Celebrities and friends pay their respects to the photographer on social media. He passed away on November 16.
British photographer Terry O’Neill, known for his extensive portraiture of celebrities, has died from prostate cancer at the age of 81.
Born in 1938 in Romford, London, Terry O’Neill became famous for his work during the Swinging Sixties heyday of London and captured photos of pop culture icons of the era including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Michael Caine.
O’Neill got his start in photography in the late 1950’s, working in a photographic unit at London Heathrow Airport. He gained notoriety as a photographer for the stars and shot a myriad of celebrities throughout the years, both British and international stars, from Brigitte Bardot to Frank Sinatra.
The photographer became known for bringing life to his subjects and taking candid pictures of celebrities and politicians in unconventional settings. O’Neill was invited on two separate occasions to take the Queen’s photo and was awarded a CBE for services to photography earlier this year.
Celebrities took to social media to pay their respects to the legendary photographer. David Walliams, a friend of Mr O’Neill, tweeted earlier that his death marked “the end of an era” and that Mr O’Neill will be remembered as “a huge talent and an absolute gentleman”’.
The end of an era. RIP the great photographer Terry O’Neill. A huge talent and an absolute gentleman. pic.twitter.com/tWW2myVo3R
— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) November 17, 2019
Elton John, who was often photographed by O’Neill throughout his career, tweeted that he was “brilliant, funny…a real character”.
Terry O'Neill took the most iconic photographs of me throughout the years, completely capturing my moods. He was brilliant, funny and I absolutely loved his company. A real character who has now passed on.
RIP you wonderful man.
Love, Elton xx#RIP #TerryONeill pic.twitter.com/6rCGqEMCry
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) November 17, 2019