Photographer Jerry White posing with one of his models (Aug.1974).
Continuing on with my 8th page of "more glamour photographers", we have...
Jerry White in November of 1958 when he was one of two Assistant Art Directors working for Playboy magazine.
Jerry White - Aside from Jerry White's well-known role as a photographer (he shot a lot of glamour and fashion), he also held several jobs whose titles ended with the word "Director". He was employed as a Fashion Design Director, Creative Director, Assistant and Associate Art Director, Associate Promotion Director, and also Art Director for some of the most prestigious companies in the United States. One of the companies that readers of this website would be most familiar with would be Playboy. Of Jerry's many contributions to the magazine, his most famous would be in his role as a photographer. He photographed Hef's personal secretary and assistant, Joni Mattis, as Playmate of the Month for the November 1960 issue of the magazine. His centerfold of Miss Mattis would be regarded as one of the most demure up until that time, partly due to the model's shyness, but I find it to be a wonderful example of pinup photography. While he was working for Hefner in Chicago, Jerry also regularly had his black and white studio images of models published in some of the most popular photo digests of the day. He later went on to author two books on "Beauty Photography".
I first became aware of a photographer named Jerry White when I saw many of his photos in the Fawcett photo books of the late 50s and early to mid 60s. Good Photography, Candid Photography, Salon Photography and Prize Winning Photography were publications that accepted images from some of the most talented photographers of the time, and over the last fifteen years or so, I have collected the majority of these annual photo digests. To see a selection of his images from these books, click here. To read a listing of some of Jerry White's images that appeared in these books, visit this page.
Gerald Abel White was born to Abelardo Cruz White and Arabella Baranda White on October 16, 1921 in Madera, California. Abelardo, who sometimes went by the name Charles, was a shoe salesman and his wife Arabella, who had been born in Mexico, was a housewife (although she later became a salesperson like her husband). Gerald, who preferred to be called Jerry, was the couple's only child. After Jerry graduated from high school in 1939, he found employment at Langdon Photo in Los Angeles. He worked there from February 1940 until July 6, 1942, when at the age of 20, he was called upon to join what Tom Brokaw termed "The Greatest Generation" when he was inducted into the United States Army to serve in WWII. Because of Jerry's civilian occupation of photographer, he was initially given the rank of private and joined the branch of the Army called The Signal Corps, which documented the war effort for The United States. During his service, Jerry photographed the Army's activities in such countries as Burma, China and India.
Photos of Jerry White serving in World War II were provided by his estate.
In February of 1945, Jerry White was serving in Burma and posed for a photo with four of the local Kachin women. The Kachin people were instrumental in helping the Allies drive the Japanese Army out of the country in May of that year.
World War II officially ended when the Japanese signed the surrender document aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945 and Jerry was discharged from the Army sometime in October. Very soon, Jerry found himself in Tennessee where he met a young woman by the name of Julia Frances Layne and the two were married by a Wilson County judge on November 10, 1945. He was 24 and she was 18. The couple soon relocated to Dallas, Texas to live close to his parents (who had moved there sometime during the war). By January of 1946, Jerry had procured a job at Atlas Photo, which he stayed with for a time. In mid 1947 Jerry began working as a magazine illustrator and he continued with that work for a few years. In February of 1949, Jerry interviewed with the department store Neiman-Marcus which was headquartered in Dallas and he was eventually hired as the Design Director for the company. His job entailed overseeing the art work that was done for the company's fashion ads, among other things. He would work closely with an artist named Patricia Heine who did drawings of models wearing outfits that would be sold in Neiman-Marcus stores. They both did some work for artist and art director Charles "Chuck" Gruen and they later would work for him freelance. Jerry did a lot of freelance work since he could draw, do cartoons and also take pictures.
In January of 1952, Jerry's wife Julia gave birth to their first child, a son. Three years later, while Julia was pregnant with their second child, the couple separated, and Jerry's parents helped Julia and her young son move to Los Angeles. In October of 1955, Julia White gave birth to a daughter. As Julia was an accomplished seamstress, she sought out sewing jobs when she first came to LA.
In Dallas, Jerry and his fellow Neiman-Marcus employee, Patricia, were in a relationship (which would last until 1965). In late 1955 or early '56. Jerry and Patricia left Dallas and moved to New York City, where Jerry had a studio for a while. In 1956, Jerry White had a four page article published in the September issue of Modern Photography. This issue was devoted to glamour and one of Jerry's photos of model Lynn Anderson appeared on the cover alongside photos by such well-known glamour photographers as Peter Gowland, Andre de Dienes and Peter Basch. To see Jerry's article in the magazine, click here.
Jerry White's photo of a model using an umbrella at the beach was featured on the cover of the September 1956 issue of Modern Photography. Jerry authored a four page article inside the magazine about the use of props when photographing a model.
During Jerry's stint in New York City, he also became the Creative Director for some New York advertising agencies.
Sometime in the first half of 1958, Jerry White was hired by Playboy in Chicago to be one of two Assistant Art Directors for the magazine and he was first credited with the title in the June 1958 issue. He held that position through October 1959. In November, Jerry was promoted to Associate Art Director and he was the sole holder of that title for that month. However, another Associate Art Director (Reid Austin) was added for the December issue and Jerry and Reid shared the title for another two months. The February 1960 issue was the last one to credit Jerry White as an Associate Art Director. But Jerry also had another title at the magazine that went largely uncredited. He was an Associate Promotion Director for a while, but I don't yet know if it was before or after he was an Assistant/Associate Art Director. In his position as Associate Promotion Director he was sometimes tasked with monitoring the people who were admitted into Hefner's parties.
Jerry White in January of 1960 when he was one of two Associate Art Directors working for Playboy.
Jerry's most recognizable contribution to Playboy, however, was the Playmate of the Month pictorial he shot (including the centerfold) that was published in the November 1960 issue of the magazine. The model was Hefner's personal secretary and assistant, Joni Mattis. She worked at Playboy for many more years after she posed for the magazine and sadly passed away in September of 1999.
The January 1961 issue of Playboy which featured Jerry White's centerfold of Joni Mattis on the cover (she's lying on the bed).
