Douglas Kirkland Obituary

Douglas Kirkland, the legendary photographer who captured images of renowned celebrities including Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Brigitte Bardot, Mick Jagger, Catherine Deneuve, Kim Basinger, Angelina Jolie and so many others, has died. He was born on August 16, 1934 and died October 2, 2022 at age 88.

Kirkland’s most famous images are sultry shots of Monroe taken in 1961 in which the actress appears in bed embracing white silk sheets.

Others are;

• John Travolta in the dance sequence from Saturday Night Fever,
• A portrait of Judy Garland crying and the March 1976 Playboy pictorial of Margot Kidder.

In 1995, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American motion pictures Society of Operating Cameramen.

Aside capturing celebrities, he was also the special photographer on more than 100 films including;

• A Space Odyssey,
• The Sound of Music,
• Sophie’s Choice,
• The Last Picture Show,
• Fiddler on the Roof,
• McCabe and Mrs. Miller,
• Saturday Night Fever,
• Alien,
• Midnight Run,
• Rain Man,
• The Great Gatsby,
• Out of Africa,
• Titanic and
• Moulin Rouge!

Kirkland also lectured at the Smithsonian Institution, the AFI Conservatory in Hawaii and Los Angeles, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena as well as the Kodak Centers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

He is survived by his wife and his son, The Simpsons director Mark Kirkland.