Actors, politicians and celebrities are all paying their respects today to a photographer whose own creative flair helped capture some of the defining moments of the 20th century.
Terry O’Neill made his name in the early 1960s, when his pictures helped capture the mood and catalogue the revolutionary cultural changes that would define the decade.
Veteran actor Terence Stamp and Cherie Blair, both of whom were subjects of O’Neill’s lens, attended a service in Mayfair, London, given to remember the veteran photographer, following his passing in November.
Actor Terence Stamp arrives at the memorial service for Terry O’Neill at the Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair. Stamp appeared alongside model Jean Shrimpton in a picture taken by Terry O’Neill in 1963, just as all three stars’ careers began to rise
O’Neill took a family portrait of the Blair family (including Cherie, pictured above) inside 10 Downing Street for the Prime Minister’s Christmas Card in 2001. Cherie was pictured at the centre of the card, today she headed to Mayfair to pay her respects to the veteran snapper
Socialites and actors including Tamara Beckwith, left, and Nigel Havers, right, celebrated the life and career of Terry O’Neill
Over the course of a 60-year career he would photograph members of the Royal Family, prominent politicians and celebrities – ranging from the of Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland to Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss.
O’Neill would capture moments that remain iconic to this day – including Elton John’s two-day concert at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in 1975.
The following year he captured an exhausted Faye Dunaway as she sat poolside hours after winning an Oscar for her performance in Network.
Terry O’Neill died last November after a long battle with prostate cancer, one month after he had collected his CBE for services to photography from the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace.
Speaking at the time, the British photographer said the honour ‘surpasses anything I’ve had happen to me in my life’.
Terry O’Neill’s widow Laraine Ashton clutches an order of service outside Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, where she met some of the countless celebrities, politicians and familiar names her husband had worked with over the course of a 60-year career
Hairdresser to the stars Nicky Clarke (right) was in attendance, as was veteran TV political journalist Andrew Neil
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his wife Annette arrive at the memorial service. Mason’s band were among the musicians to be pictured by Terry O’Neill in the swinging sixties
His death sparked an outpouring of grief from the many famous faces that had worked with him over the decades.
Boxer Frank Bruno tweeted: ‘Very sad to see the passing of Terry O’Neill, over the years he did lots of photo sessions with me “A character”‘
Actress and singer Barbra Streisand tweeted: ‘Terry O’Neill – You took such wonderful pictures. May you RIP’
Comedian and children’s author David Walliams also paid tribute to the ‘genius’ of Mr O’Neill, tweeting that his death was the ‘end of an era. RIP the great photographer Terry O’Neill. A huge talent and an absolute gentleman’.
The British photographer was born on 30 July 1938 in Heston, West London, and originally aspired to be a jazz drummer due to his love of music.
Hoping a job as an airline steward would get him to New York where he could play jazz clubs, the young O’Neill began applying, but found there were no positions available.
Instead it was suggested he took a job in the photography department of British Overseas Airways Corporation, which later became British Airways.
Terry O’Neill in 2018. Mourners gathered today to pay respects to the photographer’s life and 60-year career following his death in November 2020
He said: ‘Part of my work was to take photographs of people arriving and departing at the terminals. I happened upon a very well-dressed bowler-hatted man, taking a quick nap in the departures area, and he was surrounded by African chieftains, fully clad in their regalia.
‘Soon after, I was approached by an editor who told me that they wanted to show the photo to his paper.
‘The man napping turned out to be then Home Secretary Rab Butler.
‘The paper ran my photo and I was off and running. I was offered a job at the Daily Sketch where I worked for several years before going out on my own.’
In those early days the brightening star was picked out for musical jobs because of his own love for jazz and due to his young age compared to other photographers in the office.
Those early opportunities would go on to be the foundation of a career defined by marking some of the most iconic people of the last half a century.