Dezo Hoffmann

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Dezider Hoffmann (most often credited as Dezo Hoffmann or Dežo Hoffmann, 1912, - 1986) was an ethnic Hungarian^[1] photographer, photojournalist and cameraman from Czechoslovakia. He earned international acclaim in the 1960s, shooting photographs of well known pop and showbiz personalities, such as The Beatles, The 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.

[edit] Biography

Hoffmann was born 24 May 1912 in Banská Štiavnica, Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia).^{[citation needed]} 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. After returning from Africa he was sent to Spain to film the 1936 People's Olympiad (a protest against the official Olympic games in Berlin under Hitler's propaganda). Soon after he arrived in Spain, the civil war broke out and Dezo found 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. In 1955 he began his collaboration with Record Mirror magazine, which was the start of his career photographing show-business celebrities. In 1962 he went to Liverpool to shoot an unknown but promising group - The Beatles. Mutual appreciation and sympathy led to a long-lasting relationship between Hoffmann and the group. It is said that Paul McCartney had declared him the world's best photographer. During the following years Hoffmann's famous photos of The Beatles attracted the attention of many other stars. He was regarded as a "nice chap" who was appreciated and welcomed wherever he went despite his strong foreign accent.

His grave is in London, where he died in 1986 at the age of 74.