Ron Galella American photographer Date of Birth: 10.01.1931 Country: USA

Ron Galella Biography

Ron Galella was born in January 1931 in the heart of America - New York City, United States. Not much is known about his childhood and youth, but the world first learned about him when Ron, returning from the army, sold a few military-themed photographs to a small New York newspaper. It was then that he realized his passion for photography and decided to pursue it professionally.

Ron enrolled at the famous Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California, and received his diploma in 1958. However, he had no intention of slowly climbing the career ladder. He wanted to "amaze the world" with his work. Despite skepticism from his colleagues and constant comments like "Everything has already been discovered, live by the rules," Galella never gave up.

His persistence paid off when he began photographing Hollywood stars on the streets. At first, they found it amusing to be recognized, but soon they started to become irritated by the persistent fan. The story always ended the same way: the enraged celebrity would attack Ron, shouting, "Smash his camera!" However, Galella always emerged not only as the victor but also with his head held high, smirking at the outraged star.

Things remained relatively quiet until one incident changed everything. Ron managed to capture Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of President John F. Kennedy, while she was undressed. The scandalous photographs began appearing in magazines and newspapers, much to the dismay of the actors who wanted to maintain a certain image. Tensions rose, and Galella's smirk turned into a defiant grin that seemed to say, "Find yourself in the next issue!"

The real scandal erupted when Galella dared to climb over the fence of Jacqueline Kennedy's property. The court decided to ban him from photographing Jacqueline closer than 150 feet. This distance was later reduced to 50 feet. Another infamous incident occurred on June 12, 1973 when actor Marlon Brando punched Ron, breaking his jaw and five teeth. Ron received a compensation of around $50,000 but donated most of it to charity, stating, "I just want everyone to understand that they don't have the right to hit me whenever they feel like it! Even if I'm taking their photographs, I do it for art, not money."

Despite the controversies, Ron Galella became renowned for photographing almost every Hollywood actor and rock/pop music star. His most famous shots include Elvis Presley, Yoko Ono and John Lennon, Woody Allen, Julia Roberts, and Kate Moss. Ironically, Galella loved photographing Marlon Brando, but he always wore a helmet or a hat to taunt him. Brando didn't seem to mind as much anymore and occasionally made obscene gestures at the photographer.

All these stories and thousands of photographs have made Ron Galella the most famous photographer in America. For several decades now, he has been referred to as the "Godfather of American paparazzi culture."