The legendary photographer on studying for the priesthood, hanging out with Frank Sinatra, and his love of Leica.
View the Video Interview with Terry O’Neill Here
‘I look back on my life and I can’t believe I did all those things,’ comments Terry O’Neill, the British photographer who became renowned for his candid shots of musicians including Elton John, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones, and Hollywood greats ranging from Fred Astaire to Frank Sinatra.
O’Neill came to photography via an unconventional route. ‘My mother wanted me to be a priest, but the priest who was teaching me said that I asked too many questions,’ he explains. O’Neill dreamt of becoming an international jazz drummer, and when he discovered British Airways flew to New York, he applied to become an air steward so that he could spend his off-duty time in the US. He took a job in the photographic unit of British Airways to better advance his chances.
‘That was the start of my photographic career,’ says O’Neill. ‘I went from England and got slung into the centre of Hollywood.’ Early subjects included Frank Sinatra, who allowed O’Neill to follow him as he pleased. ‘I could go anywhere with him — it was fantastic. When I got back to England I realised what a gift he’d given me. He’d totally let me into his life.’
Among O’Neill’s most famous images is a shot of actress Faye Dunaway, captured elegantly dazed by the swimming pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the morning after her 1977 Oscar win. ‘She went to bed at 3:30am and got up at 6 to do this picture,’ he recalls. Dunaway’s Oscar glints on the breakfast table, the morning’s press scattered at her feet. O’Neill went on to marry the actress six years later.
The cameras behind O’Neill’s iconic shots were always Leicas, the German brand that was also a favourite of photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and Garry Winograd. ‘The Leica was very important to me,’ says O’Neill. ‘It was a fabulous camera to use — quick as a flash, anywhere, any time.’