The celebrity snapper who reportedly inspired the character Paparazzo in FEDERICO FELLINI's movie masterpiece LA DOLCE VITA has died.
Felice Quinto, who was dubbed the 'king of the paparazzi' was 80 when he died in Maryland last month (Jan10). His death was confirmed by his wife Geraldine on Monday (08Feb10).
He was the first photographer to use aggressive tactics to snap stars and would ride around Rome, Italy on a motorcycle, taking photographs that appeared in gossip publications all over the world.
Fellini reportedly asked Quinto to play a photographer in La Dolce Vita, but the snapper declined the offer because he was making more money taking pictures. He briefly appeared in the film as a bystander.
He later became an Associated Press photographer and famously covered John F. Kennedy’s funeral for the agency.
But he never left celebrity photography for long - Quinto became a regular fixture at New York's Studio 54 nightclub in the 1970s, and Elizabeth Taylor hired him as her personal photographer.
He retired in 1993.
In America Quinto continued to photograph celebrities. In the 1970s perhaps his most fruitful location was Studio 54, the New York nightclub that was a second home to many of the best-known personalities of the day.
According to Ian Schrager, co-founder of Studio 54: "We didn't have any discernible product –our music and liquor were the same as everybody else's. It was the magic we could create. Quinto turned us into this media phenomenon, with these pictures that would make it around the world."
Today many of Quinto's images of celebrities are displayed in a re-creation of Studio 54 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Quinto claimed that he preferred to ask politely for permission before taking a photograph. "We used to keep the classical 10ft away," he added. "These guys now are like vultures." In the close confines of Studio 54, the respectable distance was reduced to 7ft: "I got the breast of Ali McGraw from 7ft. No problem."
He explained his philosophy as follows: "Jack Nicholson wants me to pay $10 to see him in a movie. If I pass him with his pants down taking a leak against a tree, you want me to keep walking? Give me a break."
He also worked for a time as personal photographer to Elizabeth Taylor.
In 1993 he retired, and four years later published a book of pictures he had taken at Studio 54. Some of his photographs have been exhibited.
Asked whether he regretted his role in the creation of a celebrity culture, Quinto replied: "People are human. They want to see these pictures, and there is too much money to be made."
Felice Quinto died at Rockville, Maryland, on January 16. His wife survives him.
Felice Quinto, who was dubbed the 'king of the paparazzi' was 80 when he died in Maryland last month (Jan10). His death was confirmed by his wife Geraldine on Monday (08Feb10).
He was the first photographer to use aggressive tactics to snap stars and would ride around Rome, Italy on a motorcycle, taking photographs that appeared in gossip publications all over the world.
Fellini reportedly asked Quinto to play a photographer in La Dolce Vita, but the snapper declined the offer because he was making more money taking pictures. He briefly appeared in the film as a bystander.
He later became an Associated Press photographer and famously covered John F. Kennedy’s funeral for the agency.
But he never left celebrity photography for long - Quinto became a regular fixture at New York's Studio 54 nightclub in the 1970s, and Elizabeth Taylor hired him as her personal photographer.
He retired in 1993.
According to Ian Schrager, co-founder of Studio 54: "We didn't have any discernible product –our music and liquor were the same as everybody else's. It was the magic we could create. Quinto turned us into this media phenomenon, with these pictures that would make it around the world."
Today many of Quinto's images of celebrities are displayed in a re-creation of Studio 54 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Quinto claimed that he preferred to ask politely for permission before taking a photograph. "We used to keep the classical 10ft away," he added. "These guys now are like vultures." In the close confines of Studio 54, the respectable distance was reduced to 7ft: "I got the breast of Ali McGraw from 7ft. No problem."
He explained his philosophy as follows: "Jack Nicholson wants me to pay $10 to see him in a movie. If I pass him with his pants down taking a leak against a tree, you want me to keep walking? Give me a break."
He also worked for a time as personal photographer to Elizabeth Taylor.
In 1993 he retired, and four years later published a book of pictures he had taken at Studio 54. Some of his photographs have been exhibited.
Asked whether he regretted his role in the creation of a celebrity culture, Quinto replied: "People are human. They want to see these pictures, and there is too much money to be made."
Felice Quinto died at Rockville, Maryland, on January 16. His wife survives him.
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