Photo legend Douglas Kirkland passed away on October 2, at the age of 88, and leaves behind a staggering body of work as well as an indelible imprint on not just the photography industry but the world.

Family friend and Palm Springs Photo Festival director Jeff Dunas wrote a touching obituary upon Kirkland’s passing and was kind enough to share parts of it with Rangefinder:

“We’ve lost a veritable legend. Legendary in the sense that Douglas Kirkland was a living monument in the realm of photography. Legendary in that many of his images are not simply famous of famous people, they have come to embody the subjects of his photographs themselves. 

He continued: “Who hasn’t seen the unforgettable images of Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Coco Channel, Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Kathryn Hepburn, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Ann-Margret, Natalie Wood, Catherine Deneuve as well as contemporary stars Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, and hundreds of others? Who could forget his pictures of Charlie Chaplin, Peter O’Toole, Paul Newman, Marcello Mastroianni, Michael Caine, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio; musicians Frank Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Bjork, Michael Jackson and so many more, all in their prime and all by the number one photographer on the speed dials of editors and publishers, movie producers, museum and gallery curators and advertising agencies throughout the world? The sheer number of talented and remarkable public figures to have stepped before his camera is very possibly unparalleled in the medium of photography.

[Read: A Photographer You Should Know: Celebrity Shooter Miller Mobley]

“The sheer number of talented and remarkable public figures to have stepped before his camera is very possibly unparalleled in the medium of photography. Great directors trusted him to make the startling and iconic photographs on the sets of the most epic films of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Douglas Kirkland was the special photographer of countless motion pictures (over 100) including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Sound of Music, Sophie’s Choice, The Great Gatsby, Out of Africa, Titanic and Moulin Rouge.“

Lauren Wendle, former publisher of PDN and current co-director of the Lawrence Fried Archive, also shared her thoughts on Kirkland, and his passing, with us: “My mom , Nancy Fried (96), as a young woman working at the ASMP was introduced to Douglas Kirkland and says, to this day, that he was the nicest and best-looking photographer she has ever known. He was good friends with my father, photographer Lawrence Fried, and I met Douglas early in my life. Adjectives that have been used across Instagram and facebook saying that Douglas was a legendary photographer to the stars, inspirational, dignified, humble, upbeat, positive, genuine, encouraging ,dynamic, generous a loving husband to Francoise his partner in life and work—all true! For me he leaves behind the legacy of love, kindness, friendship and humanity shared with so many and so unique to Douglas. I will miss his heart.”

Back in 2017, Jared Polin of FroKnowsPhoto sat down with photo legend and Canon Explorer of Light Douglas Kirkland and his wife, Francoise, for an interview (view video above) that gave viewers a glimpse inside the mind and life of a true legend. “Do you see the light, do you see the images before you capture them?” asked Polin. “I do. I feel them. I see them,” the photographer responded.

Born on August 16, 1934, the Canadian-born Kirkland moved at a young age from Toronto to the tiny town of Fort Erie in Ontario. “I got a job in a small, local studio and started out with a Speed Graphic 4 x 5…I was 13 years old, that’s when I started taking pictures—of weddings and babies and all of that. And I kept getting magazines like Pop Photography and Modern Photography and that created dreams for me,” he told Polin.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Francoise Kirkland (@douglaskirkland_)

When he was just 24, Kirkland’s career kicked into full gear after photographing Marilyn Monroe for LOOK magazine’s 25th anniversary and later joined LIFE magazine as a staff photographer. Going into his first shoot with Marilyn Monroe, he once wrote that she said to her handlers: “I want to be alone with this boy. I find it usually works better that way.” A photograph from that shoot, of Marilyn wrapped in silk sheets and photographed from above, became one of Kirkland’s signature images.

In his book Freeze Frame: Second Cut (Glitterati Incorporated) photo legend Kirkland recounted the story of when when he met Elizabeth Taylor in Las Vegas shortly after he was hired by LOOK magazine. “‘I’m new at this magazine. Could you imagine what it would mean to me if you gave me an opportunity to photograph you?’” he recalls saying to her as he looked into her eyes. “A beat of silence, then she said, ‘Come tomorrow night at 8:30.’” Known as “Hollywood’s Favorite Photographer,” he also immortalized the likes of Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Peter Sellers, Coco Chanel, Andy Warhol and countless other celebrities.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Francoise Kirkland (@douglaskirkland_)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Francoise Kirkland (@douglaskirkland_)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Francoise Kirkland (@douglaskirkland_)

“I see the world through my camera,” Kirkland told Polin during their interview. “It’s my passion. I’ll never stop; it’s unthinkable to stop. The only time I’ll stop is when this heart stops.”

At the end of Kirkland’s obituary, Dunas wrote the following: “Douglas Kirkland has left an impossible void to fill in both his personal and professional lives and his boundless joie de vivre, warmth and passion will be missed by a long life of wonderful and meaningful friendships.”

Photographer Gerd Ludwig told Rangefinder that, “Douglas Kirkland was already a photographic giant when I met him 41 years ago during the ‘A Day in the Life of Australia’ project. I was immediately drawn to his warmth and kindness. Deeply interested in people, he was eager to listen, humble to the extreme, and generous and magnanimous with his advice.

“His humanity permeated his photography. Full of heart and soul, his iconic images gently resonate with a full range of emotions; warmth and romance, passion and desire, fragility and elation. Over the years we became very close friends—’best friends’—as we called it. He was the brother I never had. Douglas’ passing has left a void in my life that is impossible to fill.”

Kirkland leaves behind wife Francoise, son Mark Kirkland, daughters Karen and Lisa, grandchildren Jamie, Chad, Ryan, Patrick, Anna Sophia, and great grandchild Madison.

Book Cover © Glitterati Inc./Photo by Douglas Kirkland