Famed Hollywood photographer Douglas Kirkland dies aged 88

Famed Hollywood photographer Douglas Kirkland has died at the age of 88. 

Best-known for his distinctive portraits of some of the world’s most beloved icons including Man Ray, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, LA-based Douglas Kirkland was a working photographer for more than 50 years. 

Born on August 16, 1934 in Toronto, Kirkland became the staff photographer for Look magazine at age 24. But it was his photos of Marilyn Monroe, taken for the publication's 25th anniversary in 1961, that catapulted him to stardom.

Speaking of the images, he told Christie's auctions in 2019 that Monroe took charge and told him that "a bed, a white silk sheet, some Frank Sinatra records, and plenty of Dom Pérignon champagne were all they needed to "make magic together.”

In 2019, the camera Kirkland used for the now iconic images was famously sold at auction.

Kirkland eventually moved on to Life magazine and later worked as a set photographer for over 100 films, including The Great Gatsby, Titanic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Sound of Music.

Kirkland is survived by his wife and business partner, Françoise, his son Mark Kirkland, and daughters Karen and Lisa, along with five grandchildren and a great grandchild.

We interviewed Kirkland back in 2020 ahead of an exhibition of his work, Three Weeks with Coco Chanel, in Perth. You can read the interview here.