Peter C. Borsari (1939 in Zürich – May 29, 2006 in Los Angeles) was an American-Swiss photographer.
Borsari photographed people, places and events from 1965 to 1995, with subjects including
Presley
Presley is a surname and given name.
Etymology
The name ''Presley'' is derived from the Old English ''preost'', meaning "priest", and ''leah'' meaning "forest clearing".
History
Most instances of the surname ''Presley'' and variants ''Pressley' ...
and
Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
.
Peter estimated his archive contained approximately two million images; including transparencies, negatives, prints and contact
sheets. Roughly 80% of these images feature celebrities in the entertainment industry. The remainder consists primarily of prominent
politicians (e.g. Nixon), athletes (e.g.
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
), events (e.g.
Malibu fire), sports (e.g.
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
) and travel destinations (e.g. Switzerland).
Work
He established his success with a recording of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Mexico. The Hollywood studios Columbia, Tri-Star, Warner Bros. and Universal hired Borsari to record parties and weddings, such as those of Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner or Harry Hamlin and Nicollette Sheridan.
Recordings of Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Jack Nicholson, for example, became famous and were published all over the world. From the 1990s, he worked together with Laura Luongo and lived mainly from the marketing of his extensive archive.
Borsari died after a surgical procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and was buried in Zurich at his own request.
References
Swiss photographers
20th-century American photographers
1939 births
2006 deaths
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