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Jacqueline
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Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Ron Galella
28 books11 followersWidely regarded as the most famous and most controversial celebrity photographer in the world—he's been dubbed “Paparazzo Extraordinaire” by Newsweek, and “the Godfather of U.S. paparazzi culture” by Time and Vanity Fair—Galella is clearly willing to take great risks to get the perfect shot. As a result, Ron has endured two highly publicized court battles with Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, a broken jaw at the hands of Marlon Brando, and a serious beating by Richard Burton’s bodyguards before being jailed in Cuernavaca, Mexico. But ultimately, it is his passion for the fine art of photography, coupled with a dedicated do-it-yourself approach to his craft—few artists can claim his level of skill in making their own prints—that sees Ron's body of work exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the world. The Museum of Modern Art New York and San Francisco, the Tate Modern in London, and the Helmut Newton Foundation Museum of Photography in Berlin, among many others, all maintain collections of Galella's iconic works.
Ron's passion for photojournalism has also given rise to many highly acclaimed photo-art books, including Disco Years (PowerHouse Books), which was honored as Best Photography Book of 2006 by The New York Times. Recently, Galella made the transition to moving film with Smash His Camera, a documentary of his life and career by Oscar-winning director Leon Gast (When We Were Kings, 1996). Premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Smash His Camera received the Grand Jury Award for Directing in the U.S. Documentary category. The film was also well-received at the 54th BFI London Film Festival prior to airing on the BBC throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
Tantamount to his recognition at home and in Northern Europe, the government of Basilicata graciously honored Ron—whose father, Vincenzo, was born in Muro Lucano—by making him an honorary citizen of the Italian region in 2009. Basilicata concurrently opened Ron Galella: Italian Icons, a traveling exhibit of over 70 of Ron’s photos, at Palazzo Lanfranchi’s Carlo Levi Hall in Matera, and in conjunction with the opening, Ron launched Viva l’Italia!—a collection of over 225 images of Italian and Italian-American celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Sophia Loren.
A native New Yorker now residing in Montville, New Jersey, Ron served as a United States Air Force photographer during the Korean conflict before attending the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he earned a degree in Photojournalism.
Ron's passion for photojournalism has also given rise to many highly acclaimed photo-art books, including Disco Years (PowerHouse Books), which was honored as Best Photography Book of 2006 by The New York Times. Recently, Galella made the transition to moving film with Smash His Camera, a documentary of his life and career by Oscar-winning director Leon Gast (When We Were Kings, 1996). Premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Smash His Camera received the Grand Jury Award for Directing in the U.S. Documentary category. The film was also well-received at the 54th BFI London Film Festival prior to airing on the BBC throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
Tantamount to his recognition at home and in Northern Europe, the government of Basilicata graciously honored Ron—whose father, Vincenzo, was born in Muro Lucano—by making him an honorary citizen of the Italian region in 2009. Basilicata concurrently opened Ron Galella: Italian Icons, a traveling exhibit of over 70 of Ron’s photos, at Palazzo Lanfranchi’s Carlo Levi Hall in Matera, and in conjunction with the opening, Ron launched Viva l’Italia!—a collection of over 225 images of Italian and Italian-American celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Sophia Loren.
A native New Yorker now residing in Montville, New Jersey, Ron served as a United States Air Force photographer during the Korean conflict before attending the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he earned a degree in Photojournalism.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 24, 2025
This was exactly my cup of tea! Ripped through this in a couple of hours. It's the story of the paparazzi Ron Galella taking photos of Jackie O.
How it works is the magazines would tell him what they're looking for (ie photos of her playing tennis) and then he goes to get them.
