His first commission for the Beatles came through their manager Brian Epstein, after Freeman had sent him a selection of his atmospherically monochrome photographs of jazz musicians. They had a son, Dean, and a daughter, Janine. He had just photographed the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev at the Kremlin, and had shot the first Pirelli calendar (published in 1964), through which he met his first wife, the German-born model Sonny Drane (originally Sonnhild Spielhagen). He also pursued a successful career as a director of commercials, and directed the feature films The Touchables (1968) and Secret World (1969).īefore meeting the Beatles in 1963, Freeman had worked as a photographer for two years, contributing to the Sunday Times and other magazines. He was fascinated by architecture, and devoured literature from Goethe to Cervantes to Rilke. A compulsive traveller, he had a panoramic knowledge of music, from Debussy and musique concr ète to modern jazz and music from Cuba and South America (though he was never a diehard Beatles fan).

He also photographed other towering names in music and show business, including Charlton Heston, Andy Warhol, Sophia Loren, Muhammad Ali and Penélope Cruz, and took memorable portraits of jazz musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane.Īlthough the Beatles connection ensured his name became widely known, Freeman had a broad intellect through which he explored a variety of creative disciplines. The photographer and film director Robert Freeman, who has died of pneumonia aged 82, found enduring fame in the 1960s through his work with the Beatles, shooting the cover photographs for some of their most significant albums including A Hard Day’s Night and Rubber Soul.

Robert whitehead obituary