Soon after Jerry was hired as Assistant Art Director for Playboy, he designed and photographed the cover for the August 1958 issue.
An early outtake from the Joni Mattis Playmate centerfold shoot that was provided by the estate of Jerry White.
Jerry left Playboy sometime in 1960 and moved back to Los Angeles where he had previously resided in July of 1942. In LA, he did a variety of projects with the famous graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker Saul Bass, who designed motion picture title sequences and film posters. One of the projects that Jerry worked on was the title sequence for the 1960 Stanley Kubrick film Spartacus. Jerry did the sequence at the very end of the intro where the sculpture crumbles.
In 1962 and '63, Jerry was working as the Creative Director for Capitol Records in Hollywood and some of his photographs were used as album covers for the label. He also shot some photos for Reprise Records. In fact, Jerry had been shooting album covers for several different record companies since at least 1959 and continued through 1973. Four of his covers can be seen below and several more can be viewed on this page.
Bobby Vee - Come Back When You Grow Up (1967)
The Brilliant Guitar Sounds of Santo & Johnny (1967)
The Four Freshmen - A Today Kind Of Thing (1968)
The Ventures - Hawaii Five-O (1969)
In 1964, Jerry White authored his first book, Beauty Photography, for MACO Books. He followed it up the next year with Beauty Photography #2.
Beauty Photography, published in 1964.
Beauty Photography #2, which was published in 1965.
Around 1965, Jerry won a $2000 first prize award for his photography from Nikon World magazine. The winning image was that of a beautiful blonde holding a rose. It can be seen below.
Sometime in the mid to late 60s, Jerry was hired by Los Angeles' largest advertising firm, Carson Roberts, to be their Creative Director. In the late 60s, he was still photographing plenty of models and one of his favorites was Alberta Walker, with whom he had a longtime relationship. Five of his images of her can be seen on this page.
In the 70s and early 80s, Jerry White was shooting quite a bit of fashion in Los Angeles and a few examples of his fashion photography can be seen below.
A beautiful fashion image from May of 1972 which includes props that suggest some action had just taken place (something I really love in photographs).
Another group fashion shot by Jerry White. Year is unknown.
Jerry sometimes took self-portraits of himself posing with his models. This one was taken in the early to mid 70s.
In 1976, Jerry moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco and worked for the Hyatt Hotels as well as doing his own independent photography. In 1981, Jerry set up a photo shoot in Napa where model/actress Carla Borelli would be seated inside an abandoned rail car. Since the rail car was on the property of Robert Mondavi (of the famous Robert Mondavi Winery), Jerry needed to get his permission to shoot at the location. After Mr. Mondavi agreed, he and his wife Margrit were on scene to witness the shoot. To get the visual effect that Jerry wanted, he had some assistants hosing down the windows of the rail car, which introduced streams of water flowing down the glass. The Mondavis saw the work Jerry was doing and his overall creative concepts and asked him to come work for the Robert Mondavi Winery.
Two images of actress Carla Borelli expertly captured by Jerry White. Jerry and Carla went on to date for quite a while, and although he dated several of his models, she was one of his most significant relationships.
Jerry White moved to Napa, California in 1982 and worked at Mondavi for many years as the Creative Director but his duties morphed into everything from being the winery's photographer documentarian (he captured years at Mondavi and their construction and growth), an artist who designed posters for Mondavi's Jazz Festivals, a cartoonist who did whimsical drawings related to the winery, and a tour guide.
A self-portrait that Jerry took of himself amongst the vineyards at the Mondavi Winery. The image was taken in November of 1982 and was provided by Jerry White's estate.
Even though Jerry was employed by the winery in the 80s, he still did a lot of model photography during that decade. He also continued with his interest in food photography.
An intriguing image that was shot in September of 1983.
Jerry loved shooting at Joshua Tree National Park and this was one of many exceptional images that he captured there.
One of Jerry's food photos that was shot in 1985. It also includes an element of fashion.
In the 90s, Jerry would often stay at the Hotel Triton when he was in San Francisco and the hotel was so taken with his creativity and sense of humor that they eventually named Room 219, in which he often stayed, "The Jerry White Room". They also decorated the entire second floor with Jerry's photos. In May of 1996, The Napa Valley Register wrote a story on the special honor bestowed upon Jerry.
A photo of Jerry White taken in the 90s.
As previously mentioned, some of Jerry's artistic abilities that were used at Mondavi included drawing cartoons and designing posters. Jerry did the art work for two Jazz Festival posters for Mondavi and they happened to be the only two festivals at the time that were sold out. Below is a photo of Jerry White and Margrit Mondavi showing off one of the posters.
One of Jerry's whimsical Mondavi related cartoons.
Jerry never really decided to retire, but one day while working at the Mondavi Winery, he became quite ill. He was hospitalized for a time and after he had recuperated, he was released. However, the hospital stay had aged him tremendously. He was eventually moved into assisted living and his health declined pretty quickly once he wasn't able to work any longer. Jerry White passed away of natural causes on September 21, 2005 in Napa, California. He was about three weeks shy of his 84th birthday.
A self-portrait of Jerry White from the 1970s showing him doing what he loved the most - taking truly remarkable photographs. As stated in his obituary: "With his creative eye, his camera would always be poised to catch a fleeting moment in time."
Jerry's dog tag from his time serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Jerry White's outstanding images have appeared in such national magazines as Playboy, Esquire and Cosmopolitan and several of his photographs have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and have been exhibited at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
A very special thanks to Jerry's daughter Erica for supplying most of the history of Jerry's life and the great majority of the photos included in this profile.
Tom Kallard at around the age of 30.
Tamas Kankovszky was born to Arthur and Susanne Kankovszky in Budapest, Hungary on August 4, 1920. Not much is known of his early life, but in January of 1947, at age 26, he emigrated to the U.S. His occupation was listed as "student" on the ship's manifest. As with many European immigrants, Tamas decided to change his name when he came to this country and his new name was Thomas Kallard. I think Tom must have had some education in photography in his home country of Hungary because by 1950 he was employed as an instructor at New York's School of Modern Photography and was also shooting photographs in his home that were being published in several national magazines. Some of his early photos (and articles) appeared in American Photography magazine. During the early 50s, at least three of his images were used for the cover of the magazine.
