Sanford H. Roth
Encyclopedia
Sanford H. Roth was an internationally known photographer whose work has appeared in Time, Life, Look, Fortune, Paris Match
, Elle, Der Stern, Harper's Bazaar
, Vogue, Oggi
, People, and other publications. His photographs of James Dean
still appear regularly in books, magazines, print and other works all over the world.
in the 1930s, where he met and married Beulah Spigelgass. In 1946, he quit his career to pursue his real passion—photography—and the Roths moved to Europe. Soon Sanford, also known as "Sandy", became a photojournalist not only to the film industry, but to other notable people of his time.
The Roths traveled between Hollywood, Europe, and other locations around the globe. They shared a passion for cats, shopping, clothes, Paris, Rome, flea markets, Roman antiquities, art, and people. Sanford Roth's photographs became synonymous with a sense of quality and intimacy capturing unreachable celebrities and artists in moments when their guard was down.
Sandy with his wife Beulah, met, entertained, photographed and became friends with the who's who of post World War II Europe and Hollywood. Those photographs included:
Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, James Dean (a personal friend), Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Audrey Hepburn, Aldous Huxley, Noel Coward, Jimmy Stewart, Christopher Isherwood, Louis Armstrong, Paul Newman, Gino Severini, Blaise Cendrars, Alberto Moravia, Moise Kisling, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Grace Kelly, Danny Kaye, Romy Schneider, Anna Magnani, Jack Lemmon, Deborah Kerr, Igor Stravinsky, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Sophia Loren, Darius Milhaud, Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie, Edwin Hubble, Jean Renoir, Alain Delon, John Wayne, George Antheil, Alberto Burri, Edward G. Robinson, Jean Cocteau, Peter Ustinov, Rossana Podesta, Darryl Zanuck, George Stevens, Colette, Groucho Marx, Tennessee Williams, Ava Gardner, Fred Zinnemann, Cary Grant, and many others.
on the set of Giant and they immediately became friends. Roth would often tell James Dean stories of he and his wife's travels all over Europe. Dean often visited the home of Sandy and Beulah and have published photographs of Dean playing with their cat. He treated them as adoptive parents. Poignantly, Sanford Roth was in the car behind James Dean when he died in the tragic car accident. He took the now-famous-post-accident photographs. Out of respect for his friends and family, he destroyed the negatives of Dean.
Some highlighted magazines, but not limited to:
Time, Life, Look, Fortune, Paris Match, Elle, Der Stern, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Oggi and People.
Among the private collectors who have owned the work of Sanford Roth are Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Colette, and Igor Stravinsky. Other collectors included Francesca Robinson Sanchez (granddaughter of the late actor Edward G. Robinson), Jill Robinson (née Schary
), Princess Rachel Starraba (Rome), Gino and Nino Franchina (Rome), Peter Ustinov, Claudia de Guere (France), Mr. Seita Ohnishi (Japan), Leonard Spigelgass (U.S.), L. Fritz Gruber (Germany) and many others.
Sanford Roth's work is held in the permanent public collections of:
in 1962. He was survived by his wife Beulah. She died in 1990. While living, she transferred ownership of many of the original photographs to Francesca Robinson Sanchez, granddaughter of Edward G. Robinson.
Paris Match
Paris Match is a French weekly magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. It was founded in 1949 by the industrialist Jean Prouvost....
, Elle, Der Stern, Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Vogue, Oggi
Oggi (magazine)
Oggi is an Italian weekly news and gossip magazine. It has a circulation of around 3 million, making it the best-selling weekly magazine in Italy. It is owned by the RCS media group, edited by Umberto Brindani, and was established in 1945....
, People, and other publications. His photographs of James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
still appear regularly in books, magazines, print and other works all over the world.
Biography
Sanford Roth was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His profession of managing chain stores brought him to Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in the 1930s, where he met and married Beulah Spigelgass. In 1946, he quit his career to pursue his real passion—photography—and the Roths moved to Europe. Soon Sanford, also known as "Sandy", became a photojournalist not only to the film industry, but to other notable people of his time.
The Roths traveled between Hollywood, Europe, and other locations around the globe. They shared a passion for cats, shopping, clothes, Paris, Rome, flea markets, Roman antiquities, art, and people. Sanford Roth's photographs became synonymous with a sense of quality and intimacy capturing unreachable celebrities and artists in moments when their guard was down.
Sandy with his wife Beulah, met, entertained, photographed and became friends with the who's who of post World War II Europe and Hollywood. Those photographs included:
Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, James Dean (a personal friend), Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Audrey Hepburn, Aldous Huxley, Noel Coward, Jimmy Stewart, Christopher Isherwood, Louis Armstrong, Paul Newman, Gino Severini, Blaise Cendrars, Alberto Moravia, Moise Kisling, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Grace Kelly, Danny Kaye, Romy Schneider, Anna Magnani, Jack Lemmon, Deborah Kerr, Igor Stravinsky, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Sophia Loren, Darius Milhaud, Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie, Edwin Hubble, Jean Renoir, Alain Delon, John Wayne, George Antheil, Alberto Burri, Edward G. Robinson, Jean Cocteau, Peter Ustinov, Rossana Podesta, Darryl Zanuck, George Stevens, Colette, Groucho Marx, Tennessee Williams, Ava Gardner, Fred Zinnemann, Cary Grant, and many others.
James Dean
Roth first met James DeanJames Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
on the set of Giant and they immediately became friends. Roth would often tell James Dean stories of he and his wife's travels all over Europe. Dean often visited the home of Sandy and Beulah and have published photographs of Dean playing with their cat. He treated them as adoptive parents. Poignantly, Sanford Roth was in the car behind James Dean when he died in the tragic car accident. He took the now-famous-post-accident photographs. Out of respect for his friends and family, he destroyed the negatives of Dean.
Works
Sanford Roth's talents were wide and varied. His professional credits are extensive. The following lists where his works have been highlighted.Some highlighted magazines, but not limited to:
Time, Life, Look, Fortune, Paris Match, Elle, Der Stern, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Oggi and People.
Among the private collectors who have owned the work of Sanford Roth are Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Colette, and Igor Stravinsky. Other collectors included Francesca Robinson Sanchez (granddaughter of the late actor Edward G. Robinson), Jill Robinson (née Schary
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...
), Princess Rachel Starraba (Rome), Gino and Nino Franchina (Rome), Peter Ustinov, Claudia de Guere (France), Mr. Seita Ohnishi (Japan), Leonard Spigelgass (U.S.), L. Fritz Gruber (Germany) and many others.
Sanford Roth's work is held in the permanent public collections of:
- Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York City, New York - Israel MuseumIsrael MuseumThe Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, Jerusalem, Israel - Los Angeles County Museum of ArtLos Angeles County Museum of ArtThe Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, Los Angeles, California - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
, Beverly Hills, California - Musee De La Photographie Ville de Mougins le Maire, Alpes-Maritimes, France
- Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, California
- Getty Museum Research Center, Los Angeles, California
- Museum LudwigMuseum LudwigMuseum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from PopArt, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It also features many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein....
, Cologne, Germany
Death and afterward
Sanford Roth died of a heart attack in Rome, Italy, while preparing to work on the film CleopatraCleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
in 1962. He was survived by his wife Beulah. She died in 1990. While living, she transferred ownership of many of the original photographs to Francesca Robinson Sanchez, granddaughter of Edward G. Robinson.