Michael Jackson and Muhammad Ali and wife, Veronica Parker Ali, 1977
Ron Galella

Ron Galella is an American photographer born in the United States in 1931. He is known for his photos of stars on the spot, and he is considered to be the pioneer of paparazzi culture and photography. Biography of Ron Galella. Ron Galella was born in the working-class district of the Bronx, into an Italian immigrant family from Muro Lucano, in the province of Potenza. He served as a photographer in the United States Air Force during the Korean War (1950-1953). Legend has it that he learned the profession of a photographer by reading a book called How to Shoot Glamor ("how to photograph glamor"). Either way, Ron Galella graduated in photojournalism in 1958 from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. Galella seeks to approach and capture the essence of the stars of the 60s. Her stolen photos are snapped up and made the front pages of current affairs magazines. It haunts premieres and private parties where artists, writers, creators and movie stars throng. A caste apart that we call the jet set or the café society. If Ron did not invent the word paparazzo (which means "roaring mosquito" in Italian), he certainly embodied this new function. His work has helped redefine, if not reinvent, the relationship between stars and photographs. Galella is ready to take risks to get a cliché, pushing back more and more the invisible barriers that surround the icons of the 60's: Jackie Kennedy; Marlon Brando, or even Mick Jagger. Outside of official events, he watches their cars, their movements, their exits. It is the beginning of the "paparazzi" style, which will make school ... and get him some trouble. Ron Galella will be at the heart, among other things, of two high-profile court battles with Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis. She fascinates him, he shoots her, she gets tired. She will obtain from a judge that the photographer is no longer authorized to approach her within 45 meters. Marlon Brando will break his jaw - after which Galella will approach him equipped with an American football helmet. He will be beaten up by Richard Burton's bodyguards; before being jailed in Cuernavaca, Mexico… Being the "Extraordinary Paparazzi" Newsweek describes is not easy. Ron Galella's photos will be featured in hundreds of magazines, including Time, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Vanity Fair, People, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and The New York Times. Ron Galella also collects photos in numerous photojournalism books, such as Disco Years, which will be named "Best Photo Book of 2006" by the New York Times. In 2010, Smash His Camera, the documentary about his life and career - directed by Oscar-winning director Léon Gast - opened the Sundance Film Festival. He received the Grand Jury Prize in the "Best Documentary Film Director" category. The film was also well received at the 54th BFI London Film Festival, before being shown on the BBC and then across the UK and Europe. His work earned him a well-established reputation in the United States; but also recognition of the Region of Basilicata in Italy. Ron Galella indeed received the title of "Honorary Citizen of the Region" in 2009. As if to pay homage to the country of his ancestors, Galella launches Viva l'Italia !, a work of more than 225 images of Italian celebrities and Italian-American, from Frank Sinatra to Sophia Loren. Ron Galella currently lives in Montville, New Jersey, with his wife Betty Galella Burke. Style Considered the most famous and controversial of celebrity photographers, Ron Galella has been described as "The US Godfather of Paparazzi Culture" by Time and Vanity Fair. His role as a broker between mythical characters and the public laid the foundations for this culture of intimate exposed imagery which now reigns in Hollywood. His technique? It is in two words: "fast shoot!". It is his passion for the art of photography, combined with his self-taught approach, that shapes his profession. It takes technical skill to capture the essence of someone in a few thousandths of a second. Ron Galella's own prints have earned their place in museums and galleries. His photos are exhibited around the world: Museum of Modern Art in New York and San Francisco; Tate Moderne in London; Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin… Bibliography Boxing with the Stars, Ron Galella, Verlhac, 2011 Man in the Mirror: Michael Jackson by Ron Galella, Ron Galella, PowerHousse Books, 2009 Viva l'Italia !, Ron Galella, Powerhouse Books, 2009 No Pictures, Ron Galella, PowerHouse Books, 2008 Warhol by Galella: That's Great !, Ron Galella, Verlhac Editions, 2008 Disco Years, Ron Galella, PowerHouse Books, 2006 Ron Galella Exclusive Diary, Ron Galella, Photology, 2004 The Photographs of Ron Galella 1965-1989, Ron Galella, Greybull Press, 2001 Offguard: A Paparazzi Look at the Beautiful People, Ron Galella, McGraw Hill BookCompany, 1976 Jacqueline, Ron Galella, Sheed and Ward, 1974.