Jerome Zerbe Part Two
You may be asking yourself the question, "Who pray tell is this Jerome Zerbe fellow, and my dear, why on earth is Sigourney Weaver dancing with that tiny little English actor?"
Detail. Infamous. Warner Independent/Killer Films. Sigourney Weaver as Babe Paley and Toby Jones as Truman Capote. 2006
Well, let me tell you the answer. Jerome Zerbe [1904 - 1988] was the official photographer for the El Morocco nightclub in New York, and everyone knew when his photographs appeared in the paper the next day where the celebrities had been because the booths at the El Morocco were upholstered in blue zebra striped fabric. Which look was recreated for the film, the still above (cropped and resized) being lifted from the Wikkipedia article on the El Morocco because I'm lazy. See below.
Jerome was born in Euclid, Ohio, near Cleveland, where his father was president of a coal company. As a young boy Jerome was driven to public school in the family limousine, which got him beaten up by bullies. Having been to Euclid once I feel it safe to say you could definitely get beaten up there, chauffeured to school, or not, and so Jerome had no choice but to move to New York, photograph the rich and famous and invent the vodka martini.
The original papparaz, or whatever the singular of papparazi is, Zerbe's celebrity photographs were published in the book Happy Times with text by Brendan Gill; additionally, he also produced Les Pavillons, French Pavilions of the Eighteenth Century, with Cyril Connolly, because like so many of us, he felt at home in and was irresistibly drawn to those exquisite follies and 'pleasure domes' built for people who had only four modes of relaxation: conversation, making love, hunting, and play. In other words, except for the hunting part maybe, Zerbe was, as my mother might have said, very "artistic."
As for the choice of image for tonight's post, I can only say that after a long day involving a trip to Santa Monica with B to do some shopping, I stopped by my social club for a quick visit and to chat, mostly about dropping Acid and going to Dead concerts (the good old days, in other words) and then headed home looking forward to the charming Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me, and Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, not necessarily in that order. But I wanted to give you something, and this is the best I could do. Don't hate me.
Detail. Infamous. Warner Independent/Killer Films. Sigourney Weaver as Babe Paley and Toby Jones as Truman Capote. 2006
Well, let me tell you the answer. Jerome Zerbe [1904 - 1988] was the official photographer for the El Morocco nightclub in New York, and everyone knew when his photographs appeared in the paper the next day where the celebrities had been because the booths at the El Morocco were upholstered in blue zebra striped fabric. Which look was recreated for the film, the still above (cropped and resized) being lifted from the Wikkipedia article on the El Morocco because I'm lazy. See below.
Jerome was born in Euclid, Ohio, near Cleveland, where his father was president of a coal company. As a young boy Jerome was driven to public school in the family limousine, which got him beaten up by bullies. Having been to Euclid once I feel it safe to say you could definitely get beaten up there, chauffeured to school, or not, and so Jerome had no choice but to move to New York, photograph the rich and famous and invent the vodka martini.
The original papparaz, or whatever the singular of papparazi is, Zerbe's celebrity photographs were published in the book Happy Times with text by Brendan Gill; additionally, he also produced Les Pavillons, French Pavilions of the Eighteenth Century, with Cyril Connolly, because like so many of us, he felt at home in and was irresistibly drawn to those exquisite follies and 'pleasure domes' built for people who had only four modes of relaxation: conversation, making love, hunting, and play. In other words, except for the hunting part maybe, Zerbe was, as my mother might have said, very "artistic."
As for the choice of image for tonight's post, I can only say that after a long day involving a trip to Santa Monica with B to do some shopping, I stopped by my social club for a quick visit and to chat, mostly about dropping Acid and going to Dead concerts (the good old days, in other words) and then headed home looking forward to the charming Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me, and Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, not necessarily in that order. But I wanted to give you something, and this is the best I could do. Don't hate me.
Yes, I see the influence of 'In Cold Blood,' but I'm also getting a whiff of Patrick Dennis's intoxicating 'Little Me.'
Paparazzi comes from a character in Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" named Paparazzo ~ a freelance celebrity photographer who works closely with Mastroianni's character. These Italian photographers also inspired the famous Richard Avedon/ Susy Parker fashion shoot ~ the one where Parker is coming out of the American Hospital in Rome with big dark glasses & bandages on both wrists.