When Cindy Crawford, supermodel of all supermodels, appeared in Playboy in July 1988, renowned celebrity photographer Herb Ritts had to be behind the lens. That's because Ritts was the rare talent who could not just capture Crawford's sensuality but elevate it to perfection.
Ritts, who died in Los Angeles last December of complications from pneumonia, left a legacy of images that made him as famous as his subjects. His Playboy pictorials of Elle Macpherson (May 1994), Stephanie Seymour (March 1991) and Brigitte Nielsen (December 1987) were instant classics, as was Crawford's encore in October 1998. And although Ritts was best known as a photographer of the world's most beautiful women, his subjects ranged from athletes (Magic Johnson) to movie stars (Elizabeth Taylor) to world leaders (the Dalai Lama).
Ritts handled celebrities deftly because he grew up among them in Hollywood (neighbor Steve McQueen was a babysitter). He earned an economics degree and briefly worked in the family furniture business, but his destiny as a photographer was sealed when he used a new camera to photograph friend Richard Gere at a desert gas station. Gere was soon a star, and Ritts the photographer of the stars.
Ritts' work is larger than life, a reflection of the man and his remarkable talent. He will be missed.
See More Classic Herb Ritts Photographs at cyber.playboy.com.
