In the 1950s and 60s, Leo Fuchs photographed Hollwood’s "Who’s Who"—Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Sean Connery, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Curtis, Montgomery Clift and Alfred Hitchcock, to name a few.

Fuchs was born in Vienna in 1929 to a family of pastry chefs, who immigrated to New York in 1939. He started shooting photos early, selling his first (of Eleanor Roosevelt) for five dollars when he was barely a teenager. Fuchs quit school at 14 to apprentice for Globe Photos, then worked as a photographer in Broadway nightclubs and for magazines and newspapers. After serving as a Signal Corps cameraman in Germany, he was hired as a still photographer on his first film.

Soon Fuchs was working directly with the studios, prompting his move to Hollywood in 1961. As a freelance magazine

photographer, Fuchs was one of the rare outsiders invited onto movie sets, where he captured candid shots, during both shooting and after hours while socializing with the stars and directors. His immense talent and the rapport he built with his subjects allowed him to capture intimate moments that few others were able to accomplish. (He always let the actors see his photos before he sent them to his agent.)  Then, in 1964, with the support of his dear friend Cary Grant, Fuchs gave up photography and spent the next 20 years as a motion picture producer, starting with Gambit, starring Shirley MacLaine and British import Michael Caine.

Recently, Leo’s son, Alexandre Fuchs, found 30 trunks in storage, filled with contact sheets, negatives and original prints. Now, limited edition archival prints of some of Leo Fuchs’ most famous subjects are available on V&M.
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