Ron Galella, ‘Paparazzo Extraordinaire’ and Jackie O stalker, dead at 91
nypost.comtold the Hollywood Reporter.Known as the “Godfather of the US paparazzi culture” and “Paparazzo Extraordinaire,” the shutterbug shot more A-listers than perhaps any photographer in America during his six-decade career in photojournalism: John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley, Princess Diana, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol and so many more.Though iconic, some of the Bronx-born fotog’s shots landed him in trouble — mostly because his subjects were unaware he was shooting them.His work methods, regarded as unethical by some or genius by others, ultimately produced some of the most highly regarded iconographies — a testament to his keen eye — evident in “Windblown Jackie,” which infuriated the First Lady but delighted Galella.“This decisive moment photo, which I titled, ‘Windblown Jackie,’ is my favorite, most published picture and the best-selling print of all time at my fine art galleries worldwide,” he wrote in 2021. “It’s a superior picture, like DaVinci’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.
It embodies all the qualities of my paparazzi approach: exclusive, unrehearsed, off-guard, spontaneous, no appointments — the only game.”While memorable, Galella’s Jackie O portraits, which he obtained during a yearslong pursuit throughout New York City, landed him in a 1972 free-speech trial.
Onassis said that he made her life “intolerable, almost unlivable, with his constant surveillance” and the paparazzo was slapped with a restraining order.“Jackie was my favorite subject,” he told The Post about the 1979 shot.
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