The October 1951 issue of American Photography which featured a Tom Kallard double exposed image of a model on the cover.
Tom Kallard would go on to have his photos published in such publications as Art Photography (June 1952, March 1954, etc.), Classic Photography (Autumn 1956), and Figure Quarterly (Spring 1958).
About his desire to become a photographer, it was reported in Classic Photography: "Tom had been interested in making photography his career for about as long as he can remember. But somehow things never went as they should have. Meeting the economic realities head on, he decided to let his full-time career lead him where it might, and took to being a photographer in the evenings and in such other spare hours as his job happened to leave him."
Also from Classic Photography: "Kallard's studio is his home, and he works there with a Rollie (Rolleiflex), a half-dozen assorted studio lights bought inexpensively over the years, and whatever props, furnishings and costumes he happens to have at hand."
A few of Tom's models during that period were Bettie Page, Judy O'Day, Melinda Mills, and Ann Vicary.
Art Photography March 1954 which featured an article by Tom Kallard on "Bounce Lights for Pin-Ups". Cover photo by Zoltan Glass.
Classic Photography Autumn 1956 featuring "Kallard's Nudes". Cover photo by Charles Kell.
By the mid to late 50s, Tom had found work as a cameraman for CBS television in New York City. However, aside from photography and television work, Tom also had a longtime interest in dancing (and in particular ballroom dancing) and in the late 50s while he was working at CBS, he also became a dance teacher and the first chairman of the United States Ballroom Council (USBC). In addition, he had several articles published in Ballroom Dance magazine and by 1965 or '66 he was listed as one of three consultants to the magazine.
In early 1958, Tom was still submitting his photos to magazines because a six page portfolio of his nude work (including a few images of Bettie Page) was featured in the Spring 1958 issue of Figure Quarterly magazine. His photos also occasionally appeared in Modern Man magazine, including the August 1959 issue, where four of his images were reproduced in the Modern Art for Men section (those photos featured Bettie Page, Brandee Kase, Ann Vicary and one unidentified model).
Figure Quarterly magazine (Spring 1958) which featured a portfolio of Tom Kallard's nudes.
Regarding his personal life, Tom met a fellow immigrant to the U.S. named Ramute Vaitkevicius (from Lithuania) sometime between 1956 and 1960. Miss Vaitkevicius had changed her name to Roma Vaitkus when she entered the country and in September of 1956, she became well-known to dance aficionados when she and her dance partner Jon Gregory won the All-Around Ballroom Championship at the Harvest Moon Ball - the highest honor in the world of amateur dance. Miss Vaitkus went on to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in June of 1957. I don't yet know when Tom and Roma first met but I did learn that the two were married on April 28, 1960 in NYC and they worked together in the dance field. Their names would often be mentioned in issues of Ballroom Dance magazine during the 60s.
I don't currently have any concrete information on Tom Kallard's activities during the 1970s and 80s, but I have a few theories that I haven't yet confirmed. But it does seem that Tom and Roma Kallard may have divorced during that period because at some point in the 80s or 90s, he moved to Hallandale, Florida while she remained in New York City. Roma was born in Lithuania in March of 1933 so that would make her 91 years old today (10/15/24). I have been trying to find a way to contact her, but so far have been unsuccessful. If I eventually do, I will update this profile.
By 1994, Tom Kallard, along with many other ballroom veterans who were in their 60s and 70s, gathered at Margo's Ballroom in Hallandale every Sunday between 5 and 8pm to relive their glory days. In the August 15, 1994 edition of the Miami Herald, there was an article about these Sunday evening dances which mentioned several of the dancers by name. Of Tom, it was reported: Thomas Kallard, 74, is a tall gentle-faced Hungarian who learned to dance in England "with lots of Cuban women...so people think I'm Latino."
Four years and three months after that newspaper article was published, Thomas Kallard passed away in Hallandale. He died on November 15, 1998 at the age of 78.
I hope to have some updated information on Tom Kallard in the near future.
Sereno Jacob in 1979 when he was 50 years old.
Sereno Jacob - Sereno Jacob was one of the lesser-known glamour photographers of the late 50s and early 60s despite the fact that his work was quite exceptional. By 1961, his photographs of women were being published in the men's magazine Nugget and in 1962, a portfolio of his images appeared alongside the work of such renowned glamour photographers as Mario Casilli, Eva Grant, Anthony DiMarco, Irv Carsten, Dorothy Gunn and Paul Morton Smith in the Whitestone book "Glamor Photos".
Sereno Allan Jacob was born in Norwalk, Connecticut on February 17, 1929 to Sereno Thorpe Jacob and Marion Couch (Wakeman) Jacob. The father, Sereno Thorpe Jacob, had been an American fighter pilot in France during WWI and later became a commercial airline pilot for several years. Around 1937, he switched careers and became a real estate broker. It was in 1921 or '22 when Sereno Sr. and Marion moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut and this was where Sereno Allan Jacob spent the majority of his youth. However, during his final year of high school, he would attend Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut. After graduating from Wooster School, Sereno Jr. attended Hobart College in New York state. Sometime in 1950, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and spent some of that year at Lackland AFB in Texas. In 1951, the twenty-two-year-old Sereno completed a course in photography at Lowry Air Force base in Denver, Colorado. He then took a two-week leave to return home before reporting to Fort Dix, New Jersey.
In the mid to late 50s, after finishing his stint with the Air Force, Sereno moved to New York City where he resided at 14 Jones St. and worked as a photographer with the Racantu Studio. On May 3, 1959, he married Joanne Wampole in Manhattan (Joanne would work as a nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village, NY). In his work as a New York photographer, Sereno did some advertising photography as well as glamour, and a few years after his marriage, his glamour photos began to appear in the men's magazine Nugget. Two of his pictorials that I was able to find were included in the October and December 1961 issues of the magazine. To view his layout on model Peggy Evans that was featured in the December 1961 issue of Nugget, click here.
The December 1961 issue of Nugget magazine which featured a pictorial of model Peggy Evans photographed by Sereno Jacob.
