Obit of the Day
Looking at the famous, infamous, not-so-famous, and unique lives that have shuffled off this mortal coil.
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Obit of the Day: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer
Horst Faas earned his first Pulitzer Prize in 1965 for above image. A Vietnamese man holds the body of his child while pleading with a truckload of South Vietnamese soldiers for help. The photo captured the desperation and the “collateral damage” of a war that was quickly becoming unpopular.
Faas was a German immigrant who first became a photojournalist when he joined a U.S.-run photo cooperative in his home country in 1953. He would later move over to the Associated Press. With the AP, Faas made his name in Vietnam capturing images of the war. Horst also built up a cadre of Vietnamese and other foreign photographers to help cover the war. Called “Horst’s Army” he would send them out telling to “get good pictures.”
Note: One of his protégés was Huynh Cong “Nick” Ut who would capture one of the most disturbing, and iconic, images of the war showing a screaming Vietnamese girl running down a road her clothes burned off her body by napalm.
Although Faas’ legacy is found foremost in his Vietnam coverage, he won his second Pultizer in 1972 for his work with Michael Laurent - the last journalist killed in Vietnam - capturing images of execution and torture in Bangladesh
Horst Faas, who was forced to serve in the Hitler Youth, died at the age of 79.
(The 1965 Pulitzer Prize-winning image is copyright AP/Horst Faas and courtesy of thestar.com)
Obit of the Day: Cover-ing Music
Jim McCrary decided to stop photographing musicians after working with Michael Jackson. Taking photos for Jackson’s upcoming solo album Off the Wall, the singer appeared nervous, so McCrary turned on some music and asked his niece to dance with the soon-to-be-megastar. As they danced, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough’ came on the radio and McCrary immediately switched the station - not good when that was Jackson’s new hit. Needless to say, Jackson and his management didn’t use McCrary’s photos. McCrary realized that he was better off with portraits and still lifes.
Prior to that, McCrary was one of the best album photographers in the industry. Working with A&M Records, McCrary would capture iconic images of Carole King (he asked that Ms. King’s cat be placed in the photo), The Carpenters (taking the moody photo for their debut album, and then re-shooting a happier version for the re-issue) and The Flying Burrito Brothers. McCrary, who was self-taught was A&M’s chief photographer for seven years beginning in 1967. He opened his own studio in 1974 and would also open Pix Camera in Hollywood.
McCrary died at the age of 72.
(Tapestry cover is courtesy of centerfieldmaz.com; Offering and Ticket to Ride covers are courtesy of 991.com; The Gilded Palace of Sin is courtesy of this-is-just-a-modern-rock-song.blogspot.com)
Also recommended: Cover photographer and Grammy winner, Bill Johnson and cover photographer for George Harrison, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and others, Barry Feinstein
Obit of the Day: Eye on Baltimore
Joe DiPaola, Jr. started as a copy boy at the Baltimore Sun working from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Then he’d go home, catch a few winks, and head off to high school.
Eventually he earned himself a spot on the photography staff with his Speed Graphic camera that he was paying off at $5 per month, money he earned by selling his photos to the Sun.
Except for his service in World War II, DiPaola would work at the paper for over 40 years. Although his work was mainly in sports, DiPaola would capture images of Baltimore both serene (bottom left) and chaotic (bottom right).
In 1962, while photographing the Preakness, the second leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown, DiPaola stood 40 feet down the straightaway from the finish line, a position he normally would not have staked out. As the two lead horses crossed the line, DiPaola took the picture you see above. The winner of the race was Johnny Rotz on Greek Money (left) but the second-place finisher - and favorite - Manuel Ycaza on Ridan was incensed claiming Rotz had fouled him.
It wasn’t until DiPaola developed the photo that Ycaza was vindicated. The race results would stand, but Johnny Rotz was suspended for his actions. The hearing board’s most important evidence was Joe DiPaola’s photograph.
Mr. DiPaola died at the age of 91.
(All images are copyright Joe DiPaola, Jr./Baltimore Sun. Bottom left, the Baltimore skyline taken from the Key Bridge, is courtesy of thephototimes.com. The other are courtesy of the Sun.)
Obit of the Day: Saved by the “Immaculate Reception”
On December 31, 1972 while flying medical supplies to earthquake-devastated Nicaragua, Pittsburgh Pirates star outfielder Roberto Clemente’s plane crashed killing the future Hall of Famer. Les Banos was supposed to be aboard that flight, but because of one of the most famous moments in NFL history he wasn’t.
Three decades earlier Les Banos was living in Hungary. After the his homeland joined the Axis, Banos, then just a teenager, became involved the local Nazi organizations, eventually joined the Hungarian SS. By his early twenties, Banos was associating with the highest levels of Nazi leadership around the Third Reich, including meetings with Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust.
But things weren’t what they seemed. Banos was a spy. He was working for the Office of Strategic Services (or OSS, the predecessor to the CIA). As he rose in the ranks of the SS, he used his connections to influence to create forged documents to protect the identities of numerous Hungarian Jews. His aunt and uncle hid Jews in the sewer pipes under their factory. Banos even worked with Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who helped rescue over 100,000 Hungarian Jews.
Why turn against the SS? It was personal. Les Banos’ father was Jewish. A secret his superiors never learned.
Following World War II, he and his wife, Georgina ended up in Pittsburgh where he began working for local television stations WQED and WTAE. By the early 1960s he found himself as the photographer for Pittsburgh’s two sports teams. (The Pittsburgh Penguins did not arrive until 1967.)
Banos and the Puerto Rican centerfielder Clemente hit it off - Clemente liked Banos’ accent - and became friends off the field. After an earthquake struck Nicaragua killing 5,000 and leaving 250,000 homeless, Clemente planned a trip for New Year’s Eve to deliver needed aid. Banos signed on.
The day of the earthquake, December 23, 1972, the Steelers were playing the Oakland Raiders in the NFL playoffs. With 22 seconds left in the game, down by one, Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a 25-yard pass to tight end John Fuqua. The ball was knocked from Fuqua’s hands and headed toward the ground. Franco Harris saw the ball falling and grabbed it just before it hit the ground and ran the ball to the end zone and the Steelers won, 13-7.
Because of that Steelers win, Banos was in Three Rivers Stadium taking photos of the AFC Championship game between the Steelers and the Miami Dolphins on December 31, 1972 and not on the plane that ended the life of Clemente.
Les Banos died at the age of 88.
(Image of Clemente was taken by Les Banos and is courtesy of kiskiart.com. Over 50 of Banos’ photos are in the Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)
