After graduating from New York University Graduate Film School in 1982, I was interning on the set of a commercial when I met and photographed my first "famous people." The original Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) and Lois Lane (Noel Neill) from the 1950s "Superman" TV show, posed for a Polaroid. With this image I started my book series, "Movie Stars & Famous People Picture Books." Currently, I am on Book #6. The rules are that I must either know this person or have just met them.
My great-uncle Manuel Rosenberg also collected images of famous people he met. Over one hundred years ago, Uncle Manuel was the art illustrator and art director for the Cincinnati Post and Scripps-Howard chain of newspapers. He was recognized as one of the greatest sketch artists of his day. In the 1920s when he was in his twenties, Manuel Rosenberg met with and sketched every famous person from kings to presidents, the pope, movie stars, opera stars, and industrial leaders. He collected 20,000 autographed sketches of famous people. Three hundred of his original drawings are archived in the Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library. His popular lectures included "People I Have Met in the Movies," "Intimate Interviews With Famous People," and "Famous People I Have Interviewed and Sketched."
These are some of my favorite famous people photographs from my books.