Bert Stern

He became art director at Flair magazine, where he learned how to develop film and make contact sheets and began taking his own pictures. In 1951, Stern was drafted into the United States Army, sent to Japan, and assigned to the photographic department. He rose to prominence in the 1950s as a commercial and fashion photographer, known for innovative advertising work (including a celebrated Smirnoff campaign) and portraits of celebrities. In June and July 1962 he photographed Marilyn Monroe for Vogue in sessions that became known as The Last Sitting. Monroe died in August 1962; the 2,571 photographs from those sessions were later published (including in The Complete Last Sitting, 1992 / expanded editions). In the 1960s his heavy use of amphetamines contributed to the end of his marriage to ballerina Allegra Kent. In the 1970s Stern moved to Spain to recover from drug addiction. In 1979 he published The Pill Book (with journalist Lawrence Chilnick), an A-to-Z guide to commonly prescribed drugs that sold millions of copies and featured color photographs of the pills by Stern. Stern continued working in later decades. He was the subject of the 2011 documentary Bert Stern: Original Madman, directed by filmmaker and actress Shannah Laumeister. Personal life Stern’s first marriage was to model Teddy Ayer (also referred to in some sources as Eleanor Fay Mostel / Teddy Air). He married New York City Ballet principal dancer Allegra Kent in 1959. They had three children—daughters Trista and Susannah and son Bret—and divorced in 1975. In 2009 Stern married Shannah Laumeister (later Shannah Laumeister Stern), an actress, screenwriter, and film director who had long been associated with him as a muse and model (he first photographed her in the early 1980s). The marriage was kept private. Laumeister directed the documentary Bert Stern: Original Madman (2011). He was also survived by his three children from his marriage to Allegra Kent, a sister, and grandchildren. Filmography Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959) – concert film of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, directed by Bert Stern and Aram Avakian. References “Bert Stern et ses muses.” Vanity Fair (French), June 26, 2014 (archived). “Bert Stern, Elite Photographer Known for Images of Marilyn Monroe, Dies at 83.” The New York Times, June 26, 2013, p. “Bert Stern.” The Telegraph, June 27, 2013. “Bert Stern: Photographer who became best known for the ‘Last Sitting’.” The Independent, July 2013. External links Bert Stern at IMDb Bert Stern at FMD (Fashion Model Directory)

The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Places of work recorded in the authority are New York City. Works named in the authority record are The Last Sitting. Work by Bert Stern is recorded in the collections of Photography Collection. Distinctions recorded are Lucie Award.

• Name — Bert Stern • Birth Name — Bertram Stern • Born — 3 October 1929 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 26 June 2013 • Place of death — New York City, U.S. • Field — * Portrait photography • Fashion photography • Works — * The Last Sitting • The Pill Book • Jazz on a Summer's Day Biography