The next year, twelve of Mr. Jacob's photographs were published in the Whitestone book "Glamor Photos" in a chapter entitled "The Creative Camera of Sereno Jacob". Regarding camera formats, he wrote: "The period of impressive large view cameras, lights and other cumbersome impediments is over. The nearest I come to this is to use a 4x5 size for some of my commercial work where the picture demands the definition obtained only in a fairly large format. In fashion work, a glance through leading magazines will show that a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 reflex does a very competent job in the hands of a capable photographer."
Of his preferred film, he wrote: "I have found it successful to stick to one film and one developer, namely Tri X and Microdol, which combination gives me the best results in contrast and latitude. Different effects can be obtained by altering exposure and developing times. When shooting in natural light, I find that best results can be gotten by overexposing one stop from the meter reading and overdeveloping one quarter of the normal time. This adjustment will allow printing on paper of almost any contrast."
"Lighting can also be simplified", he wrote, "whether it be natural light or a few photofloods. Once the main source is established, reflectors of any white material such as cloth stretched on frames, or large cardboards, or panels covered with crumpled silver foil can be placed to give luminosity to the shadow areas".
Five of Sereno Jacob's photos from the book "Glamor Photos" can be seen on this page.
A portfolio of Sereno Jacob's b&w glamour work can be seen in the 1962 Whitestone book "Glamor Photos".
Sereno Jacob continued to shoot photos in his New York studio until around 1968 when he moved to his wife's hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania to work as a corporate photographer for Mack Trucks Incorporated. After a year or two of living in Allentown, Sereno and Joanne bought an historic 1880s home on N. 11th Street and began to refurbish it themselves. A story about their work on the home was published in The Morning Call newspaper in September of 1979. In 1982, Mr. Jacob won some awards for his photos, including a photography award of excellence. Sereno Jacob retired from Mack Trucks Inc. in 1986 and the couple would remain in the city for another decade or so since Joanne worked at Allentown Hospital's Labor and Delivery Unit. After she retired in the mid 90s, the couple moved to Addison, Maine.
Sereno A. Jacob passed away on Monday, October 2, 2006 at a Bangor Healthcare Facility following a two-week struggle with Pancreatitis. He was 77 years old. Graveside services were held at Wescogus Cemetery in Addison, Maine on Saturday, October 7, 2006.
His wife Joanne Jacob lived to the age of 88. She passed away on February 9, 2023 at Prisma Medical Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The couple had three sons: Sereno C. Jacob of Allentown, PA, Dr. Thorpe Jacob of Greenville, SC, and Merritt Jacob of New Ringgold, PA.
Joann was a former model turned glamour photographer who usually just went by her first name. Here, Joann (right) shows a prospective model some of her previous work.
Joann (Jordon) - Normally, I wouldn't write about a photographer until I had fully researched them, but since Joann went by only the one name, I've found that task nearly impossible. If I also knew her last name, I could easily find some of her biographical details, so I'm asking my readers for some help. If you know Joann's maiden or married name, please send me an email using the "Contact Me" page listed in the menu. Update (12/12/25): I just recently found Joann's married name, Jordon, in the November 1958 issue of Hi Life magazine and have already uncovered some of her biographical data. It appears that she was born in 1931 and passed away at a relatively young age in 1985. More details will be coming very soon!
Joann's photographs of women appeared inside (and on the covers) of several men's magazines of the late 50s and early 60s. Some of the magazines that featured her work include Adam, Escapade, Caper, Spree, Bachelor, Tab and Flame.
The August 1961 issue of Escapade magazine with a pictorial of model Taffy West by Joann. Cover of Abby Dalton by Don Ornitz.
The December 1962 issue of Adam magazine which featured an article on Joann entitled "Lady Lenser". Cover of Donna Jordan photographed by Joseph Tauber.
Joann was a former glamour model turned photographer who resided and worked in the then small town of Largo, Florida (it had a population of around 5000 in 1960). It was in 1958 when she switched from being a pin-up model to working on the other side of the camera and she appeared to have gained almost immediate success since her photos began appearing inside the magazines Spree and Flame and on the cover of Caper magazine in 1959. A few more cover shots would follow: Spree Volume 1 Number 21 in 1960, the December 1961 issue of Bachelor magazine and the February 1962 issue of Tab.
The November 1959 issue of Caper magazine with a cover photo of a model that was shot by Joann.
Spree magazine Vol. 1 Number 21 (1960) which featured a cover shot by Joann.
The December 1961 issue of Bachelor magazine featuring a cover photo by Joann.
The February 1962 issue of Tab magazine with a cover photo and two pictorials by Joann.
Joann was also adept at creating illusions in some of her photographs. In the June 1961 issue of Bachelor magazine, she acted as both the model and photographer for a two page pictorial called "The Incredible Shrinking Girl" where she appeared to have shrunk to the size of a cigarette lighter as well as some other household items. Peter Gowland had done some very similar tricks and he did it by photographing a model and cutting her out of the resulting print and then propping the cutout up on some small items and then photographing and printing the final product. It seems like Joann may have used a different technique and I am quite impressed with the result (see the two pages below).
A few of Joann's models (other than herself) who were listed by name include Taffy West in the aforementioned August 1961 issue of Escapade and Bambie Lee in a pictorial called "Angel on Horseback" which was featured in the Volume 1 Number 23 issue of Spree magazine (1961).
Some of her other pictorials include:
"Mood for a Nude" - Flame v1 #1 1959
"The Exotic Type" - Spree v1 #7 1959
"The Salesman and the Manicurist" - Spree v1 #12 1959
"Girl for the Road" - Spree v1 #19 1960
"A Most Delectable Dish" - Spree v1 #19 1960
"Sexy Sisters" - Spree v1 #21 1960
"Spree Isle" - Spree v1 #21 1960
"Go Jet" - Tab Feb. 1962
"Snow Queen" - Tab Feb. 1962
On the topic of models, Joann was quoted as saying "Good models are few and far between. Since I do only 'cheesecake photography', a girl must have a pretty rigid examination before I know how she'll work out. I show her some of my work, explain the work she'll be expected to do, then have her disrobe. I must see that she has good legs, hips, waist and bust, as well as a pretty face."
