- Loomis Dean
Loomis Dean (born September 19, 1917, died December 7, 2005) [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article784116.ece] Times Online obituary] was a veteran "
Life Magazine "photographer who shot pictures ofcircus clown s,crown prince s,Hollywood star s, Madagascarlemur s andSS Andrea Doria survivors in a five-decade long career. His low-key manner disarmed his subjects and put them at ease, enabling Dean capture such images as thePrince of Liechtenstein in his long johns andNoel Coward in a tuxedo in the desert.Loomis was the son of a grocer and a schoolteacher, and originally from
Monticello, Florida . He became fascinated with photography while watching a friend print a photograph in adarkroom , and later chose to study photography at theEastman School of Photography inRochester, New York .His first photography job in
1938 wasadvance man and photographer for theRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus . He was an Army Air Forces photographer in the Pacific duringWorld War II , and he later got his first job as apress agent for the Ringling Brothers circus. He rode the circus train across the country, shooting clowns,acrobat s andlion tamer s and processing his pictures in hotelbathtub s.In
1947 , he joined the staff of "Life", photographing such stars asElvis Presley ,Lucille Ball ,Noel Coward andLiberace .Fact|date=January 2008 He also shot pictures ofroyal wedding s,Pope s,Ernest Hemingway ,fashion show s,riot s and Mideast wars. In1956 , while sailing toParis to take a job in the magazine's bureau there, Dean photographed the sinking and the rescue of passengers from theocean liner SS Andrea Doria .In
1965 , out of 400 contestants, Dean won thePapal Prize in the Vatican'sEcumenical Council Photographic Exhibition . The winning color photograph showed white-robed bishops bearing the Pope'stiara marching in solemn procession throughSt. Peter's Square . It appeared in "Life" onNovember 2 ,1962 .After "Life" magazine folded in
1972 , he workedfreelance for movie studios and news magazines.He was an accomplished
sailor and a collector of cameras. At any given time, he rarely had fewer than three around his neck.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.