My Life in Photography

Elvis

Bill Ray was born in a tiny Nebraska town in 1936, a few months before the great American picture magazine, Life, was launched. His interest in photography was encouraged by his mother and oldest brother, who were both artists. When it came time to choose between...

Preview

Art Goes Pop!

A glimpse of the New York art world of the '60's and portraits of Noguchi and Warhol. Purchase this book.

Preview

New Book: Jack & Jackie

Images and Memories Of Camelot Preview the book

Preview

My Life in Photography by Bill Ray

Preview the book Bill Ray was born in a tiny Nebraska town in 1936, a few months before the great American picture magazine, Life, was launched. His interest in photography was encouraged by his mother and oldest brother, who were both artists. When it came time to...

Preview

Hells Angels of San Berdoo by Bill Ray

Preview this book Taken on assignment for Life Magazine in 1965, and never published, this is a rare look inside the Mother Charter of the Hells Angels.

Preview

REVIEWS

Pasa Tiempo Review: LIFE’s Moments Exhibit at Monroe Gallery

"The scene was President Kennedy’s forty-fifth birthday bash at Madison Square Garden, and Life photographer Bill Ray wanted to find a unique angle. He surreptitiously broke away from the police-cordoned press pod and climbed up above the stage. When Marilyn Monroe...

Santa Fe Reporter Review: LIFE’s Moments at the Monroe Gallery

"Be it as a staffer for LIFE or a would-be one for National Geographic, documenting the likes of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy or riding along with the Hells Angels, New York-based Bill Ray is part of the elite who shone during the 1960s...

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT: BILL RAY’S CLASSIC CELEBRITY PORTRAITS

Whether he was shooting as a staff photographer for LIFE or freelancing for other major publications — Smithsonian, Fortune, Newsweek — Bill Ray never shied from an assignment, however large or (seemingly) small, during the course of his long career. Global events and...

BLOG

Photographer behind iconic image of Marilyn Monroe performing Happy Birthday for JFK reveals how he tried and failed to get the President into the frame with the actress

The sexy dress, the sultry song and the shot that captured it all (but not quite): Photographer behind iconic image of Marilyn Monroe performing Happy Birthday for JFK reveals how he tried and failed to get the President into the frame with the actress Read...

‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’: A Look Back at the Unforgettable Marilyn Moment

Celebrated LIFE photographer Bill Ray remembers the iconic performance from 1962 — one of Monroe's last public appearances before her death two months later. Read more on foto.gettyimages.com