Herb Ritts - Biography

Herbert "Herb" Ritts (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer who concentrated on black-and-white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture.

תוכן עניינים

1 Early life and career
2 Later notable photographs
3 Music videos
4 Death
5 Commercial
6 Music videos
7 Books
8 External links

Early life and career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Ritts began his career working in the family furniture business. His father, Herb Ritts Sr., was a businessman, while his mother, Shirley Ritts, was an interior designer. He moved to the East Coast to attend Bard College in New York, where he majored in economics and art history. Later, while living in Los Angeles, he became interested in photography when he and friend Richard Gere, then an aspiring actor decided to shoot some photographs in front of an old jacked up Buick. The picture gained Ritts some coverage and he began to be more serious about photography. He photographed Brooke Shields for the cover of the Oct. 12, 1981 edition of Elle and he photographed Olivia Newton-John for her Physical album in 1981. Five years later he would replicate that cover pose with Madonna for her 1986 release True Blue.

Later notable photographs

During the 1980s and 1990s, Ritts photographed notables such as Diana Ross, Christopher Reeve, Belinda Carlisle, Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Francesco Clemente, George Clooney, Cher, Mel Gibson, Elizabeth Taylor, Brad Pitt, Ronald Reagan, Julia Roberts, Steven Hawking, Nicole Kidman, Edward Norton, Tom Cruise, Madonna, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dizzy Gillespie, Elton John, Annette Benning, Antonio Banderas, Richard Gere, Jack Nicholson, Cindy Crawford, and many others.

He took many fashion and nude photos of supermodel Cindy Crawford and eventually set her up with his good friend, actor Richard Gere, at a BBQ held at his mother Shirley's house. The couple married four years later in 1991, but divorced in 1995.

He also worked for the magazines, Interview, Esquire, Mademoiselle, Glamour, GQ, Newsweek, Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Time, Vogue, Allure, Vanity Fair, Details, and Elle. He photographed Prince for his The Hits/The B-Sides greatest-hits package released in 1993. He published many books on photography for leading fashion designers including, Giorgio Armani, Revlon, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Elizabeth Arden, Donna Karan, Cartier, Guess, Maybelline, TAG Heuer, Lacoste, Gianfranco Ferrè, Levi's, Victoria's Secret, Gap, Acura, CoverGirl, Lancôme, and Valentino. From 1996 to 1997 his work was displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, attracting more than 250,000 people to the exhibit, and in 2003 a solo exhibition was held at the Daimaru Museum, in Kyoto, Japan.

Music videos

The first video he directed was Madonna in "Cherish" in 1989. In 1991, he won two MTV Video Awards for his work on music videos by Janet Jackson and Chris Isaak. Ritts also directed the music video for Michael Jackson's "In the Closet", which featured supermodel Naomi Campbell. Ritts also worked on other projects, including directing and acting, on Mariah Carey's video collection #1's (1999), Jennifer Lopez's sepia video "Ain't It Funny", Janet Jackson's Design of a Decade 1986/1996 (1996), Intimate Portrait: Cindy Crawford (1998), Murder in the First (1995), and Britney Spears' "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know (2001).

Death

On December 26, 2002, Ritts died of complications from pneumonia at the age of 50. According to Ritts' publicist, "Herb was HIV-positive, but this particular pneumonia was not PCP (pneumocystis pneumonia), a common opportunistic infection of AIDS. But at the end of the day, his immune system was compromised."