When shooting nude models in isolated areas of a Florida beach, Joann often took her clothes off right along with her model. "I detest suntan marks and love to feel the warm sun on my own body," she said, and added "this also puts a normally shy girl much more at ease. If I were hampered with my own clothing, she could never 'follow the leader' so well. My outdoor sessions are half work and half play. Fun is had by all."
According to the December, 1962 issue of Adam magazine: A self-styled "dull girl", Joann likes quiet evenings at home, keeping in shape by doing her own housework, and plain food which she likes to cook herself. But perhaps above all else, she loves her work - which, of course, she doesn't really consider work. "To me," she says, "it's the most fascinating of all careers and a very rewarding one, too."
Below is one of the glamour photos that Joann took of herself. It appeared in the December, 1962 issue of Adam.
Photographer Joseph Tauber is shown directing his model, Irish McCalla, during an album cover shoot for Crown Records.
Joseph Tauber - Up until now, little information on Joseph Tauber has been available to the general public. In fact, I've seen some comments on a few internet forums that speculated the photographer Joseph Tauber didn't exist at all! Since their only knowledge of his work seemed to be limited to the images he shot for Crown Records album covers, a few posters have posited that the name Joseph Tauber was just a pseudonym for a member of the family that owned Crown Records. I guess these people never knew that Joseph Tauber also shot numerous photos of glamour models for the covers of Adam and Sir Knight magazines. A few of the models he photographed for those covers included Irish McCalla, Diane Webber, Carolyn Anne Shipps, Angela Dorian, Bonnie Boyd and Bobbie Hefley.
Joseph Tauber followed in the steps of such photographers as Charles Kell and Tom Kallard in that he also emigrated to the United States and gained almost immediate success using his photographic skills. Born Josef Antonin Tauber on Sept. 7, 1921 in Domazlice, Czechoslovakia, he first came to the United States on March 12, 1953, at which time his listed occupation was "Photographer". Five and a half years later, on September 29, 1958, Josef took his Oath of Allegiance to the United States and on June 5, 1959, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. At that time, he had already been working on album covers for Crown Records. One of his glamour-related covers featured Irish McCalla on the album Latin Twist by Louis Martinelli and the Continentals. Since the session took place at the Los Angeles studio of Tom Kelley, Josef (now going by the name Joseph Anthony Tauber) may have been working with Mr. Kelley at the time, or at the very least, was a friend of Tom Kelley's.
The album Latin Twist, which featured a cover image of a then dark-tressed Irish McCalla. The album was released in 1959.
During the cover shoot, Joseph Tauber is seen looking at a black and white test negative to see what elements needed to be improved. Looking on are Irish McCalla and a representative of Crown Records.
A few of Joseph Tauber's other album covers for Crown Records include:
Sounds of a Thousand Strings - Gypsy Love Songs (1960)
B.B. King - My Kind of Blues (1961)
George Liberace and his Orchestra - Hawaiian Paradise (1961)
The Polynesians - Hawaii Calling (1961)
The November 1961 issue of Sir Knight with Joseph Tauber's image of Carolyn Anne Shipps on the cover.
The April 1962 issue of Sir Knight with Leona Gage featured on he cover.
The January 1963 issue of the newly christened Knight magazine with Angela Dorian on the cover. Photography by Joseph Tauber.
The February 1962 issue of Adam magazine with a Joseph Tauber photo of Diane Webber on the cover.
Irish McCalla was featured on the cover of the April 1962 issue of Adam magazine. A Joseph Tauber photo.
Model Marian Green was photographed by Joseph Tauber and appeared on the cover of the August 1962 issue of Adam magazine.
Some of the other magazine covers that featured the photography of Joseph A. Tauber include:
Sir Knight Feb. 1962 Sharon Elm
Sir Knight March 1962 Gwen Boyd
Sir Knight June 1962 Another cover photo of Carol Ann Ships
Sir Knight Sept. 1962 Toni Reither
Adam March 1962 Rina Marek
Adam June 1962 Anne Morell
Adam Sept. 1962 Marian Abbott
Adam Nov. 1962 Bonnie Boyd
Adam Dec. 1962 Donna Jordan
Adam Jan. 1963 Katy Delancy
Adam Feb. 1963 Laurel Woods
Adam June 1963 Bobbie Hefley
Adam April 1965 Sally Mills
Adam May 1965 Ann Martell
Joseph Tauber also photographed Joan Webb for the two page Adam's Eve photo that was published in the Nov. 1961 issue of Adam.
Joe Tauber may have worked out of Tom Kelley's studio in the late 50s and early 60s until he opened one of his own. The first instance that I've seen (from the Los Angeles phone book) of him having his own studio was in 1963. The location was 8911 Sunset.
He operated that studio until 1967, when he moved to a different location - 7403 W Sunset. He stayed in that studio until 1970. Since 1970 was the last year that the LA phone book listed his photography business at 7403 W Sunset, this may mean that Joseph Tauber retired from photography around that same time. Below is the last listing of his photography studio in 1970. He continued to live in Los Angeles for several more years, but there were no more listings for his photography studio.
On the more personal side, Joseph Tauber married Pamela Evelyn Vaughan about three and a half years after he came to the U.S. The marriage took place on Oct. 10, 1956 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pamela was born on May 11, 1926 in Manchester, England so she was almost 5 years younger than Joseph. She entered the U.S. just a few weeks before the marriage took place so they must have met sometime before Joseph entered the country and he later arranged to have her come to the U.S. so they could be married.
From my research, it seems that Joseph and Pamela moved around quite a bit after he retired from photography. They lived in both Sherman Oaks and Santa Monica, and sometime in the early 90s, they even moved to Prescott, Arizona for a while. In the mid to late 90s, they moved back to California to the small city of Ojai (population 8,205 in 1996). It was in Ojai that Pamela E. Tauber passed away on Nov. 4, 1998. Just six weeks later (on Dec. 17, 1998), Joseph Anthony Tauber also passed. He was 77 years old.
If anyone has more info on Joseph Tauber, please contact me so that I may update this profile.
Photo of New York photographer Leo Aarons taken circa 1951.