I think he's a bit innocent. When he's taking photos once at central park she runs away and he thinks something to the effect of, "Oh! She wants me to chase her! So that's what our relationship is!" And later on, he has a side hustle at Christmas doing Santa photos and he sends her an invite to come along and then adds, completely serious, "but she didn't write back" (ie thankfully he seems blissfully oblivious to the fact that she hates him). Or he puts on clumsy disguises - like a child playing dressup - and is genuinely surprised when it doesn't work and Jackie recognises him:
He doesn't seem like a bad guy. When Caroline or Ari said to stop taking photos, he stopped. He abides by someone's wishes when they say no. I think the problem is Jackie completely ignored him and never once told him no, although three times over the years she'd get fed up and tell people around her "get police to arrest that man" even though he wasn't actually breaking the law, at which point he would retreat. You have to be direct with a guy like that and communicate to resolve the issue. I think it would have ended differently had that happened.
Another good thing about him is he wanted to show his subjects in the best light. It's not like the trashy paps now who sell photos of stars looking bad (no makeup, getting fat, cellulite etc). He wanted to take beautiful photos, tried not to be seen (literally hiding in bushes!) and generally wouldn't approach his subjects. It's just unfortunate that he seemed to have a special interest in photographing Jackie. (For instance, he also papped her sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy and their relationship was perfectly amicable, it's a real contrast.) Another example, other people he photographed would reach out the magazines to get his number so they could get copies of his photos. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Life, Vanity Fair etc. The guy is a legit photo journalist. The naked pictures in Greece that the European paps took that appeared in sleazy magazines, Ron would NEVER.
Anyhow it all ended up in court, and man I felt sorry for the guy. Some of the people subpoenaed called him a "piranha" for making money off Jackie WHEN THEY WERE THE EDITORS WHO PAID FOR THE PHOTOS (pot, meet kettle) and a lot of people betrayed him.
The saddest thing in the end was it was clearly his favourite thing in the world to photograph her and he was forced to stop 💔
Anyhow. Really enjoyed this, thank goodness for internet archive! A lot of good stuff on there seems to have gone missing since the hachette case so I feel lucky to have found this...
How it works is the magazines would tell him what they're looking for (ie photos of her playing tennis) and then he goes to get them.
I think he's a bit innocent. When he's taking photos once at central park she runs away and he thinks something to the effect of, "Oh! She wants me to chase her! So that's what our relationship is!" And later on, he has a side hustle at Christmas doing Santa photos and he sends her an invite to come along and then adds, completely serious, "but she didn't write back" (ie thankfully he seems blissfully oblivious to the fact that she hates him). Or he puts on clumsy disguises - like a child playing dressup - and is genuinely surprised when it doesn't work and Jackie recognises him:
He doesn't seem like a bad guy. When Caroline or Ari said to stop taking photos, he stopped. He abides by someone's wishes when they say no. I think the problem is Jackie completely ignored him and never once told him no, although three times over the years she'd get fed up and tell people around her "get police to arrest that man" even though he wasn't actually breaking the law, at which point he would retreat. You have to be direct with a guy like that and communicate to resolve the issue. I think it would have ended differently had that happened.
Another good thing about him is he wanted to show his subjects in the best light. It's not like the trashy paps now who sell photos of stars looking bad (no makeup, getting fat, cellulite etc). He wanted to take beautiful photos, tried not to be seen (literally hiding in bushes!) and generally wouldn't approach his subjects. It's just unfortunate that he seemed to have a special interest in photographing Jackie. (For instance, he also papped her sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy and their relationship was perfectly amicable, it's a real contrast.) Another example, other people he photographed would reach out the magazines to get his number so they could get copies of his photos. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Life, Vanity Fair etc. The guy is a legit photo journalist. The naked pictures in Greece that the European paps took that appeared in sleazy magazines, Ron would NEVER.
Anyhow it all ended up in court, and man I felt sorry for the guy. Some of the people subpoenaed called him a "piranha" for making money off Jackie WHEN THEY WERE THE EDITORS WHO PAID FOR THE PHOTOS (pot, meet kettle) and a lot of people betrayed him.
The saddest thing in the end was it was clearly his favourite thing in the world to photograph her and he was forced to stop 💔
Anyhow. Really enjoyed this, thank goodness for internet archive! A lot of good stuff on there seems to have gone missing since the hachette case so I feel lucky to have found this...
Displaying 1 of 1 review