The King of Paparazzi Ron Galella

90-year-old Ron Galella for decades was sometimes not the most welcome guest at parties, lying in wait for the stars at the moment when they were not ready to click the shutter of the camera, but he managed to take hundreds of celebrity pictures that became iconic.

1. Ron Galella "dated" Jackie Onassis, but this relationship was peculiar. The photographer was literally obsessed with the former first lady, he was lying in wait for her everywhere, almost like a maniac. Onassis eventually sued Ron, who forbade the assertive little one to approach her closer than 30 meters. But Galella constantly violated this prohibition. Gradually, the distance was reduced to 25 m, and the paparazzi began to defiantly carry a large tape measure with him, so as not to inadvertently approach the object of his passion too close.

2. But the persistence of the paparazzi was not in vain. Here is his most famous shot. "The wind is playing with Jackie."

This legendary photo was taken on Madison Avenue in 1971: Galella jumped into a taxi and went for Onassis, and pressed the "trigger" when the driver honked and she looked back. Now it is a recognized masterpiece, proving that the line between art and harassment, invasion of privacy is no thicker than photo paper.

3. Truman Capote sprawled impressively in an armchair – it is possible that he is just drunk — in the legendary nightclub Studio 54, which he called "Cinquantaquattro" in Italian. In the picture, Capote is in the company of actress Gloria Swanson (right) and Kate Harrington — the daughter of the writer's then lover, John O'Shea. Six years after this photo was taken, Capote died of an overdose. His sarcastic rival, Gore Weidl, quipped: "A successful career move."

4. Big-eyed Sophia Loren at the premiere of "Doctor Zhivago" at the Americana Hotel in New York, 1965. The producer of the film, Carlo Ponti, first wanted to shoot Lauren – his wife – in the role of the main character of the film, but director David Lin said that firstly, she was too tall for this role, and secondly, no one would believe that she was a virgin.

5. Roy Holston Frowicke, or simply Holston, was one of the most famous designers of the 70s, the inspiration for the minimalist trend in fashion, which captured New York clubs for a whole decade. His models were worn by Bianca Jagger (center), Liza Minnelli (right) and other equally famous personalities. And Holston also came up with the legendary box hat that Jacqueline, then Kennedy, wore to the inauguration ceremony in 1961.

And he was very good.

6. In 1973, Ron Galella managed to get Marlon Brando so much that he punched the photographer, broke his jaw and knocked out 5 teeth. But Galella also turned out to be not a mess – he just left the scene of the incident, his jaw was fixed in the hospital, and that evening he was already filming again. The next time Galella came to shoot Brando, having already prudently put on a football helmet.

7. Sean Penn's problems with Galella began when the actor was dating Madonna. In 1987–the same year this picture was taken—Penn was arrested for attacking a paparazzi while he was photographing him. Penn received 2 months in prison, but served only a month. In 2007, an unrepentant Penn said that photographers should still be beaten.

The picture shows Sean Penn and Madonna in their second year of marriage, radiating chic even through dark glasses, and a contemptuous grin plays on Sean's face.

8. Michael Jackson and Brooke Shields in the car are going to go to a party after the Grammy Awards in 1993. Jackson has just received the Legend Prize from the hands of his sister Janet, and in just a few months, a hail of accusations of child molestation will fall on him, which will forever tarnish his reputation.

Shields and Jackson met in 1978, when the actress was only 13, but this relationship was much more innocent than those attributed to the singer later. At a memorial service for the King of Pop in 2009, Shields said:

That's exactly what Galella caught in his picture.

9. In 1973, Ron Galella flew to Jamaica after Steve McQueen, who was filming a film about a prison break there – "Moth". Fearing that the pictures of his relationship with his girlfriend, and later his wife, Ali McGraw, might not get into the tabloids, McQueen gave Ron ten minutes of his precious time, and then made sure that the paparazzi would get off the island on the next plane. Both sides were then satisfied with the deal.

10. Bianca Jagger is grace and charm itself. Galela photographed her in the company of Andy Warhol at a New York party in 1978 in honor of George Kukor, director of the films "A Star is Born" and "My Fair Lady". Warhol nursed Bianca's daughter, Jade, in his studio, the Factory, while Bianca rotated in the big world.

11. Elizabeth Taylor is one of Galella's favorite targets, and in 1969 he paid a caretaker $12 to lock him up for the weekend in a rat–infested warehouse on the banks of the Thames. What for? Kalizma, the yacht that Richard Burton had given Elizabeth, was perfectly visible from the warehouse. Galella could even hear the couple arguing (at that time they were just in the middle of their first marriage).

12. Two stars of the first magnitude came together to the Oscar ceremony in 1991. Then they were sitting side by side in the front row. At the same time, Madonna paid attention to Warren Beatty all evening, and Michael Jackson mostly communicated with Diana Ross.

13. 16-year-old Brooke Shields in the company of Steve Rabell (right) – the cheerful owner of the Studio 54 club, and designer Calvin Klein, in 1981. Teri Shields, Brooke's mother, is seen in the background.

Leon Gast, who made a film about Ron Galell, compared him to Muhammad Ali:

14. When shooting, Galella usually looks not into the camera's viewfinder, but into a person's eyes. This was just noticed by Warren Beatty in this 1979 picture.

Galella, who is now 90 years old, says:

But his pictures have forever captured for us celebrities forever young — though often forever annoyed.