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Artist: Eddie Adams (American, 1933-2004)
"Adams was born to Edward and Adelaide Adams on June 12, 1933, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He developed his interest in photography while still a teenager, and served on the photography staff of his high school newspaper." (1)
" For a while, he even worked as a wedding photographer, which soon turned into a professional occupation. After graduating high school, Adams served in United States Marie Corps. He spent three years as a combat photographer during the Korean War." (2)
"After leaving the Marines, Adams joined the staff of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. He worked there from 1958 to 1962. During this time, he managed to become a photographer for the Associated Press (AP)." (3)
"In 1965, Adams and his friend, United Press International (UPI) photographer Dirck Halstead, both decided they wanted to travel to Vietnam to photograph the war there...Adams remained in Vietnam for a year, often serving double–duty as a reporter." (1)
"Adams later returned to Vietnam. It was while covering the war for the Associated Press that he took one of his best-known photos, which was a picture of Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the police chief General, executing a Vietcong prisoner. This photograph appeared in newspapers all over the world, including the front page of the New York Times. The photo immediately established Adams as one of the world’s top photojournalists and even earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1969 and a World Press Photo award." (3)
"Eddie later apologized to General Nguyen along with his entire family for the irreparable damage this photo did to the General’s honor." (2)
"Despite his anti–war views that developed during his time in Vietnam, Adams was never comfortable with the notion that his work had swayed public opinion. 'Photographs, you know, they're half–truths,' Adams remarked after Loan's death, as quoted by Carl Schoettler in the Baltimore Sun. He was also distressed about the detrimental effects of the photograph on Loan, who became a despised figure both in his home country of South Vietnam and in the United States, where he emigrated after the war. Adams befriended Loan, who died of cancer in 1998, and refused to display the photograph publicly." (1)
“After the General’s death, Eddie Adams praised Nguyen as a hero” (2)
"Apart from the Pulitzer Prize, Eddie Adams received more than 500 awards, including the George Polk Award in 1968, 1978, 1977. He also won several awards from the World Press Photo, Sigma Delta Chi, NPPA, Overseas Press Club and several other organizations." (2)
"Adams has said he was most proud of another Vietnam–based project, a series of photographs of 48 Vietnamese refugees who sailed to Thailand on a 30–foot boat but were denied entrance to the country. The photographs were presented to the United State Congress by the State Department and are widely credited with influencing the United States' decision to shelter as many as 200,000 South Vietnamese refugees." (1)
"In 1972, Adams left the associated press to freelance for Time magazine. He was given an assignment to photograph Penthouse magazine’s Bob Guccione. This assignment led to Adams being commissioned to photograph a series of Penthouse Pets in the 1970s. Aftewards [sic], Adams spent the next 25 years as a much sought-after freelance photographer and also a special correspondent for Parade magazine. He shot more than 350 covers during that time with portraits of important figures, including people such as Pope John Paul II, Indira Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Fidel Castro, Deng Xiaoping, George Bush and Richard Nixon." (3)
"In May 2004, Adams was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Following the diagnosis, he continued to work and continued with plans for Barnstorm. In addition, he created a video profile of himself that was featured during the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon to raise awareness of his disease." (1)
"On September 8, 2004, Adams Eddie passed away in New York. His legacy still continues through Barnstorm: The Eddie Adams Workshop, which is a photojournalism seminar that he began in 1988. He was also the subject of the 2009 documentary feature entitled An Unlikely Weapon, which was directed by Susan Cooper." (2)
Reference:
1. Adams, Eddie [internet]. Encyclopedia of World Biography; 2004 [cited 2019 May 15]. Available from: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/adams-eddie.
2. Eddie Adams [internet]. Totalhistory.com; 2012 [cited 2019 May 15]. Available from: http://totallyhistory.com/eddie-adams/.
3. Eddie Adams [internet]. famous-photographers.com; 2011 [cited 2019 May 15]. Available from: http://famous-photographers.com/eddie-adams/
