Ron Galella: The First and Most Famous American Paparazzi

Ron Galella is the "father" of the paparazzi, the most famous and the most scandalous, because he was a pioneer. His very original methods of shooting, which, in fact, in the mid-50s seemed to be exactly so, were a novelty. That is, Galella photographed people, or rather celebrities, in a completely ordinary everyday environment without light and agreements, or caught stars at the most unexpected moments to capture their emotions.

But the consequences were far from the most pleasant: for example, Jackie Onassis sued the newly-minted paparazzi, and as a result of a rather noisy trial, a court ban was imposed on the photographer in 1972. That is, Galella was not allowed to come more than 100 yards from Onassis's house and 50 yards from her and her children. Interestingly, after some time, the sentence was commuted and the regulated distance was reduced to 25 yards.





Ron Galella served in the US Air Force in his youth, and in 1969 he appeared on the screen during the game TV show Tell the Truth. And already in June 1973, Gallela suffered the first "losses" at the front of his difficult work: Marlon Brando broke his jaw and knocked out four of his teeth. But the actor himself also suffered - an infection was brought into the wound on his arm. Later, Ron, who had a bitter experience, began to wear a helmet when he was going to photograph the explosive Brando.













Brigitte Bardot had already persuaded her friends to pour water on Galella with a hose. And after the first attempt to photograph Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton with a hidden camera, who were vacationing in Mexico right next to the pool, Richard's bodyguards did no better than Brando - they broke Galella's jaw and beat him. It is not surprising that such injuries ended for the star woeful paparazzi with a real hospitalization. Sean Penn was also a volcano of emotions, although he did not beat him, but only spat at Galella, who once tried to photograph him, which probably seemed to Galella just a relaxation after so many especially dangerous and traumatic sorties.
Yes, their "service" is "both dangerous and difficult...", but how many rare and unique personnel we have now. These are no longer paparazzi shots, but legendary retro.