Richard Crump Miller (August 6, 1912 – October 15, 2010) was an American photographer best known for his vintage carbro prints, photos of celebrities, and work documenting the

Hollywood Freeway The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California (the boundaries of which it does not leave) and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route through the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortcut ...

Early life

Miller was born to Ray Oakley Miller and Laura Belle Crump Miller in

Hanford, California Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

. Miller's interest in photography developed when he was a child and toyed with his father’s 3¼x4¼ folding roll-film camera. His passion for photography led to his increase in knowledge about established photographers, and when he found out

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

was moving nearby he went over to introduce himself.

Education

In 1929 Miller was introduced to Leica and

Graflex Graflex was a manufacturer that gave its brand name to several models of camera. The company was founded as the ''Folmer and Schwing Manufacturing Company'' in New York City in 1887 by William F. Folmer and William E. Schwing as a metal working ...

, cameras and began to study cinematography while attending Stanford University and Pomona College. Miller earned his degree from the University of Southern California, where he first met his wife, Margaret Dudley. In 1935 Miller joined a community theater, where he attempted a career as an actor. He soon found himself spending more time taking photos of fellow players than acting. While Miller was on a trip to New York City to audition for gigs, he showed his portfolio to

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

, who suggested that he stay in New York as a photographer. However, Miller decided to return to Los Angeles to marry Margaret.

Career

In 1939 Miller decided to leave acting for photography. He taught himself the difficult carbro printing process (which involves lengthy layering of cyan, yellow and magenta pigments individually) and purchased a one-shot color camera which took three images simultaneously, allowing him to render portraits and moving subjects. Before long he had converted a bathroom in his parents' house into a makeshift darkroom so he could begin processing his freelance work, making him the only one at the time working in, and developing, carbro prints. Miller's daughter, Linda, was born in 1939. He sent a photo of her to ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' and in 1941 a picture of her peeking at the Thanksgiving turkey made the cover, one of only two photographic Post covers that year and the first that Miller had ever sold. This attracted offers from agents and Miller signed up with the Freelance Photographer's Guild. In 1941, during the Second World War, Miller got a job at

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...

, where he met

Brett Weston Theodore Brett Weston (December 16, 1911 – January 22, 1993) was an American photographer. Life and work Weston was the second of the four sons of photographer Edward Weston and Flora Chandler. He began taking photographs in 1925, while living ...

. Miller and Weston's pooled gas ration coupons enabled them to drive out to the Valley and photograph in their free time. When the war ended, Miller took a position as a printer where he was able to test materials and develop his own prints in Gasparcolor (later to become Cibachrome). From 1945-6 he worked as an assistant to photographers Valentino Sarra, Ruzzie Green, and John Engstead on commercial jobs. These positions allowed him to shoot for ''Family Circle'', ''Parents'', ''American Weekly'', ''Colliers'', ''Life'', and ''Time''. In March and April 1946, he photographed

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 ...

, at the time working as a model and still using the name Norma Jeane Dougherty. He sold a cover of her, dressed as a bride and holding his wife's prayer book, to ''True Romance''. He met her again when he was the still photographer on the set of

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

. While the Hollywood Freeway was being built from 1948–1953, Miller became entranced by it and started driving around Los Angeles taking photos to make a record of the construction. After a stint as a television lighting director, he returned to freelance until 1962, when he was asked to work on retainer at Globe Photos. This brought him into contact with a number of celebrities, 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' ...

. The images he collected while on the set of the film

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

were on display at the Celebrity Vault in Beverly Hills, CA in 2007. A collection of Miller's photography was exhibited alongside

Paul Outerbridge Paul Outerbridge, Jr. (August 15, 1896 – October 17, 1958) was an American photographer prominent for his early use and experiments in color photography. Outerbridge was a fashion and commercial photographer, an early pioneer and teacher of ...

at the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

in spring 2009. Miller's first solo gallery show was held on February 27, 2010 at the Craig Krull Gallery in

Bergamot Station Bergamot Station Arts Center is a Santa Monica facility housing many different private art galleries and appears in most tourist guides as a primary cultural destination. Opened September 17, 1994 as Bergamot Station the campus-like complex is ...

References

External links

Craig Krull Gallery

Richard C. Miller Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Richard C 1912 births 2010 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Photographers from California People from Hanford, California Pomona College alumni