Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Shahrokh Hatami - Sharon Tate's Personal Photographer

Shahrokh Hatami has covered a broad range of high profile subjects as a photographer for nearly half a century, from celebrities, film and fashion to politics, war, and social change.

Hatami – known primarily by this single professional byline – started as a writer for a major newspaper in Tehran, switching to photography in 1950. He then worked briefly as the Tehran correspondent for the Black Star Agency. Life magazine published his coverage of the overthrow of democratically elected PM Mohammed Mossadegh and the restoration to power of the Shah in 1953. Twenty-five years later, Hatami shot dramatic images of street fighting during the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79, which overthrew the Shah. His daring coverage of this popular revolution has been acquired by the Library of Congress, an honored privilege for any photographer.

Hatami counted among his friends President’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat, Jordan’s King Hussein, and Saudi King Faicsal, along with various other Syrian and Lebanese political figures.

Beginning in the late 1950s, Hatami was a freelancer in Europe and the Middle East, with many of his pictures appearing in Paris-Match and other leading magazines. Eventually he won the confidence of the notoriously inaccessible Grande Dame of couture, Coco Chanel, and as a close personal friend, produced many unique behind-the-scenes images. Hatami also captured classic fashion magazine covers and celebrity portraits, including intimate shots of Elizabeth Taylor, Ursula Andress, Julie Christie, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, and innumerable other American and European personalities.

Hatami eventually branched out into motion pictures, working as a special magazine photographer on the sets of Woody Allen’s What’s New Pussycat?, Jean Luc Godard’s Le Mepris, Francois Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451, Casino Royal, Doctor Zhivago, Rosemary’s Baby and 1965′s A Countess from Hong Kong – starring Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando, and directed by Charlie Chaplin in what became his final feature film direction.

It was on the set of Rosemary’s Baby that Hatami became close with Mia Farrow. Hatami directed and produced a documentary called Mia and Roman, which can be viewed as an added feature on the DVD version of the now-classic horror film, Rosemary’s Baby. Hatami also knew Sharon Tate intimately and affectionately prior to her becoming Mrs. Polanski. Hatami’s odyssey concerning Sharon Tate’s murder is well documented online.

Fueled by sheer will and perseverance, not to mention a very seductive charm, Hatami was able to capture previously impenetrable worlds with his lens. This carried over into the world stage. His presence during the Israel/Egypt peace talks in 1977-1978, his shots of Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, his legendary plane trip with the Ayatollah Khomeini upon his return to Iran in February 1979. Hatami’s colorful life has taken him across Africa and the Middle East, to penthouses and parties in Paris, London, New York and Hollywood. This is testament to an artist whose photo archive covers the last half of the 20th century and is now focusing in earnest on the new millennium.

Besides working in the political, film and fashion arenas, Hatami is highly regarded for his early and extremely rare color photos of the Beatles at the legendary Cavern Club in 1963. Sent to Liverpool by Paris Match magazine to cover the Beatlemania phenomenon, he managed to gain access backstage and captured these amazing images of the Fab Four, with three of the most significant guitars in rock history: John and his six-string Rickenbacker that he painted black, Paul with his legendary Hofner bass, and George with his Gretsch Country Gentleman.





6 comments:

  1. Matt:

    That's some resume Hatami racked-up!

    BUT Cindy Lee states: "Hatami is to this day (Sept 1, 2013) tortured with guilt over Bugliosi's (and now Hendrickson's) speculation"

    Thanks for the most revealing post ever.

    NOTE: ROSEMARY'S BABY keeps poping-up again and again-as if there was some kind of a "Devil's Curse" underneath the whole Manson Case. Maybe in March of 1969(Hatami actually "sensed" Satan himself knock, knock, knock'n on Sharon's door.

    Farflung: We really need you on this one.

    And MATT: Did I ever tell you this one?

    When the NOW infamous "MANSON" movie poster came off the printing press for the Los Angeles opening, I held it up on my father-in-law's living room wall AND his German Shepard dog went ballistic and attacked the large image of the Charles Manson. That's when I knew there was much more to the Manson mystique than just drugs, sex and rock n roll.

    Robert Hendrickson

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  2. Our Chihuahua does the same thing. Doesn't have to be Charlie: just any lifesized male image. We have a projection system with little paw prints all over the bottom of the screen. He particularly hates Ben Kingsley for some reason.

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  3. OMG Patty, that's so funny! Ben Kingsley. Lol.

    So great to see that Hatami is alive and well! Awesome find. Mr. Hendrickson you are right. Impressive CV he's got there.

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  4. I never realized that Hatami was likely to snap at ANY man approaching Sharon, that they had a very close relationship. BUT I always suspected that the Hatami incident was much more relevant than had been revealed before.

    WhY was he so angry? Was it because Sharon was leaving? What was the mood in the house when Manson arrived? Realize that ALL the people in the main house at that time were in the main house on August 9, 1969 EXCEPT Hatami?

    PLEASE everyone, don't let this post fade away!!

    Even Patty's remark about her dog got me to thinking - how did Hatami really SEE Charles Manson? What image did he see? We think we know how Manson saw Hatami, but do we really know?

    AND why did Bugliosi (in the courtroom) have Hatami physically "demonstrate" his anger for Manson?

    There's a real story here!!!!!!!!!

    Robert Hendrickson


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  5. An Iranian becoming overly aggressive to get their way???

    Shocking!!! LOL

    Civility and Iranians is like oil and water.

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