My journey ends here chemin...
BARRIS George
Date of birth : June 14, 1922, New York.Date of death : September 30, 2016, Thousand Oaks, California.
Profession : photographer
Portrait
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Addresses
* during his childhood : 24 Delancy Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan.
*1940 : 250 Macombs Road, Bronx
*1980s : 56 Boulevard Aristide Briand, Soisy sous France, France (
).Story
His parents, Joseph and Eva Barris, were immigrants from Romania.
For his 6th birthday, his brother Willie offered him a camera, which was the beginning of his passion.
He used to bring his camera to school, taking pictures of interesting people and places.
As a teenager, he realized that his pictures allowed him for earning money. He was requested by his friends and their families, but also by the local Churche's pastors. He realized he wanted to be a professional photographer.
He wanted to travel, meet interesting people and go all over the world.
He finally sent his pictures to newspapers and magazines editors who liked it.
During WWII, he joined the Army and became official photographer from 1942 to 1945.
He was chosen to cover the celebration of General Eisenhower's victorious come back. He made an album of this event which was dedicated by the General.
He soon obtained his first mission from a magazine which belonged to Parade. His work was much appreciated and he soon was requested by other magazines. He started to travel through the USA and Canada.
He made a special issue for Cosmopolitan magazine in Florida. He covered the coal strikes in West Virginia, sport
events, and took pictures of celebrities and movie stars such as Steve McQueen (
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Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, especially for Life magazine. He met and took pictures of Marilyn in 1954 in New York on the production of "The Seven Year Itch".
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They became friends.
June 1st, 1962, he attended Marilyn's birthday on the set of "Something's Got to Give"
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He was one of the last photographer to take Marilyn in pictures between June 29 and July 1st, 1962.
June, Friday 29 and Saturday 30, house of Walter "Tim" Leimert (
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(more pics here)Bedroom
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Bathroom
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With Agnes Flanagan
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With Whitey Snyder
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,,Patio
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(more pics here)Terrace
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(more pics here) Car
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(more pics here) Contact sheets
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Sunday July 1st, 1962, last day of the picture session, last pictures. The session took place on the Santa Monica beach, near the Lawford's house
With the Mexican cardigan
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(more pics here)With the orange bathsuit
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(more pics here)With a white bathrobe
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With a green towel
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(more pics here)These pictures should have been published in Cosmopolitan magazine.
There's also an amateur film showing Barris and Marilyn on the beach
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August 8, 1962 he attended Marilyn's funeral at the Westwood Village
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.After Marilyn's tragic death, he settled in Paris where he lived during 20 years. He went back to the USA with his wife Carla and 2 daughters Caroline and Stephanie. He lived his last years in California.
Bibliography
Some of his pictures were published in 1973 in Norman Mailer's biography, and much more in the one he wrote with Gloria Steinem in 1986 ("Marilyn Norma Jeane").
In 1995 he published "Her Life in Her Own Words" which text is composed with notes written after their picture sessions. Those notes were intended to be published in an autobiography they planned to write together, of which Marilyn sait it would "clear things up".
Website George Barris Photos
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