For decades, Michael Childers has snapped Hollywood's finest. Here he shares with Hollywood Life the stories behind a few of his iconic works -- recently collected for the exhibit "Icons and Legends: The Photograph of Michael Childers" running at the Palm Springs Desert Museum through February 15, before touring museums across the country.
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Brooke SHIELDS
"Oh, she was so young and so beautiful. I just saw Brooke at a party at Anjelica Huston's. She had her little baby there and we had a kiss and a hug and I'm thinking, 'The last time I photographed you, you were a baby yourself.'"
ENDLESS LOVE, NEW YORK, 1981
Demi MOORE
"I knew Demi when she was at Fairfax High and just starting to model and taking some acting lessons. She had an energy, a spark. She was electric to film. Great sense of humor. Very strong-willed girl."
HOLLYWOOD, 1978
Arnold SCHWARZENEGGER
"I worked with Arnold a lot in the early days. I even photographed him at Cannes. He's so focused and disciplined. I just knew whatever he made up his mind to do, he would do."
MUSCLE BEACH, VENICE, 1976
Mel GIBSON
"I worked on The Year of Living Dangerously in Manila for about four weeks, back in 1981. A lot of Muslim uprisings were going on, and this film was very political. It became the reality of our life in a way, because the Muslim insurgence had threatened to kill Mel and director Peter Weir, so the whole production had to pull back to Sydney."
THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, MANILA, 1981
Catherine DENEUVE
"Talk about an iconic face! She's such a classy, extraordinary woman. I think I caught her off-guard, at a very vulnerable moment, because she's a very private woman. She had an inner sadness about her."
HOLLYWOOD, 1981
Richard GERE
"When I first met him, he was in some off-Broadway play and just starting out in New York. He was a long-haired hippie then, and if anybody had it, he had it. He was like a volcano--charming but with a steaming sensuality underneath."
YANKS, LONDON, 1979
Man with a Camera
MANY OF MICHAEL CHILDERS' SUBJECTS WERE YOUNG UNKNOWNS WHEN HE FIRST SHOT THEM--FRESH-FACED TWENTYSOMETHINGS WITH NAMES LIKE JOHN TRAVOLTA, SUSAN SARANDON AND MICHELLE PFEIFFER. "WHEN THEY WALKED IN THE DOOR, THEY WEREN'T FORMED--THEIR STYLE OR THEIR IMAGE," HE RECALLS. "I GOT TO WORK WITH THEM IN CREATING THEIR LOOK, BRINGING OUT WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT EACH OF THEM AND WATCHING THEM GROW IT WAS A VERY EXCITING PERIOD OF MY LIFE."
INDEED, CHILDERS, THE LONGTIME PARTNER OF OSCAR-WINNING MIDNIGHT COWBOY DIRECTOR JOHN SCHLESINGER (WHO PASSED AWAY LAST YEAR), HAS SHOT THEM ALL. THOUGH HE NOW RESIDES IN PALM SPRINGS AND FOCUSES ON FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY, HE'S LIVED IN LOS ANGELES, LONDON IN THE SWINGING '60S AND NEW YORK IN THE 70S WHEN HIS STUDIO WAS A HOP AWAY FROM GLITTERING STUDIO 54, WHERE HE ENJOYED THE NIGHTLIFE WITH SCHLESINGER AND ANDY WARHOL. EVERYONE FROM MAE WEST AND LAURENCE OLIVIER TO ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, RICHARD GERE AND DEMI MOORE HAVE PASSED BEFORE HIS CAMERA.
HE DOUBTS HE WOULD HAVE THE SAME FREEDOM WITH CELEBRITIES IF HE WERE STARTING OUT TODAY. "THEY DIDN'T HAVE AN ARMY OF MANAGERS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PEOPLE WITH THEM THEN," HE SAYS WITH A LENGTHY LAUGH. "THE CONTROL OF THE PUBLICISTS HAS CRIPPLED THE CREATIVITY OF THE POOR PHOTOGRAPHERS LIKE A NOOSE AROUND THEIR NECK."
DURING HIS 40-YEAR-PLUS CAREER, CHILDERS WAS ALWAYS INSTRUCTED TO SHOOT MAGAZINE COVERS IN COLOR, YET HE STILL SHOT AS MUCH AS HE COULD IN THE CRISP ELEGANCE OF BLACK-AND-WHITE. "IT WENT OUT OF FAVOR FOR A LOT OF YEARS" HE SAYS "BUT I LOVE THE PURITY OF THESE IMAGES AND I KNEW, I KNEW, THAT BLACK-AND-WHITE WOULD BE TIMELESS, AND THAT'S PROVEN TO BE A WISE CHOICE."
IF ONE STAR SHINED MORE BRIGHTLY THAN OTHERS FOR CHILDERS, IT WAS THE LATE NATALIE WOOD--HIS CLOSE FRIEND AND PERSONAL MUSE (SEEPHOTO ON PAGE 71). "I DID MOST OF HER PHOTOGRAPHS FOR 15 YEARS," HE SAYS. "I EVEN WENT ON HER SECOND HONEYMOON WITH ROBERT WAGNER FOR LOOK MAGAZINE AND PARIS MATCH. HER PUBLICIST SAID, 'NATALIE AND ROBERT FEEL CLOSE TO YOU AND THEY TRUST YOU. WOULD YOU GO TO VENICE AND MONTE CARLO ON THEIR HONEYMOON?'" CHILDERS SMILES. "BOY, YOU DON'T GET ASSIGNMENTS LIKE THAT ANYMORE."
"I GUESS THEY CALL ME HOLLYWOOD'S INSIDER BECAUSE I HAD ACCESS TO THESE WORLDS AND A LOT OF PEOPLE" SAYS CHILDERS. "I WAS THEIR FRIEND AS WELL AS THEIR PHOTOGRAPHER."--ANDRE CHAUTARD
"ICONS AND LEGENDS" RUNS AT THE PALM SPRINGS DESERT MUSEUM THROUGH FEBRUARY 15 AND IS SCHEDULED TO TOUR MUSEUMS THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA. A FULL-COLOR EXHIBITION CATALOGUE IS AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS.
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