Ron Galella: Exclusive Diary (Hardcover)

by Ron Galella (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ron Galella defines paparazzi. Presented here are approximately 150 images from the American photographer's extensive archive of famous people caught unawares, posing for the camera, hiding from the camera, loving the attention (as evidenced by open smiles), or hating it (as evidenced by outstretched palms or raised middle fingers). Galella has always tried to capture the moments when these stars come down from their gilded pedestals to become persons. This collection of images is accompanied by often-hilarious diary entries from Galella--how he got the images, where they were taken, what the public's reaction was to seeing their favorite stars in person. A lot of material is covered here--cities like New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas feature stars like Andy Warhol, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Onassis, Cher, Sammy Davis, Jr., John Travolta, Frank Sinatra, Warren Beatty, and numerous others. Galella's Nikon has captured them all. Flexi-bound, 5.75 x 8.25 in./306 pgs / 150 tritones.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Photology (March 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8888359133
• ISBN-13: 978-8888359137
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,300,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars America's first, and best, paparazzo, December 27, 2005

By	Glenn Belverio "Author of Confessions from th... (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In Ron Galella's photographs, Hollywood is chronicled in all its fascinating, narcissistic splendor. Here is a startled Bette Midler looking behind her shoulder at the Grammy Awards, her askew tiara making her look like a lost, overgrown trick-or-treater. Alfred Hitchcock at the premiere of his film Family Plot wearing a stony, zombie-like expression that recalls Tor Johnson's performance in Plan 9 From Outer Space. A pre-Saturday Night Fever John Travolta already basking in fame, a crowd of fans restrained mere inches away and behaving as if Travolta's then unadulterated charisma had driven them to fits of ecstasy. And a miniscule Herve Villechaize ducking under a velvet rope at the Golden Globe awards like a mischievous gremlin hell-bent on carrying out acts of sabotage on the glamorous proceedings. Despite Galella's cinema verite hand, there is a persistent dream-like quality that emerges throughout the book. There are moments when the images almost threaten to tumble into a vortex where reality and fantasy merge - like the spiraling narrative of the amnesiac actress in Mulholland Drive, David Lynch's savagely surreal commentary on Tinseltown. Of all the visions in Galella's work, however, the most sobering seems to be the reminder of the ephemeral nature of fame and flesh.

(from my essay for an exhibition of Galella's work)