“The perfectionist in me always left me thinking I could have taken a better shot. But now when I look at photos of all the icons I’ve shot – like Mandela, Sir Winston Churchill and Sinatra – the memories come flooding back and I think: ‘Yeah, I did all right'.”
Talented Young Photographers
Terry O'Neill was one of a group of talented young photographers who helped create the photographic icons of the 1960s and the buzz that became Swinging London. The peer group that emerged in this decade alongside Terry O'neill included David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy from the East End, with Patrick Litchfield and Lewis Morley from different backgrounds.
Love of Music
O’Neill’s love of music led him to photograph The Beatles and The Rolling Stones at the beginning just as they were starting out in the 1960s, and he went on to capture the movers and shakers and celebrity of all kinds, from the models of the day to film stars and politicians. During his career he photographed every actor to play James Bond and every British prime minister from Winston Churchill to Gordon Brown. if they were a star Terry O'Neil had taken a photograph of them.
Dunaway in a daze
One of the photographer’s most recognisable works is a shot of actress Dunaway – his girlfriend at the time – in 1977, the morning after winning her best actress Oscar for Network. In the final print she is shown with a dazed expression, sitting in front of a Beverly Hills pool surrounded by the statuette and newspapers.