Before Don Draper, there was William Helburn, the prolific photographer and known lothario of the 1950s. We pick ten quotes that define his legendary character
In 1958, William Helburn photographed Carmen Dell’Orefice and Betsy Pickering on top of a Fifth Avenue bus in New York for Harper's Bazaar. The following year he posed for his own photograph in a bathtub with good friend, Dovima. His playful images are now some of the most memorable and compelling of the era, injecting humour, frivolity and a mischievous ‘shock value’ into the austere world of fashion photography and advertising.
Helburn was a real-life Don Draper – impeccably turned out, utterly charming and extremely gifted, both creatively and socially. He was a known lothario and a relentless models-man. He married model Sue Jenks in 1949, eventually divorcing in 1964 to marry Ford Model Angela Howard – and there were plenty more girls in between, including Jean Shrimpton, who he famously photographed with a radish in her mouth in 1968. He had a longstanding affair with model Elsa Martinelli. “I fell madly in love with her,” Helburn recalls, “And it was easy to go out with people because I was, “Honey, I’m working late,” you know? She knew my day never ended.” His legacy is celebrated in a new book by Robert and Lois Allen Lilly, which charts his prolific career in his own words and those who knew him best. Here, we pick our ten favouirte quotes from the book.
"William Helburn – a sexy, super-alive, open man who also happened to be a very good photographer” — Ali Macgraw
William Helburn on his upbringing...
"I was pretty good for a poor kind, you know? I went to my first debutante ball up in Greenwich, Connecticut, when I was going to the Art Students League. Bea Butler McGuire – her father was president of Columbia University – was my date. I sat next to George Bush at that ball. He was in his white naval ROTC uniform. I was there with my acne and my suit from Bond’s men’s store. But the girls liked me!"
Actress Ali Macgraw on William Helburn...
“Bill had a terrific reputation. People loved his work. He was one of the major guys. A sexy, super-alive, open man who also happened to be a very good photographer.”
William Helburn on women...
“I love women. I used to pride myself on the fact that I would make it with more models than anybody. Every model that came in – I was Willy Wonka in the candy factory. I just was in love with everyone. That’s why I loved my business so much. I loved girls. I loved sex.”
William Helburn on his own style...
"Elsa Martinelli took me to a place called Battistoni, which was on via Condotti, and they made my shirts. Silk shirts with monograms on my cuff. Everyone thought that was rather unique.”
Model Sunny Griffin on William Helburn...
"Bill was scandalous. And he was this unique talent who had the ability to make me feel wonderful. In every photograph. And very few photographers could do that. Bill Helburn was and remains my very favorite photographer."
William Helburn on Dovima...
"Dovima made the clothes look good. We were friendly. The closer we got, the more comfortable I was directing her. I worked with Dovima maybe a hundred times. By that time she saw more of me than her husband. There’s a lot of pleasure in working with a girl you know so well. You know what she does and she knows what you like. After I spent as much time in the studio with Dovima and Patchett as I spent with my wife, they became like my best friends."
Ad-man George Lois on William Helburn...
"Today, people’s idea of the admen of that era – like the cast of characters in the TV series Mad Men – are basically male chauvinist, WASP, racist, anti-Semitic, Republican SOBs, and, worst of all, talentless. Bob Gage, Bill Taubin, Helmut Krone, and I are the original Mad Men: the greatest admen of all time. And we enlisted Bill Helburn to define our great advertisements with his superb, powerfully graphic photography."
William Helburn on Jean Shrimpton...
“Jean and I were together in that period. Maybe for two or three months. She would come out to Westhampton. Spent a lot of time there. We were very good together. Jean was charming. Fun. Adorable. Willing to do anything. A gay spirit. I just loved walking down the street with her. Except she was so much taller than me. Then on a shoot early one morning for McCall’s, I introduced her to Terence Stamp. And that was the end – then she went with him.”
Photographer Jerry Schatzberg on William Helburn...
"He was original, he was carefree, and above all he was sophisticated. All of this driven by a sense of humor and the desire to shock. I think a fashion photographer has to really love his subject, and without a doubt he did."
William Helburn on his success...
“It never entered my mind that I was going to make it, but as I look back on my life I can see why I did. I made it because I had to always do something a little different. I made it because my taste was never bad. I had undying energy. If I did a picture, I couldn’t wait to see it. I always wanted to get things done as fast as possible. It’s going to be the way I want it. The model will meet my approval. They’re never going to force anybody down my throat. Every picture should be as good as I could make it.”
William Helburn: Seventh and Madison: Fashion and Advertising Photography by Robert Lilly and Lois Allen Lilly is available from November 18, published by Thames & Hudson.
Words by Mhairi Graham
