Alfred Wertheimer, a German-American photographer, died last Sunday at the age of 84. He is best known for his intimate black-and-white photographs of Elvis Presley in 1956, just before The King shot to stardom. The session lasted days, during which Wertheimer shot nearly 3800 photographs, which are still archived today. We see Presley in his private moments: lost in thought and looking out a train window, rehearsing in his recording studio, shirtless at his parents’ home, talking on the phone in his underwear.
« Alfred’s photographs of Elvis Presley are the most important and compelling images ever taken of the greatest rock ’n’ roll icon of all time,” longtime collaborator Chris Murray told Vanity Fair. “No other photographer has ever come close to capturing his magic. His photos were never posed, Al really wanted to capture the day-to-day life. Elvis was the first real rock ’n’ roll star. And Al was the first great rock ’n’ roll photographer. » Chris Murray, his editor and close associate / Vanity Fair.
