Phil Stern

[compur]

Phil Stern was a famous Hollywood photographer who shot many famous stars -- Monroe, Brando, James Dean, Hitchcock, etc, etc. and he did lots of war photography too.

Anyway Phil died last month at age 95 and I spied a little ad in craigslist advertising his estate sale. I went to the sale this morning. Usually such sales are handled by professional estate liquidators but this sale was extremely casual and there were only about 5 people who showed up! I was amazed. I attend many estate sales and I'm accustomed to crowds in the 50s-100 so this was an unusual treat.

I'm sure the family got all his prized work and there wasn't a heck of a lot of stuff for sale today but it was a fun sale nonetheless. It was held in his modest little house across the street from Paramount Studios in Hollywood on the same little block where one of Jack London's old houses stands. (LA can be a pain but it has its romance too. )

Anyway, apart from the history and nostalgia of this happening, I did snag some cameras and lenses of course (tee hee) -- mostly Nikon gear and quite worn as is often the case with pro gear. Nothing to write home about -- a couple F3s, some worn Nikkors, a Canon F-1, etc and some neat old post cards from the WWI era and a few other odds and ends.

Please forgive me for not posting photos of my “haul.” It's really nothing you haven't seen before and this post is really about Phil Stern.

I just thought you might like to hear about my brief adventure and to note the passing of an important part of film photo history.

Phil's website is here:
Phil Stern's Archives

 

[cgw]

Lucky you! The term "legend" gets threadbare quickly but Stern remains one in my books. No worries about no pix--probably better that way since you don't seem prone to gloating. Glad you found out about it. So many worthy ghosts in LA.

BTW, if you get the chance, the recent doc "Dorothea Lange: Catch a Piece of Lightning" is well worth a look--maybe even purchase. A far more rounded and nuanced appreciation of a long, complicated career. Wish someone would give Stern the same sort of attention. Thanks for the post.

 

[compur]

You're welcome.