Frank Worth (1923–2000) was an American photographer who befriended and photographed many Hollywood actors and actresses between 1939 and 1964."Hollywood exhibition makes debut"
BBC News, October 25, 2002 His black and white candid pictures are unusual for the era, when most stars limited themselves to carefully posed glamour portraits.
Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2003 He kept many of his photographs private so that they were not seen until after his death. He was rumored to have been intimate with several of his subjects including Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield; he confirmed his affair with Monroe shortly before his death. Worth was born in New York City. He became interested in photography in high school. Moving to Hollywood, he was hired to photograph movie stars but quickly became a freelance photographer. He made friends with

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

and his wife, who allowed him to live with them and introduced him to other stars."In search of lost stars"
The Telegraph, September 27, 2002 Among his early subjects was

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

, then an unknown starlet. Worth became a friend of numerous well known actors and actresses including

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

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and

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. These friendships plus "a knack for being in the right place at the right time" allowed him to capture unique images of the stars. He was allowed onto the set of classic films such as

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and

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. He filmed

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's first wedding. He also did sports photography and was the original photographer for the

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.Oh, snap: Frank Worth's classic Hollywood photographs at Art & Artifact
Los Angeles Times, April 15, 2010 He gradually gave up photography and fell into poverty, but he refused to sell the photographs of the people who had been his friends. After his death in December 2000, his cousin acting as executor found more than 10,000 negatives in his apartment. Eventually a friend realized the possible value of the photos and formed a company to publish them.
, The Independent, December 10, 2003 They were the subject of several heavily publicized exhibitions, including one in London in 2002 which Christie's auction house described as "the most extraordinary collection of its kind for the past 50 years" and a Sotheby's exhibition in 2003. The London exhibition was curated by twins Austin and Howard Mutti-Mewse, whose longtime obsession with Hollywood helped them to sort out the long-lost collection.

References

External links

*Worth, Frank, edited by Austin and Howard Mutti-Mewse
"Worth exposing Hollywood: Frank Worth's glamorous and unpublished Hollywood photographs, 1939–1964"
Matchpoint Media, 2004
official Frank Worth gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worth, Frank 1923 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American photographers Artists from New York City Artists from Los Angeles