Bryson, John 1923–2005

views updated

Bryson, John 1923–2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born October 12, 1923, in Brownwood, TX; died of complications from heart disease, August 10, 2005, in Brookings, OR. Photographer, journalist, actor, and author. Bryson was a highly respected photojournalist whose photos of celebrities and world leaders graced such magazines as Life, People, and Time. After studying at the University of Texas at Austin and serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, he joined Life magazine as a correspondent and bureau chief in Atlanta. Over the next several years, he moved around the country—from Chicago to Los Angeles to Boston to New York City—as he continued to work for Life. In 1955, however, Bryson decided to become a freelance photojournalist. As such, he took on assignments not only for his old magazine, but also for Paris Match, Look, Time, McCall's, and the Saturday Evening Post, among others. Over the years, he developed a talent for gaining the trust of Hollywood celebrities, who allowed him to take pictures of their day-to-day lives. Among Bryson's famous subjects were stars Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor as well as author Ernest Hemingway, painter Salvador Dali, and industrialist Armand Hammer. He also took photographs of world leaders, including U.S. President John F. Kennedy and USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev. Bryson became so well connected in Hollywood that he was approached by directors to appear in their films. He consequently held roles in several movies, including Convoy, The Getaway, Grand Prix, and The Osterman Weekend. A number of Bryson's photos were collected in the books The World of Armand Hammer (1985) and The Private World of Katharine Hepburn (1990).