Ron Galella
| Ron Galella | |
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Ron Galella in 2010 (Photo: © Kathy Lener)
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| Born |
Ronald Edward Galella January 10, 1931 New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Ron Galella. Paparazzo Extraordinaire |
| Occupation | Celebrity photographer |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Galella (d. 2017) |
| Website | http://www.rongalella.com |
Ronald Edward Galella (born January 10, 1931) is an American photographer, known as a pioneer paparazzo. Dubbed "Paparazzo Extraordinaire" by Newsweek and "the Godfather of the U.S. paparazzi culture" by Time magazine and Vanity Fair, he is regarded by Harper's Bazaar as "the most controversial paparazzo of all time".
He immortalized many celebrities out of the public eye and gained notoriety for his feuds with some of them, most notably Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Marlon Brando. Despite the numerous controversies, Galella's work has been praised and exhibited in art galleries worldwide and he has been cited by Andy Warhol as his favourite photographer.
During his career, Galella has taken more than three million photographs depicting public figures.
A Bronx native of Italian heritage, Galella is son of an immigrant from Muro Lucano, Basilicata, and his mother, born in New Jersey, was daughter of immigrants from Benevento, Campania. After graduating high school, he won a 2-year scholarship at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn but refused due to his lacks in mathematics.
Galella served as a United States Air Force photographer (1951-1955) during the Korean War and later attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California, graduating with a degree in photojournalism in 1958. In his free time Galella took pictures of the stars arriving at film premieres, selling them to magazines like National Enquirer and Photoplay. He soon became known for his photographic approach, portraying famous people out of the spotlight.
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Wikipedia