Iconic photographer Terry O’Neill dies aged 81 after battle with prostate cancer

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Katy Clifton17 November 2019

Iconic photographer Terry O’Neill, who rose to fame with his work with the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, has died at the age of 81.

Mr O’Neill died at home on Saturday following a long illness, a spokesman for Icon Images said.

The company, which represents his impressive archive of photographic work, said: “It is with a heavy heart that Iconic Images announces the passing of Terence “Terry” O’Neill, CBE.

“Terry was a class act, quick witted and filled with charm."

Terry O'Neill is made a CBE in 2019
PA

The spokesman added: “Anyone who was lucky enough to know or work with him can attest to his generosity and modesty.

“As one of the most iconic photographers of the last 60 years, his legendary pictures will forever remain imprinted in our memories as well as in our hearts and minds.”

One of his last major public appearances was when he collected his CBE for services to photography from the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace in October.

After receiving his honour Mr O’Neill, who had been suffering from prostate cancer and was in a wheelchair, said the award “surpasses anything I’ve had happen to me in my life”.

A picture taken by Mr O'Neill of the Beatles with Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1964
Terry O'Neill / Iconic Images

Mr O’Neill is one of the world’s most collected photographers with work hanging in national art galleries and private collections worldwide.

His images have burst out from iconic albums, movie posters and magazine covers and by 1965 he was being sought out for work by the biggest magazines and newspapers in the world.

The Royal Photographic Society said he had grasped that the youth culture of the 1960s was a key moment in time globally and he began to record the new faces in film, fashion and music who would go on to become megastars.

His work which captures the Swinging Sixties includes The Beatles and The Rolling Stones when they were still struggling young bands along with David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and Chuck Berry.

Film stars such as Sir Michael Caine and Raquel Welch remained lifelong friends.

A man views photographs of footballers by Terry O'Neill
AP

The Queen and former South African president Nelson Mandela have posed for portraits from Mr O’Neill and striking images of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill are also among his archive.

Footballers Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbauer, Pele, George Best, manager Brian Clough, boxer Muhammad Ali and Pakistani cricketer and politician Imran Khan are among the sporting greats whom he has captured.

Mr O’Neill’s work reads like a who’s who in music, film, and celebrity which helped to visually define the 1960s ranging from Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Terence Stamp, Jean Shrimpton, Tom Jones, and Frank Sinatra through to singers Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse and U2 in recent decades.

Iconic Images also point out that Mr O’Neill was also one of the first photographers to work with a new franchise starring actor Sean Connery as James Bond.

Mr O’Neill went on to work on several Bond films throughout the decades, including several with Sir Roger Moore.

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