Laszlo Willinger

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Laszlo Willinger (April 6, 1909 in Budapest, Hungary – August 8, 1989) was photographer most noted for his portrait photography of movie stars and celebrities during the 1930s and 1940s.

Taught photography by his mother, also a photographer, Willinger established photographic studios in Paris and Berlin in 1929 and 1931 respectively, and at the same time submitted his photographs to various newspapers as a freelance contributor. He left Berlin in 1933 when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, settling and working in Vienna where he began to photograph such celebrities as Marlene Dietrich.

By the mid 1930s he was travelling through Africa and Asia before being invited by the photographer Eugene R. Richee to move to the United States. After establishing a studio in Hollywood, Willinger became a frequent contributor to magazines and periodicals, providing magazine cover portraits of some of the most popular stars. Willinger was one of the first Hollywood photographers to experiment in the use of color, however he also created numerous black-and-white images.

Willinger's portraits have become collectible and are appreciated as fine art; his 1940 series of portraits of the actors Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh are housed in London's National Portrait Gallery.