Commercial

Herb Ritts Commercial: chronology

1988: Parco "Quattro" with Tatjana Patitz
1990: Rochas "Femme" "Globe"
1990: Lancôme "Rouge Absolut" with Isabella Rossellini
1991: Calvin Klein Escape "Water Ski" "Horse" "Pool" "Sailboat" with Shana Zadrick and Scott King
1991: NEC with Ryuichi Sakamoto
1992: Levi's Loose Fit Jeans "Wind" "Earth" "Water" "Movement" "Light" "Shorts" "Wave" "Parachute" "Fire" "Premiere" "Sunny Beach" "Collage" "Co-op Land" "Co-op All Star"
1992: Levi's Loose Fit Jeans "Flag" "Stone Wheel" "Red Stripes" "Poles" "Pyramids" "Climbers" "Fort Window" "Big Ball" "Nadege's Shorts" "Winter Shorts" "Loose Fit Ninety"
1992: Levi's Dockers "Grey" "Green" "Tan" "Brown" "Blue" "Black" "Green Shorts" "Tan Shorts" "Blue Shorts"
1992: Guess Perfume "Café - Women" "Cafe - Men's" with Claudia Schiffer
1992: Calvin Klein "Marky Mark" with Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss
1992: Revlon "Charlie" with Cindy Crawford and Little Richard
1993: Brut "Aquatonic A" with Helena Christensen
1993: Guy Laroche "Horizon" with Beri Smither
1993: Paul Mitchell "Seasons" "Earth" with Eloise DeJoria
1993: Vittel Water "Living Sculpture" with Beri Smither
1993: Acura "NSX - Handmade" "Comfort" "Quality" "Premium"
1994: Revlon Flex "Lighten Up" with Claudia Schiffer
1994: Revlon "Kiss Proof" with Cindy Crawford
1994: Revlon "Defy It" with Melanie Griffith
1994: Donna Karan "DKNY Men" with Peter Fortier
1994: Chanel "Allure" with Karen, Laetitia, Linda Spierings, Irene Pfieffer, Jamie Rishar, Basia Milewicz, Nadege DuBospertus, Emma
1994: Paul Mitchell "Desert" with Eloise DeJoria
1994: Cartier "Pasha" with Lara Harris, Tatjana Patitz.
1995: Häagen-Dazs "Shall We" with Tatjana Patitz
1995: Elizabeth Arden "Black Pearls" with Elizabeth Taylor
1995: CoverGirl "True Advance" with Helena Christensen
1996: Revlon "Won’t Fade Away" with Cindy Crawford
1996: Victoria's Secret with Helena Christensen, Dennis Rodman, Vendela, Katey Segal, Salt-n-Pepa, Naomi Campbell
1997: Victoria's Secret with Helena Christensen
1997: Ultima "That's The Ultimate" with Kim Delaney
1997: Victoria's Secret "Angels" with Tyra Banks, Stephanie Seymour, Karen Mulder, Helena Christensen, Daniela Pestova, Tom Jones
1998: Revlon "Liquid Sexy" with Shania Twain
1998: Chanel with "Allure" Kiara, Chandra North, Mackie, Beri Smither, Tara Westwood, Meilan, Elisabet Davidsdottir, Daniela Pestova, Shirley Mallman
1998: Elizabeth Arden "White Pearls" with Burt Reynolds
1998: Revlon Ultima II "Beauty Is As Beauty Does" "Wisdom" with Cybill Shepherd
1998: Revlon "Wake-Up" with Halle Berry
1999: Maybelline "Triple Volume" with Christy Turlington
1999: Eau De Rochas "Man and Woman" Manon von Gerkan
1999: Vidal Sassoon "Vidal" "Follower vs. Leader" "Standard Vs. State of the Arts" "Art vs. Science" with Vidal Sassoon
1999: Revlon "Looks That Last" with Shania Twain, Cindy Crawford
1999: Maybelline "Mascara Love" with Sarah Michelle Gellar
2000: Elizabeth Arden "White Diamonds" with Elizabeth Taylor
2001: Estée Lauder "Advance Night Repair" with Carolyn Murphy
2001: Elizabeth Taylor "United for America" Public Service Announcement
2001: Revlon "Choices" with Halle Barry
2001: Maybelline "Wet Shine Nails" with Sarah Michelle Gellar
2002: Victoria's Secret "New Angels" with Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, Isabeli Fontana
2002: Victoria's Secret "Sexy Support" with Tyra Banks
2002: Estée Lauder "Beautiful" "Pleasures" "Intense" with Carolyn Murphy

Music videos

Herb Ritts Music Videos: chronology

1989: Madonna - "Cherish"
1990: Janet Jackson - "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" with Antonio Sabato Jr. and Djimon Hounsou
1991: Chris Isaak - "Wicked Game" (version 2) with Helena Christensen
1991: Tina Turner - "Way of the World"
1992: Michael Jackson - "In The Closet" with Naomi Campbell
1994: Jon Bon Jovi - "Please Come Home For Christmas" with Cindy Crawford
1996: Toni Braxton - "Let It Flow"
1998: Mariah Carey - "My All"
1999: Chris Isaak - "Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing" with Laetitia Casta
2000: Tracy Chapman - "Telling Stories"
2001: Britney Spears - "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know"
2001: Jennifer Lopez - "Ain't It Funny"
2001: 'N Sync - "Gone"
2002: Shakira - "Underneath Your Clothes"