white photography.

What a damn shame. :(

Jan

Posted by: Graymalkin

quote:
Originally posted by murgatroyd
-- and oh, boy, that Chris Isaak video.

That would be "Wicked Game," with Helena Christiansen? Oh, yass.

I also remember his "Cherish" video for Madonna.

Posted by: Turtleboy

Forgive me if I'm being insensitive, I am certainly not trying to be (except when I'm insulting hillbillies in other threads). ;)

But in 2002, how come codewords like "complications from pneumonia" are still being used. While it's true, is it still scandalous to report that he died from AIDS related illness? Is it still that stigmatized? :confused:

Posted by: Jon J

quote:
Originally posted by Turtleboy
...(except when I'm insulting hillbillies in other threads).

Actually, you seem to have a knack for it wherever you go.

Posted by: jsmeeker

quote:
Originally posted by Turtleboy
But in 2002, how come codewords like "complications from pneumonia" are still being used. While it's true, is it still scandalous to report that he died from AIDS related illness? Is it still that stigmatized? :confused:

Was he HIV positive? If so, did he acutally have AIDS? I know people can die from pneumonia without having AIDS. Maybe that was the case here.

Posted by: murgatroyd

quote:
Originally posted by Graymalkin
That would be "Wicked Game," with Helena Christiansen? Oh, yass.

I need a copy of that video. Oh, yeah. :cool:

Jan

Posted by: murgatroyd

quote:
Originally posted by Turtleboy
Is it still that stigmatized? :confused:

Unfortunately, yes. But it doesn't have to be AIDS, people can be stigmatized for all manner of things if the stigmatizer is stupid enough.

What we tend to forget (well, I do, anyway) is that there is a large contingent of narrow-minded uncompassionate people in this country who call themselves Christians, who still seem to think that if you get sick at all, it is some sort of punishment from God and that you deserve to be punished, so tough boogers to you.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended on a knock on all the real Christians out there who understand what Christianity is really all about, of which I know many.

What I mean are people like the relatives of a friend of mine who turned down her plea for help with her medical bills. She has an ongoing problem plus there are concerns that she might have cancer.

If I had the money and a family member of mine was that sick, I would help them out. I don't understand this attitude at all.

Jan

Posted by: Jon J

From The Washington Post obituary:

"Survivors include his partner, entertainment attorney Erik Hyman; his mother, Shirley Ritts; a brother, Rory; and a sister, Christy."