Leo Aarons - The oldest photographer on this site who shot some glamour-type images (and a few nudes) in the 1950s is Leo Aarons. Aarons gained a name for himself by photographing babies and children for magazine covers, but he occasionally branched into glamour and nude work as a hobby and submitted one of his semi-nude images to Figure Quarterly, which published it in the Summer 1957 edition. I was so impressed with this one image that I decided to do some research on Mr. Aarons and write a profile on him for this site.
Leo Aarons (he didn't have a middle name) was born on December 31, 1895 in Berlat, Romania to Hyam and Sophie Aarons. He would later have a younger brother (Abe) and sister (Anna). It appears that the father emigrated to the U.S. in 1910 and either the whole family came with him or he sent for them shortly thereafter. I do know that by 1920, the entire family was living in the same residence in Brooklyn, New York. At that time, Leo was listing his occupation as artist and that he worked in his own office (Leo Aarons Studios, 420 Lexington Avenue). On the 23rd of August of that same year, Leo married the 19 year old Zella Shanks (she was born on November 18, 1900 in New York) and by 1930 the couple was living in Manhattan where Leo continued his work as a commercial artist (Zella was working as a secretary for a publisher during this time). At first, Leo was just doing graphic art, but by the late 20s, he had branched out into photography. I don't yet have much knowledge of Leo's photographic work during the 30s and 40s (other than one magazine cover for House Beautiful that was published in the May 1939 issue), but it seems like most of his baby and children's photos were taken throughout the 1950s and appeared on many magazine covers.
Leo Aarons at work in his New York studio photographing a baby. Circa 1952.
During the 1950s, Leo gained a reputation as being a master photographer and several mentions were made of his "magic camera". In the March 1952 issue of Modern Photography (for which he shot the cover image of a baby), he said: "I don't like stories that say a photographer is simply wonderful. His lighting is superb. His composition is terrific. Everything about him is marvelous. If you want a story about me, why don't you give your readers something they can use if they want to become illustrators? Tell them why my work is bought. Here's a list of art directors and editors who have been doing business with me for many years. See any or all of them, and print anything they say whether it's favorable or not. Then come to see me and I'll give you any information you need to round out the story. This might help budding photographers." One of Aaron's clients was an advertising agency and their representative was quoted as saying: "We're concerned mainly with Ivory Soap photographs so we appreciate Aaron's understanding of the type of baby we want, and the unusual quality of his strobe lighting for color."
Regarding his camera equipment, Leo Aarons used 8x10 cameras almost exclusively. In 1951, he was using an 8x10 Ansco View equipped with an 18-inch Zeiss Apo Tessar f/9 lens, but by 1957 he preferred the 8x10 Deardorff utilizing the same Apo Tessar lens.
In 1955, one of Aarons' glamour images appeared on the cover of the August issue of The American Magazine. Unfortunately, the name of the model was not listed, but you can view the cover below. The next month's issue of the magazine also featured a Leo Aaron's image on the cover (below right).
The August 1955 issue of The American Magazine which featured a Leo Aarons glamour image on the cover.
The September 1955 issue of The American Magazine which also featured a Leo Aarons image on the front cover.
It was also during the same time when Mr. Aarons was photographing children and babies for covers of magazines like Good Housekeeping, Every Woman's, Today's Family and Woman's Day that his gorgeous image of model Karen Langdom appeared inside the Summer 1957 edition of Figure Quarterly. As you can see from the cover below, Leo Aaron's image was advertised as "Nude Study in Full Color". To see the image, go to this page, but please be advised that it does indeed feature some level of nudity.
The Summer 1957 edition of Figure Quarterly which features a cover image of Diane Webber by Russ Meyer.
A little over a year after Leo Aarons' nude glamour image of model Karen Langdom appeared in Figure Quarterly, his New York studio folded. He had tried to expand the business too quickly by hiring a lot of staff (for example, he had hired a man just to paint scenic backdrops, mostly skies, for his photos) so in September of 1958, Aarons had to lay off all of his employees and close down the studio. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife Zella moved to London, England and set up a studio in the Chelsea district (at 50 Tite Street). One of his beautiful glamour portraits that seemed to have been taken in the London studio was used for a 1960 calendar. The model was only identified by the name Julia and the photo can be seen below.
The caption below the photograph reads:
JULIA - Colour photograph by Leo Aarons
After Leo Aarons moved to London, he set up color photo studios for two of the leading publishers in the city, George Newnes Ltd. and Odhams Press, a fact that he was quite proud of.
In 1964, Leo hired a man in his late 20s named Malcolm Sargent to manage his photography business. Mr. Sargent has related to me that most of Leo Aarons' work in his London studio was taking head shots of women. Consequently, the majority of the work in Mr. Aarons' archives at the time was Women's Heads, which he described as being in a classical style so they would not become dated too quickly. After a Head shoot, Leo would work late for a few nights retouching the 8x10 transparencies to remove any skin imperfections. Customers would then pay to reproduce the finished images on quite strict terms with regard to the precise use, the duration of use and the country of circulation. Mr. Aarons also had offices in both Paris and Milan.
Leo Aarons at work in his London studio using his large format camera.
Leo Aarons continued to operate his London studio until late September of 1965, when he suddenly announced to his staff that he would be going into the hospital. He did indeed do so a couple of days later and a few members of his staff visited him there. After just a week or two, on Sunday, October 10, 1965, Leo Aarons passed away from cancer. He was 69 years of age. Mr. Aarons' funeral service was held in Golders Green the following Tuesday at 2:40pm. At the time of his death, Leo was having a villa built just outside Rapallo, Italy but he never lived to see it finished.
After Leo died, Zella Aarons returned to the United States and settled in West Palm Beach, Florida where she lived for the next 23 years. She passed away on August 1, 1988 at the age of 87. She and Leo had no children.
A very special thanks to Malcolm Sargent for providing many of the details concerning Leo Aarons' London studio in the 1960s as well as several facts about his personal life.
Mike Tabb seen using his large format camera to photograph a nude. This image was featured in the February 1957 issue of Monsieur magazine. Mike was 22 years old at the time.
