Terence Patrick O'NeillCBE (30 July 1938 – 16 November 2019) was a British photographer, known for documenting the fashions, styles, and celebrities of the 1960s.[1][2] O'Neill's photographs capture his subjects candidly or in unconventional settings.
O'Neill was born to Irish parents in Romford, Essex,[5] and began his career working in a photographic unit for an airline at London's Heathrow Airport. During this time, he photographed a sleeping figure in a waiting area who, by happenstance, was revealed to be Home SecretaryRab Butler.[6] O'Neill thereafter found further employment on Fleet Street[7] with The Daily Sketch in 1959. His first professional job was to photograph Laurence Olivier.[8]
During the 1960s, in addition to photographing contemporary celebrities such as Judy Garland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he also photographed members of the British royal family[7] and prominent politicians, showing a more human side to these subjects than had usually been portrayed[9]—his photographs capture his subjects candidly or in unconventional settings.[10]
O'Neill's photographs of Elton John are among his best known. A selection of them appeared in the 2008 book Eltonography. Also considered among his most famous images[11] are a series of American actress Faye Dunaway (his girlfriend at the time) at dawn on 29 March 1977, lounging next to the swimming pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel the morning after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for Network, with several newspapers scattered around her and her Oscar statuette prominently shown on a table beside her breakfast tray.[12][13] The series was photographed in both colour and black and white.
O'Neill was credited (as Terrence O'Neill) as an executive producer of the film Mommie Dearest (1981).[14] His only other film credit was for still photography for the opera film Aria (1987).[15]
Personal lifeedit
O'Neill was married to the actress Vera Day for 13 years;[16] they had two children together, Keegan Alexander and Sarah Jane.[17] He had a long-term relationship with Faye Dunaway; they were married for four years in the 1980s and had a son, Liam.[16] In 2003, he was quoted in the U.S. tabloid magazine Star as saying Liam was adopted and not their biological son, contrary to Dunaway's public assertions.[18] In 2001 O'Neill married Laraine Ashton, a former model agency executive.[19][20]
^Hobbs, Thomas (6 August 2019). "Terry O'Neill on his best Bowie shoots: 'David never needed coaxing'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^O'Hagan, Sean (23 August 2011). "How one photograph can turn a musician into a rock star". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^ ab"Error - RPS". www.rps.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
^Benedictus, Leo (18 December 2008). "Terry O'Neill's best shot". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^Greenstreet, Rosanna (28 January 2017). "Photographer Terry O'Neill: 'I was invited to Sharon Tate's house the night she was murdered'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^ ab"Photographer to the stars Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". BBC News. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^"Guys & Dolls - GQ.COM (UK)". www.gq-magazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
^"Interview: Terry O'Neill". The Scotsman. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
^Nyren, Erin (17 November 2019). "Terry O'Neill, Celebrity Photographer of '60s and '70s, Dies at 81". Retrieved 19 November 2019.
^"Faye Dunaway, "Oscar Ennui"", background information published by the San Francisco Art Exchange. Accessed 28 January 2007.
^O'Neill, Terry "Oscar Ennui" Archived 31 January 2013 at archive.today (1977) Rights owned by Getty Images.
^O'Neill, Terry "Faye and Oscar" (1977) Image from print owned by Photographers Gallery, Los Angeles.
^Mommie Dearest (1981), IMDb profile. Accessed 28 January 2007
^Aria (1987), IMDb profile. Accessed 28 January 2007
^ abHorwell, Veronica (17 November 2019). "Terry O'Neill obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
^"Terry O'Neill obituary". The Sunday Times. 17 November 2019. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 18 November 2019 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
^"Dunaway's Son Liam Adopted, Says Ex", ContactMusic news index, 11 March 2003. Accessed 28 January 2007.
^Husband, Stuart (25 January 2004). "This much I know: Terry O'Neill, photographer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^"Photographer of choice for musicians and movie stars, Terry O'Neill, dies at 81". The Irish Times.
^Bakare, Lanre (17 November 2019). "Photographer of swinging 60s Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
^"Iconic photographer Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". Sky News. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^Clifton, Katy (17 November 2019). "Iconic photographer Terry O'Neill dies aged 81". Evening Standard.
^"Terry O'Neill: Celebrity - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ abcd"San Francisco Art Exchange : Gallery of The Popular Image". www.sfae.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
^"Terry O'Neill: Behind the Scenes". Dazed. 8 July 2009.
^"Photographer's exhibition in city". BBC News. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^"Terry O'Neill: 50 Years at the Top". The Gallery at 164. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^"Terry O'Neill". Fotografiska Stockholm. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^"famous". Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof. Retrieved 24 March 2023.