John Florea

Last updated

John Florea (born in Alliance, Ohio on May 28, 1916; died in Las Vegas on August 25, 2000) was an American television director and a photographer. [1]

Contents

Career

Photograph of Marcia Van Dyke taken by John Florea in 1947 Marcia Van Dyke, 1947.jpg
Photograph of Marcia Van Dyke taken by John Florea in 1947

Florea started as a photographer for the San Francisco Examiner, then was signed onto the staff of LIFE in 1941, living in Hollywood and specializing in celebrity portraits of actresses, such as Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor which led to U.S. involvement in World War II he joined America's first war correspondents for the Pacific war, where he covered the Marines and the Navy, especially during the Battle of Tarawa in December 1943, and from 1944 until the end of the war, he followed the American army in French and Belgian campaigns, documenting the bombing of German cities and liberation of inmates of Nordhausen Nazi concentration camp. [2] [3] A picture of his of an emaciated American POW was given exposure throughout the US, [4] and his photograph "Read My Vote", made in Japan in 1947, was included by Edward Steichen in his world-touring The Family of Man exhibition.

After the war, Florea returned to Hollywood to continue to photograph celebrities, leaving LIFE in 1949. Portraits of movie stars he made in colour in the 1950s were part of an exhibition "Masters of Starlight: Photographers in Hollywood" in 1988 at the LACMA, Los Angeles. He later became producer, director, and writer for more than 130 TV shows from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, known for his direction of episodes of Sea Hunt, The Virginian [5] CHiPs, [6] and the paranormal thriller Invisible Strangler. [7]

Personal life

He was born to Romanian immigrants. Married to Evelyn Barnes From 1939 to 1954. Children Gwendolyn Florea, Melanie Florea, Johnny Florea. Grandchildren, Sean Florea, Shelly Brown. Great grandchildren: Aundrea Brown, Alayna Brown, Dylan Brown. From 1955 to 1958 he was married to actress Marjie Millar. [8] He also had a turbulent third marriage (1968-1971) with Shirley Damery, who allegedly stabbed him in the back with a small knife following an alimony hearing in 1975. Florea sued her for $1.25 million and she in turn sued him for the same amount, alleging he had circulated to her close friends and showbiz acquaintances a copy of her arrest record and mug shot from a 1955 prostitution arrest with the intent of humiliating her. [9] [10] He was last married to Ruth Johnson at the time of his death.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb Ritts</span> American photographer

Herbert Ritts Jr. was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black and white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture, which emphasized the human shape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bailey</span> British photographer

David Royston Bailey is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paparazzi</span> Photographers who take candid pictures of celebrities

Paparazzi are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects go about their usual life routines. Paparazzi tend to make a living by selling their photographs to media outlets that focus on tabloid journalism and sensationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography</span> American photojournalism award

The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography is one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, a sequence or an album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry O'Neill (photographer)</span> British photographer (1938–2019)

Terence Patrick O'Neill was a British photographer, known for documenting the fashions, styles, and celebrities of the 1960s. O'Neill's photographs capture his subjects candidly or in unconventional settings.

Milton H. Greene was an American fashion and celebrity photographer and film and television producer, best known for his photo shoots with Marilyn Monroe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Benson</span> Scottish photographer

Harry James Benson CBE is a Scottish photographer. His photographs of celebrities have been published in magazines. He has published several books and won a number of prominent awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Howard</span> American actress and photographer

Jean Howard was an American actress and professional photographer. She was born in Longview, Texas and died in Beverly Hills, California.

Louis Athol Shmith was an Australian studio portrait and fashion photographer and photography educator in his home city of Melbourne, Australia. He contributed to the promotion of international photography within Australia as much as to the fostering of Australian photography in the world scene.

Sid Avery was an American photographer and director who was best known for capturing the private moments of legendary Hollywood celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn as showcased in his book, "Hollywood at Home."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Leibovitz</span> American photographer (born 1949)

Anna-Lou Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, taken five hours before Lennon's murder, is considered one of Rolling Stone magazine's most famous cover photographs. The Library of Congress declared her a Living Legend, and she is the first woman to have a feature exhibition at Washington's National Portrait Gallery.

Anthony Kalani Roberts, also known as Kal Roberts, was an American actor and photographer who won a Pulitzer Prize for photojournalism in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Wolin</span> American photographer

Penny Wolin, also known as Penny Diane Wolin and Penny Wolin-Semple, is an American portrait photographer and a visual anthropologist. She has exhibited solo at the Smithsonian Institution and is the recipient of two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and one grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work is held in the permanent collections of such institutions as Harvard University, the Layton Art Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the New York Public Library and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Known for her documentary and conceptual photographs, she has completed commissions for major corporations, national magazines and private collectors, including the Walt Disney Corporation, LIFE Magazine and the Brant Foundation. For over 30 years, she has used photographic portraiture with oral interviews to research Jewish civilization in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Wiener</span>

Leigh Austen Wiener was an American photographer and photojournalist. In a career that spanned five decades, he covered hundreds of people and events. His images captured the public and private moments of entertainers, musicians, artists, authors, poets, scientists, sports figures, politicians, industrialists, and heads of state, including every U.S. president from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan and illustrated every sector of industry including farming, steel mills, auto manufacturing, aerospace, medicine, research, early computing and semi-conductor manufacturing.

Richard Crump Miller was an American photographer best known for his vintage carbro prints, photos of celebrities, and work documenting the Hollywood Freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Swope (photographer)</span> American photographer

John Swope was a photographer for Life, and a commercial pilot who trained United States Army Air Forces pilots during World War II

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Feinstein</span> American photographer and filmmaker

Barry Feinstein was an American photographer and filmmaker, known for his photographs of 1950s Hollywood, the 1960s music scene, and his close personal and professional relationships with celebrities like Bob Dylan and Steve McQueen. Feinstein produced over 500 album covers, featuring his photographs and graphic designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Shields</span> American photographer, screenwriter, director and inline skater

Tyler Shields is an American photographer, screenwriter, director, and former professional inline skater. Shields is known for his provocative photography involving violence and danger.

Kevin Christopher Ou is an American celebrity, director, photographer, entrepreneur, and investor. He is originally from Singapore. He is the soul founder of KEVINOU INC., the co-founder of Modern Home + Living (MH+L), and founder of The Lumenere Group and LIVMO. His photographs have been published in Rolling Stone, Nylon, Elle, DUB, People, Surface, Vogue, and Entertainment Weekly with clients like Levi’s, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Maserati, SONY, Universal Music, Hermes, H&M, Uniqlo, Lego, BMW and General Motors.

Gary Bernstein is an American photographer and author.

References

  1. "Obituary for John Florea in the Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2000-09-01. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  2. Sybil Milton (1999) Photography as evidence of the Holocaust, History of Photography, 23:4, 303-312, DOI: 10.1080/03087298.1999.10443338
  3. "Daily News of Los Angeles of December 7, 1995". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  4. Zelizer, Barbie (May 2000). Remembering to Forget by Barbie Zelizer, pg 34. ISBN   9780226979731 . Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  5. Green, Paul (10 January 2014). A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971 by Paul Green. ISBN   9780786457991 . Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  6. "Metacritic profile". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  7. Young, R. G. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film edited by R. G. Young, pgs 313-314. ISBN   9781557832696 . Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  8. "The Evening Independent of August 29, 1958" . Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  9. "Los Angeles Times archive for June 17, 1975". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1975-06-17. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  10. "Times-Union of July 9, 1975". 1975-07-09. Retrieved 2013-11-11.