August 28, 2024

peter falk, ben gazzara, john cassavetes, gary oldman, gisele schmidt, sam shaw

Photographs by SAM SHAW
Words by GISELE SCHMIDT & GARY OLDMAN


The love of Sam Shaw’s photographs begins with Gary’s admiration for the films of John Cassavetes, the grandfather of independent American cinéma vérité. Gary is a self-described Cassavetes junkie. Having had little exposure to Cassavetes’ work prior to the start of our relationship, Gary immediately introduced me to several of his films. But what was it about Cassavetes that Gary found so undeniably fascinating? His style. Cassavetes dared to capture what other filmmakers would overlook: raw humanity and the chaotic nature of life. Cassavetes broke the rules of traditional filmmaking and his unconventional storytelling refused to tie up loose ends for the sake of providing the audience with a happy ending. Cassavetes took one look at Hollywood’s formula and threw it all away! Cassavetes’ influence is abundantly evident when one views Gary’s masterpiece, Nil by Mouth. Much like Cassavetes, Gary wrote, directed, financed and produced his film to depict a messy but emotionally honest story, not compromising his artistic vision for commercial appeal. But how does all of this bring us back to Sam Shaw?

gary oldman, gisele schmidt, marlon brando, sam shaw
Sam Shaw © Shaw Family Archives/Getty Images

Well, Cassavetes and Sam were best friends, colleagues, and collaborators. Shaw was an advisor on Cassavetes’ first film, Shadows (1959), and later went on to produce many of Cassavetes’ films including Husbands (1970), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), Opening Night (1977) and Gloria (1980). A producer, sometimes production designer, publicity and advertising campaign contributor, and later a filmmaker in his own right, Sam never gave up his first love of photography and remained the specials photographer on set.  

Gary’s favourite Cassavetes film is Husbands, so naturally, the second photograph he had me track down for his collection was of Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara and John Cassavetes during its filming. We are so grateful to the Shaw Family Archives, who so graciously opened their vault of Sam’s personal prints and allowed Gary to acquire a sequence of five photographs, culminating in the image at the top of this page, which was used for publicity on the release of the film. 

gary oldman, gisele schmidt, marilyn monroe, sam shaw
Sam Shaw © Shaw Family Archives/Getty Images

Sam’s photographs embrace independence and encourage spontaneity. Shaw wasn’t looking for the traditional ‘perfect’ shot. Shaw’s images can be raw, have blurred focus, with skewed perspectives, but they are undoubtedly beautiful, innovative and real. They capture the perfect but fleeting moment that only a click of the shutter can provide. How can one not laugh at Brando pulling a face? Or be charmed by Marilyn waving hello? Or be transfixed by the angle of the shot of Loren snoozing under the hair dryer with Shaw’s self-portrait reflected in a mirror in the bottom corner?  With his artistic composition and his journalistic instinct, Shaw’s images are uncharacteristically Hollywood; what Cassavetes did for film is what Shaw did for stills photography. What a legacy!

gary oldman, gisele schmidt, sophia loren, sam shaw
Sam Shaw © Shaw Family Archives/Getty Images

Shaw’s career spanned six decades and there was never a day that his two beaten-up Nikon cameras weren’t at the ready dangling from his neck. His photographs graced the covers of LIFE, Look, Paris Match, the Daily Mail, Der Stern, Harper’s Bazaar and countless other publications. He captured images of everyone from those mentioned above to Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra… The list goes on and on and on. His photographic archive covers a variety of his interests: cinema, music, theatre, literature and the arts, as well as social and political activism, and it is preserved and promoted today by his children and grandchildren through the Shaw Family Archives. 


Photographs by SAM SHAW
Credit © SHAW FAMILY ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Words by GISELE SCHMIDT & GARY OLDMAN

Photograph by RICHARD C. MILLER
Courtesy of GETTY IMAGES
Words by GISELE SCHMIDT & GARY OLDMAN


When asked how we got together, we always answer: ‘Liz Taylor and James Dean.’ But we really owe it all to Richard Miller, the freelance entertainment and stills photographer, who captured the image of them relaxing on a sofa in Houston, Texas in 1955.

In truth, saying ‘Richard C. Miller’ doesn’t carry the weight and humour of saying ‘Taylor and Dean’, but it should. We have all heard the adage, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, and we don’t disagree – but what of the person who took it, or the people in it, what we take from it, or what happens because of it? We feel that those stories are equally as captivating, should be shared, and well… at times, they may take a thousand words to tell. 

So, we thank Hollywood Authentic and our dear friend, Greg Williams, for indulging us with this opportunity in the forthcoming issues to share the stories of how some of the most iconic images were taken, pay homage to the extraordinary photographers behind them, and take you on the journey of how the love of photography changed our lives forever.

Over the course of his career, Miller took photographs of celebrities and stills on more than 70 movie sets, with his work appearing in The Saturday Evening Post, American Weekly, Colliers, Time and LIFE. He was one of the first photographers who took pictures of Norma Jean for the Blue Book Modeling Agency long before her transformation into Marilyn Monroe, and he covered the set photographs of what would be Dean’s third and final film, Giant. Which brings us to this photograph.  

leica, q3, hollywood authentic

Miller studied to be a cinematographer and was an actor prior to establishing himself as a photographer. Dean aspired to be a film director and shared a passion for photography – among his closest friends were notable photographers Phil Stern, Dennis Stock and Roy Schatt (the latter being Dean’s photography instructor who had also given Dean his Rolleiflex). Hence why when Miller met Dean, they became fast friends who bonded over their love of Porsches, cameras and the filmmaking process, and Miller told his wife, ‘This is a guy who will be a best friend for life.’

A great image is typically generated by knowing when to click the shutter, but it also needs the right elements of composition. Between the photographer and the subject, cooperation and collaboration, magic can happen. Miller recounted that when Dean saw him about to take the photograph, he would do something to make it better; a look, a stance, a gesture, and in this case, simply grabbing the LOOK magazine featuring Taylor on the cover as Mother of the Year, while she napped beside him.    

This very photograph is what brought Gary into the gallery where I worked and now hangs proudly in our home. It’s the image that we bonded over, and began our conversations on cameras, film and photography; it is what started us on the path to becoming best friends and partners for life. And come to think of it, Gary did drive over in his Porsche.


Photograph by RICHARD C. MILLER
Courtesy of GETTY IMAGES
Words by GISELE SCHMIDT & GARY OLDMAN