Mike Tabb was certainly a wunderkind in the field of photography, in that he started his business at the very young age of 20 or 21, and during the four year duration of his career, his photographs were featured alongside the works of such well-known and revered photographers as Andre de Dienes, Peter Basch, Philip O. Stearns, Fritz Henle, Eva Grant, Irv Carsten, Dorothy Gunn and Herb Flatow. His images would also grace the covers of a few magazines, books, and album covers and all of this by the time he had reached the age of 24.
Michael George Tsangarakis was born on September 29, 1934 in Puerto Rico to 20-year-old Demetria Duprey and a man whose last name was Tsangarakis. It is unclear whether the two were ever married. Around 1939 or 1940, Demetria met 22-year-old Albert Sidney Tabb Jr. and the two were soon married. Demetria's son Michael was five or six years old at the time, but Albert S. Tabb adopted him and his name was changed to Michael George Tabb. The family would settle in Albert's hometown of Norfolk, Virginia where Albert had a job working at the Norfolk Navy Yard.
At the age of 17 (May 25, 1952) Mike Tabb enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. I do not yet know for sure where Mike got his experience with a camera, but it may have been during his time with the Marines. After almost exactly two years (May 24, 1954), Mike left the service at age 19, but it is not known if he saw any combat action in Korea. Not too long after he left the Marines, Mike Tabb moved to New York City where he started his own photography business. In October of 1956, at the age of 22, he listed his occupation as "Photo, self employed" on his voter registration form and in the 1957 Manhattan telephone directory, he was listed as Michael G. Tabb, photographer. His address at that time was 46W17th Street.
In 1957, Mike Tabb's glamour and nude photos were already gaining acclaim and were being published in such books as Photography Interpretations: A Creative Study of the Female Form and the February 1957 issue of Monsieur magazine.
The February 1957 issue of Monsieur magazine which featured an article on Mike Tabb's photos.
Photography Interpretations (1957) which featured the work of Andre de Dienes, Peter Basch, Fritz Henle, Philip O. Stearns and Herb Flatow as well as photos by Mike Tabb.
During 1958 and 1959, Mike Tabb also shot many album covers, including the following six.
Carlos Montoya - Flamenco Festival (1958)
J. Lawrence Cook - St. Louis Blues (1958)
Malando and his Tango Orchestra - Tango! (1959)
George Feyer - Memories of Popular Operas (1959)
George Gershwin - Lawrence Tibbett, Helen Jepson - Porgy & Bess (1959)
Fuad Hassan - Music of the Bedouin Bandits (1959)
As mentioned previously, Mike Tabb's photographs also appeared on the covers of magazines, including two issues of Popular Photography (below). Some of Mike Tabb's models included Anita Huff, Shireen O'Dowd, Terry Plant, B. J. Marshall, Bobby Baird, Suzan Turner, Lee Collins, Roz Foy, Dorothy Fitzsimmons, and a model who seemed to be one of his favorites - Israeli dancer and actress, Sara Aman. In fact, Miss Aman was featured on both of the Popular Photography covers seen below.
The April 1958 issue of Popular Photography featuring Sara Aman on the cover.
The June 1959 issue of Popular Photography, which featured Sara Aman and a male model on the beach.
Camera equipment used by Mr. Tabb included the medium format Rolleiflex 2.8C, a 35mm camera - the Canon V, which he used for outdoor black and white work, and also a large format camera (seen in his profile photo above). For lighting, he never used strobe, instead relying on flood lights and natural daylight. He preferred to see exactly what he was shooting (shadows, etc.) before releasing the shutter.
Mike Tabb's glamour photos were also featured in a six page pictorial called "Mike Tabb's Girls" that was included in the December 1958 issue of Escapade magazine. In the accompanying article, he was asked "Who are Mike Tabb's girls?" He replied: "Mostly friends - close friends. And I seem to get the best results from girls who are actresses or dancers." The models who were featured in the pictorial were Lee Collins, Anita Huff and Sara Aman and all three of them were actresses and dancers.
Also concerning Mike Tabb's camera work, in 1958 he was credited as being the Photographer (or Cinematographer) of the low budget film "Rocket Attack U.S.A." Since he was so busy with his fashion and glamour work, I don't know where he found the time. But anyway, the film is sort of a precursor to "Fail Safe" and "Dr. Strangelove" and was filmed at various locations in New Jersey and New York. The movie was so low budget that it was used in season 2 episode 5 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. To see some of Mike Tabb's camera work, you can view some of the movie below (non MST3K version).
A few notes: Also credited in the movie was Sara Amman (spelled with two "m"s instead of one), but I am pretty sure that it was Mike Tabb's favorite model Sara Aman. She probably played the dancer in the film. Another interesting credit is for fellow New York photographer, Herb Flatow (although his name is given as Herbert Flato in the film). I think Herb plays the bald Russian in the movie.
Regarding his personal life, Mike married Anna E. McKeon sometime in 1959 (I could not find the exact date anywhere on Ancestry.com).
Also in 1959, Mike Tabb's excellent photographic work was featured in a 14-page chapter that he authored for the book "The Technique of Figure Photography". He also shot the photograph that appeared on the cover. It was another image of model Sara Aman and I read that it was her idea to pose in the multi-colored tube of fabric and Mike Tabb went with it and created some truly remarkable images.
"The Technique of Figure Photography" (1959) which featured a chapter entitled "Camera Technique of Mike Tabb". Cover photo of model Sara Aman taken by Mike Tabb.
Tragically, Mike Tabb likely never got to see the publication of this book because on May 15, 1959, he passed away at the age of 24. The cause, according to one account that I read, was Hodgkins disease. At this time, it is unclear whether Mike knew he was ill before marrying Anna McKeon earlier in 1959, but I read one bit of information on Ancestry that suggested Anna might have been pregnant when Mike passed away. I will have to dig into this further.
Anyway, I am just astounded by the amount of quality work that Mike was able to create during his approximately 4 year career in photography. There was no telling how far he could have gone in his chosen profession if he had not fallen victim to cancer!
Michael George Tabb was buried in Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York in plot V5134 on May 19, 1959.
