Dezo Hoffmann
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Dezider Hoffmann (most often credited as Dezo Hoffmann or Dežo Hoffmann, 1912 - 1982) was a Slovak-Hungarian photographer, photojournalist and cameraman. He earned international acclaim in 60ies shooting bigs of pop and showbiz, such as Rolling Stones, Charlie Chaplin, Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, The Kinks, The Shadows, Tom Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Elton John, Omar Sharif and Pink Floyd. However, he was most famous for photographing The Beatles since their beginnings until the end.
[edit] Bio
Born on 24 May 1912 in Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia (Kingdom of Hungary in 1912).
After studying journalism in Prague, he worked at Twentieth Century Fox in Paris as a photojournalist. During Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia he was sent to make a documentary of the invasion. In 1934 after returning from Africa he was sent to Spain to film the Olympiad Popular (a protest against the official Olympic games in Berlin under Hitler's propaganda). Soon after arriving in Spain the civil war caused Dezo to find himself on the barricades. In this period he met personalities such as Hemingway and Robert Capa. Allegedly three men formed an inseparable trio. Facing war dangers Dezo was injured few times. The third injury was serious, leaving him without memory for several months. After recovery he moved to England and joined the squadron of Czechoslovak pilots flying with the RAF during World War II.
After the war he remained in London, working for various newspapers and magazines. 1955 was a breakthrough when he began collaboration with The Record Mirror magazine. This brought him to showbiz. In 1962 he went to Liverpool to shoot an unknown but promising group - The Beatles. Mutual appreciation and sympathy initiated a long lasting relation. It is said that Paul McCartney had declared him the worlds best photographer. During the following years the famous photos of The Beatles attracted attention of many other stars. He was a nice chap appreciated and welcomed wherever he went despite his strong foreigner's accent.
His grave is in London where he died in 1986 at age of 74.
