Stars without a mask – a collection of works by a secular Paris Match reporter
Jean Claude Deutsch has dreamed of being a reporter and shooting for Paris Match since childhood. In his youth, he accidentally met a media mogul who ran the publication. As soon as Deutsch opened his mouth to share his desire to work in the magazine, he immediately heard a categorical "no".
For several years he besieged Paris Match, until the editors gave up and entrusted, not really counting on success, to shoot a report from Brigitte Bardot's wedding with millionaire and photographer Gunther Sachs (the couple secretly married in Las Vegas). Deutsch guarded the star newlyweds in France, Bardot and Saks flew in Deauville, to spend part of his honeymoon here.
Deutsch's photographs differed from the work of colleagues in their non-stop, intimacy. The photographer has never shot celebrities in static poses, it was interesting for him to become part of the world of idols, to get acquainted with their daily life.
Young Sharon Tate agreed to pose for Deutsch even while in a cast, ten months before her tragic death in 1969 at the hands of members of the Charles Manson sect. It was impossible to imagine that this was one of the last filming of the actress. In the lens of Deutsch, Tate is smiling carelessly, posing for a photographer against the background of a flower market, at a cafe table, in a hotel room, against the background of the Seine.
Celebrities were more laid—back and it was easier to work with them than it is today," admits Deutsch, who has been shooting for Paris Match for more than forty years. The stars had self-irony, were not afraid to look comical in the frame. This happened with the shooting of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Cannes in 1977. The aspiring actor presented his film "Pumping Iron" at the film festival. He easily fooled around, tried on women's hats, lifted actresses in his arms, showed biceps.
Jean-Claude Deutsch is proud that his archive contains pictures of celebrities to whom there was practically no access — this is the King of Morocco, the Sultan of Oman, Lady Diana. Actress Ursula Andress allowed Deutsch to film her coming out of the water in a wet transparent T-shirt on Copacabana Beach. Singer Dalida posed for a photographer in the bathroom, in the bedroom at breakfast. Charlotte Rampling starred at Deutsch with her beloved dog Roulette. Yves Saint Laurent allowed the photographer to visit his villa in Morocco. Deutsch traveled with Julio Iglesias on his private jet, where he filmed the singer snacking on fast food.
The extensive archive of the retired star reporter is now managed by Jean Claude's son, he publishes iconic portraits taken by his father on the website and in his social networks, Deutsch's works are sold at auctions, participate in exhibitions.
Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, Paris, October 1969
Jane Birkin and her five-month-old daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg at their home in Paris, 1971
Lady Diana, Cannes, 1987.
Sharon Tate, Paris shooting, 1968.
Sharon Tate, Paris shooting, 1968
Actress Romy Schneider on the set of the movie "Who?", 1970.
Michael Jackson with his chimpanzee Bubbles
Sharon Tate in a hotel room, Paris shooting, 1968.
Sylvester Stallone on the set.
Sharon Tate, Paris, 1968
Alain Delon at the premiere of Rene Clement's film "Is Paris Burning?" with his wife Nathalie Delon, Paris, 1966.
Isabelle Adjani, Paris, Palais Royal, 1973
Ursula Andress, Rio de Janeiro, 1979
Gerard Depardieu at his home in Bujival
Mick Jagger.
Ursula Andress, Rio de Janeiro, 1979.
Mick and Bianca Jagger.
Marie-France Pisier
Margot Hemingway
Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg
David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve
Yves Saint Laurent in a New York hotel room, lying on the bed next to his dog Man II, 1983.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cannes, 1977
Gerard Depardieu and John Travolta, at the Depardieu Estate, 1981.
John Travolta, 1981.
Fanny Ardan
Sophie Marceau, 1981.
Sophie Marceau, 1989.