SHAW Sam
Born Samuel Joseph Warshawsky.
Date of birth : January 15, 1912, New York City.
Date of death : April 5, 1999, Westwood, New Jersey.
Profession photographer.
Addresses
Portrait
Story
He displayed his artistic talents from an early age - without money for materials, he gathered tar from streets of New York to make sculptures.
He attended De Witt Clinton High School from 1925
to 1929, where he was a member of the sketch club.
The high school has
a remarkable list of notable graduates, including Richard Avedon (a
friend and colleague), George Cukor, Burt Lancaster, Ralph Lauren and
his good friend Romare Bearden.
Shortly after graduating high school, he shared an art studio with Romare Bearden ().
He eventually turned to photography but they continued to work together throughout their lives.
On January 19, 1934, he married Anna Lakritz (born circa 1912, New York).
On May 7, 1937, birth of his first child, Lawrence "Larry" ()(died on October 19, 2007).
On February 7, 1939, birth of his first daughter and second child, Meta Helen (today Meta Shaw Stevens).
On June 1st, 1945, birth of his second daughter and last child, Edith Jane (today Edith Shaw Marcus)
In the 1940s, he worked as a courtroom artists, then as a political ans sports cartoonist and art director for The Brooklyn Eagle. His career as a photojournalist began with Colliers magazine, which allowed him to travel throughout the United States documenting the lives of coal miners, sharecroppers, burlesque performers, New
Orleans' musicians, civil rights activists and other
everyday people and circumstances ().
These soulful photographs comprise Shaw's "Americana" collection, images depicting American life in the mid-twentieth century. He was also an early contributor to the prestigious photographic agency Magnum Photos.
In the early 1950s, he began working in the film industry as a special still photographer.
He captured countless stars
of the cinema, including Woody Allen (), Humphrey Bogart, Elia Kazan
(), Marlon Brando (
,
),
Alfred Hitchcock
(), John Wayne, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor (
), Ingrid
Bergman
(), Sophia Loren (
), Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra
and many more.
His photographs appeared often on the cover of Life and Look magazines, as well as in Paris Match, L'Europeo, The Daily Mail, Der Stern, Harper's Bazaar, Connaissance des Arts and others.
He preferred to shoot his subjects without set-ups, makeup or decorations, encouraging them to be spontaneous and improvise.
Link with Marilyn
In 1953 he took a picture of Marilyn on the set of "How to Marry a Millionaire?"
In 1954 he was hired by Charles Feldman, producer and Marilyn's agent, in order to work for the Fox and to take pictures during the shooting of "The Seven Year Itch" (1955).
In 1941, Sam Shaw had took pictures of sailors with their girlfriends at the Coney Island steeple-chase (New York City) for Friday magazine. The cover showed one of the girls, the skirt blowing in the wind. Shaw suggested to reproduce this image in "The Seven Year Itch".
He took pictures of Marilyn in September
1954, while she was in New York for the shooting of "The Seven Year Itch".
,
,
,
(more pics here).
St Regis Hotel
Press conference for « The Seven Year Itch » ,
,
(more pics here).
At the St James Theater, after the performance of "The Pajama Game", in the dressing-room of the actress Carol Hainey
At the Club 21 ,
(more pics here).
Skirt scene
Bathtub scene
Other scenes
Off set
spotted dress
Mae West dress
September 14, 1954, photo session for Harper's Bazaar magazine, taken by Sam Shaw at Richard Avedon's studio
with Richard Avedon
with Billy Wilder
with Earl Steinbicker, Avedon's assistant ,
September 1954, make-up
After having moved in New York in the middle of the 50's, she regularly met Shaw and his wife. It was him who introduced Marilyn to the Rostens.
It was also him who, after having visited Marilyn
at the hospital at the end of Summer 1957, advised Arthur
Miller to make a movie based on his short story "The Misfits",
specially for Marilyn. He convinced Miller that it would be an ideal
way to prove that Marilyn was a talented drama actress. Since then,
Miller had always refused to write screenplays.
Premiere of « East of Eden » on March 9, 1955, at the New York Astor Theatre
Premiere of « The Seven Year Itch » on June 1, 1955
Pictures in New York, June, 12 1957
Queensboro Bridge ,
,
(more pics here).
Drive
Battery Park
Pictures in Amagansett
Blue dress
Telephone
Alone
Pictures at Hampton Beach
May 12, 1957 at Ebbet's Field, he took pictures of Marilyn, who kicked off a football match, the USA playing Israël
In 1958, he visited her on the set of "Some Like
it Hot"
Bibliography
"Marilyn
Monroe as the Girl : the Making of The Seven Year Itché, Sam Shaw, New York,
Ballantine, 1955.
"The Joy
of Marilyn", New York : Exeter, 1979.
"Marilyn Among Friends", with Norman Rosten. New York : Henry Holt and co, 1987.
"Marilyn - the New York Years". Lardon. 2004.
Website
Official site