Milton H. Greene

Milton Hawthorne Greene ( born March 14, 1922 in New York, USA; † August 8, 1985 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American photographer.

Life

Greene was born in 1922 in New York and began photographing at age 14. He went to the famous photojournalist Elliot Elisofen into teaching.

Most of the works Greene that emerged in the 50s and 60s, were published in major magazines such as Look, Harper 's Bazaar, Town & Country and Vogue.

Although Greene was mainly known for his fashion photographs, he became legendary for his impressive portraits of artists, musicians, singers, theater and film actors. He saw the role of the art photographer to map the photographed elegantly and naturally beautiful. He succeeded primarily by the fact that he built his models close ties to press the shutter at the right moment and capture the special atmosphere in the photographs.

Numerous stars appreciate Greene's manner of presentation and were happy to pose for him, including Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, Sammy Davis Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, Federico Fellini, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Benny Goodman, Groucho Marx, Audrey Hepburn, John Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Giacometti, Grandma Moses, Alfred Hitchcock, Sir Laurence Olivier, Queen Elizabeth, Ava Gardner, Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Dizzy Gillespie and Norman Mailer. Still, it was his professional and private, friendly relationship with Marilyn Monroe, to the contemporaries remember today as the first.

Greene's photographs brought him national and international prizes, medals, honors and accolades, including those of the "American Institute of Graphic Arts " and the " Art Director's Club".

In recent years, Greene's portraits were exhibited, in museums, galleries and private collections around the world.

Collaboration with Marilyn Monroe

Greene was the one who Marilyn Monroe 1953-1957 gave the confidence to venture to showdown with Hollywood's all-powerful studios and pursue its own path. Before he let down the camera for a year in order to devote himself exclusively to the construction of the joint name Marilyn Monroe Productions, Greene was quickly risen as a prominent fashion photographer who knew how to deal with such stars as Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn great fame.

Many Marilyn fans keep his photos that show their idol in his public and private life, for unique. One contributing factor was that Greene like no other photographer had almost constant contact with Marilyn. In unison, almost all biographers, Marilyn and Milton Greene would have been well understood at their first meeting in 1953 at first attempt. The photographer had come to Hollywood to film part of a cover story in the magazine about Monroe look.

Motivated by Marilyn's dissatisfaction with Twentieth Century Fox, Milton Greene devised a strategy for getting out of her studio contract, coupled with the tantalizing prospect of being able to shape their own future in the movie business in the future itself. As Greene end of 1953 with his wife, whom he had recently married, came back to Los Angeles, he encouraged Marilyn, against the shameful low pay, which was given to her by contract, and against roles they considered demeaning to proceed. It allows the photographer the following year spent with the preparations for company formation, while Marilyn Joe DiMaggio married and had divorced him again. In December 1954, she took refuge in a New York hotel and then moved to Milton and his wife Amy to Connecticut. The hustle and bustle of the press on the " search" for Marilyn came to an end when she held jointly with Milton a press conference to announce the fresh upscale from the baptism Marilyn Monroe Productions of the public. However, it soon became clear that Twentieth Century Fox was not willing to let their contract actress without a fight.

When Milton realized that it would not succeed in attracting a wealthy sponsor for the company, he gave his lawyers the green light to renegotiate the contract between Marilyn and the Fox. Together with Marilyn Greene 1956 returned triumphantly returned to Hollywood to take over the female lead in the film Bus Stop. With his help, it seemed to be her finally managed to gain some control over their professional destiny.

Greene now was on the lookout for good deals, negotiated in Monroe's name, fixed complications and was active in all respects as an intermediary between Marilyn and the outside world.

Artistically, he was active - not only with the photos, which he made repeatedly during the entire period of his acquaintance with Marilyn. He appeared in the artwork of the film Bus Stop with, monitored during the filming of the lighting and designed the sensational pale makeup of played by Marilyn Cherie.

The new caregivers who were in Marilyn's life in 1955 and 1956, contributed to the fact that Milton was in her favor. Especially in Lee Strasberg she had found a man to whom she could look up to. Even now, she spent a lot of time with Arthur Miller, Greene much less familiar than they are.

Critics and audiences alike cheered, Marilyn had finally found a role in Bus Stop, which offered her scope to develop their dramatic talent. Marilyn Monroe Productions was able to realize their first and only production, filmed in the UK film The Prince and the Showgirl ( The Prince and the Showgir ), for the stars of British cinema as Laurence Olivier were won, who acted as lead actor and director after this success.

For shortly after Marilyn's marriage to Arthur Miller taken in attack filming the end of the collaboration between Greene and Monroe became apparent. Miller later told: " Greene thought he was a great producer and believed that Marilyn would work for him, but she realized that he was pursuing otherwise goals.. " Greene, in turn, could not accommodate the idea that Miller should be involved in future projects of Marilyn Monroe Productions. At the end of filming Marilyn spoke hardly with her business partner, and Greene was increasingly angered by Miller's influence on his wife. In April 1957 Monroe had finally broken with Greene and filed a lawsuit to force him out of the company.

In public, Greene did not let his bitterness and said: " I ​​have not seen for a long It looks as though Marilyn with the program that we have planned, not continue ... I would do anything to her. could harm career., you seem to have a child and for a while not wanting to work. "

Over the years, always rumors, the two business partners had had an affair. Milton Greene's wife, Amy always denied this. One day Marilyn confessed to her, Arthur Miller had her, in that he had driven a wedge between them, and Milton, " taken the only person I 've ever trusted ."

Publications

• " Of Women and Their Elegance" - in collaboration with Norman Mailer, Simon & Schuster.
• " Marilyn Monroe " - a biography by Norman Mailer, Grosset & Dunlop, Inc.
• " The Nude in Photography" - Arthur Goldsmith; Ridge Press.
• " The Image Makers " - 60 years of Hollywood glamor; McGraw Hill.
• " U.S. Camera" - U.S. Camera Publishing
• " 20,000 Years of Fashion" - Harry Abrams.
• " My Story " - Marilyn Monroe; Stein & Day
• " The Marcel Marceau Counting Book" - Double Day & Co.
• "Life Goes to the Movies" - Time-Life Books
• "The Best of Life" - Time-Life Books
• "Life in Camelot The Kennedy Years" - Time-Life Books
• "The First Fifty Years of Life" - Time-Life Books

Other activities

• Executive Producer - " Prince and the Showgirl " ( The Prince and the Showgirl ) with Marilyn Monroe and Lawrence Olivier; Warner Bros.
• Visual / Technical Consultant - "Bus Stop" with Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray; 20th Century Fox.
• Executive Producer - "NBC Paris Special" with Lauren Bacall, Christian Dior, Yves St. Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro and Marc Bohan; NBC TV.
• Executive Producer - "A Half Hour with Candace Bergen " sponsored by The Wool Bureau; CBS TV.
• Executive Producer - Film Titles, " Sammy Davis Show" weekly television series; NBC TV.
• Producer / Director - " Coty Awards"