‘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
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...Ray Charles: Rare and Classic Photos of an American Genius, 1966
In July 1966, LIFE magazine published a remarkable feature story on the man Frank Sinatra reportedly once called “the only true genius in show business” — Mr. Ray Charles. Whether or not he was the only genius in show business is debatable; but there’s no getting...
LIFE RIDES WITH THE HELLS ANGELS, 1965
From Jesse James and Butch Cassidy to Scarface and Tony Soprano, outlaws have always held a singularly ambiguous place in America’s popular imagination: we fear and loathe the gangster’s appetite for violence; we envy and covet his radical freedom. In early 1965, LIFE...The Fire Last Time: LIFE in Watts, 1966
The August 1965 Watts Riots (or Watts Rebellion, depending on one’s perspective and politics), were among the bloodiest, costliest and — in the five decades since they erupted — most analyzed uprisings of the notoriously unsettled mid-1960s. Ostensibly...
Bill Ray was a staff photographer for Life magazine, based in New York, Beverly Hills, and Paris. From these bureaus he traveled the world covering major events, wars, and great personalities.
Since Life's demise, his work appeared in many major publications, such as Smithsonian, Archaeology and Fortune, including 46 Newsweek covers. Bill specializes in portraits of individuals, families and executives in their environment.
His work has been exhibited and sold in prestigious galleries. Many of these pictures are available signed, in 11 x 14, 16 x 20, and custom sized silver gelatin prints of exhibition quality. Color prints are Fuji Crystal Archival. All printing supervised by Bill Ray.