Update (3/31/2026) - I did some research on Mike Tabb's bride/widow and it makes sense that a photographer would end up marrying a model. However, I don't yet know if she ever posed for any of his photographs. After Mike's death, Anna Tabb reverted back to her maiden name of McKeon and around this same time became known as Ann instead of Anna. In January 1964, model Ann McKeon was selected queen of the New York World's Fair Summer Festival over more than 100 other professional models and it was her job to help promote the Fair. Below is a publicity photograph that was taken of her.
New York model Ann McKeon posing for a publicity photo to promote the 1964 New York World's Fair.
On June 27, 1964, Ann married for the second time and the nuptials were reported on in the Sunday News the next day, featuring a photo of the bride and groom outside the church. Ann married actor George Renschler who was 27 at the time. Ann was also 27, but she had evidently shaved two years off her real age, because it was reported as 25 in the article below the photo. George and Ann soon moved to Los Angeles so that he could find acting work. At some point, George adopted the stage name of George Clifton and Ann became known as Ann E. Clifton or sometimes Ann Clifton Renschler. As far as I know, she is still alive at the time of this writing and resides in Los Angeles. She is 89 years old, though claims to be 82, having shaved an additional 5 years off her real age since 1964.
A hobbyist photographer of nudes, John E. Wilson had many of his photographs published in books and magazines of the 1950s and 60s.
John E. Wilson - John Wilson was a photographer who resided in Arlington, Virginia and had many of his artistic nudes featured in the same books and magazines that showcased all of the famous glamour photogs of the era. I first saw his work in the Whitestone and Fawcett photo digests Good Photography, Candid Photography, Salon Photography and Prize Winning Photography. I then began to see more of his work in such magazines as Amateur Screen and Photography, Amateur Art and Camera, Figure Studies Annual, Classic Photography (1956 Winter Issue) and Figure Quarterly (1959 Summer Edition).
John Edward Wilson was born on October 11, 1917 in McCook, Nebraska, the son of James Frederick Wilson, who usually went by the name Fred, and Bessie Breedon Wilson. About three weeks after giving birth to John, Bessie passed away. In the 1920 Census, "Fred" was listed as being a widower and that same Census showed John E. Wilson living with Fred's mother and father. Fred remarried in 1923 (he was 29, his bride was 18), but even though the two went on to have four children together, it appears they never asked John to join the family household.
In the late 30s, in the midst of the great depression, John went to work in Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program called the Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men for environmental projects. The CCC built roads, trails and campsites and planted over 3 billion trees before the program ended in 1942. On July 20, 1942, John enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent the entirety of the Second World War on a small island in the South Pacific. He was a member of the military police and spent his off hours studying photography. He read "every book on photography I could beg, borrow or steal.", according to Figure Quarterly magazine. However, he never had a camera during this time, he was just content to learn everything he could. Upon his discharge from the service on December 24, 1945, he began to put what he had learned into practice. He bought some photo equipment and began photographing everything from girls to mountain peaks, but mostly the former.
By 1950, John Wilson was working as a truck driver in Arlington, Virginia and would soon have his photographic work published in magazines and books. The earliest instance of his photography appearing in a magazine (that I've been able to find) was the February 1955 issue of Amateur Screen and Photography, though I'm certain that his work appeared at least a few years before that.
A few of the magazines that featured his work were:
Amateur Screen and Photography - February 1955 (2 pages)
Figure Studies Annual Number Eleven (inside front cover)
Amateur Art and Camera Spring (Vol. 8, No. 4) (pages 46, 47, 48, 49)
Amateur Art and Camera Autumn (Vol. 9, No. 2) (pages 4 & 5)
Classic Photography 1956 Winter Issue (chapter entitled "Shooting the Nude Outdoors - John Wilson Tells About It")
Figure Quarterly (1959 Summer Edition) (8 page portfolio)
Classic Photography 1956 Winter Issue featuring a chapter about "Shooting the Nude Outdoors" by John E. Wilson.
Figure Quarterly 1959 Summer Edition featuring an 8 page portfolio of John E. Wilson's work.
A partial list of John Wilson's photos that were included in photo digests of the 1950s and 60s: Candid Photography (1955) p. 122 "Two Figures", Salon Photography (1956) p. 110 "Forest Figure", Prize Winning Photography (1957) p. 19 "Hat and Figure", Salon Photography (1958) p. 82 "Nude on Wall", Candid Photography (1960) p. 108 "Outdoor Figure", Good Photography #504 (1960) p. 84 "Balancing Figure", Salon Photography (1960) p. 144 "Girl in the Window", Salon Photography (1962) p. 109 "Surf Figure", Prize Winning Photography (1963) p. 45 "Nude", Good Photography (1964) p. 39 "Bending Figure", p. 48 "Nude by Pool", p. 59 "Nude and Tree", p. 60 "Figure Study", p. 84 "Figure Against Rock", Candid Photography (1964) p. 30 "Figure with Trees", p. 45 "Nude Against Rock", p. 53 "Modern Nude", p. 54 "Nude on Ledge", Salon Photography (1964) p. 44/45 "Beach Nude", p. 50 "Nude Design" and "Low Angle Figure", Good Photography (1965) p. 40 "Figure by Sea", p. 45 "Seated Nude", p. 53 "Nude on Stool".
For shooting, John preferred working outdoors, but even his studio work frequently featured natural lighting. A few of the models that he used in the late 50s were Annette Eckmann, Joan Nicholas and Nancy Bailey and his choice for cameras seemed to have revolved around the 4x5 Speed Graphic and the medium format Rolleiflex.
At the current time, I haven't found any magazines or books which featured John E. Wilson's photos past 1965.
From my research, it appears that John Wilson had developed a serious drinking problem and his life ended rather tragically because of it. On November 9, 1972, John was taken to Arlington Hospital where he was pronounced Dead On Arrival. He was just 55 years old. On the certificate of death, the medical examiner listed the immediate cause as "Ethanol intoxication".
John's half-sister Ruby Wilson (from his father Fred's second family) made the arrangements for his burial in Memorial Park Cemetery in the city of his birth, McCook, Nebraska. Ruby also made arrangements for Hermann Funeral Home in McCook to order a granite grave marker for John, which would honor his service during WWII.
At the time of John Edward Wilson's death, he was working as a geological surveyor for the U.S. Government. John had never married.
