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A blog about the many celebrities that Milton H. Green worked with and stories about some of his time with them.

My Story by Marilyn Monroe – New Autobiography on Audible

We are proud and excited to announce the release of Marilyn Monroe's autobiography 'My Story' on Audible. Narrated by 2013 'Audiobook Narrator of the Year' January LaVoy, an Atlanta-based actress who is best known for playing Noelle Ortiz-Stubbs on 'One Life to Live.' LaVoy also earned a Grammy Nomination in 2020 for her work as Charlotte in the audiobook 'Charlotte's Web.' My Story by Marilyn Monroe An intimate look at a silver screen legend The...

Restoring Frank Sinatra by Milton H. Greene

It was for a Look magazine story on Hollywood stars that Milton H. Greene photographed a galaxy of the eras brightest stars including this image of the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in December of 1954. "Not wanting to go to the studio, Frank preferred to be photographed at Milton's bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He came beautifully dressed and looking elegant. After getting that series, Milton looking...

Love At First Snapshot: Elizabeth Taylor

Milton H. Greene met Richard Burton during the Broadway run of the 1960 Lerner and Loewe production of Camelot. Marilyn Monroe's publicist, Arthur Jacobs, had been brought on to do the PR and hired his old friend Greene to photograph rehearsals and performances for the album, playbill and a subsequent story in Life Magazine. Milton’s reputation preceded him and stars Burton and Julie Andrews were impressed with his professionalism. Richard, in the meantime, was keeping...

Lens Of A Rising Star: Audrey Hepburn

While under assignment for Life Magazine, Milton H. Greene was hired in 1951 to photograph the young star of the hot Broadway production of Gigi. A then 22-year-old Audrey Hepburn did a wonderful series with her wearing her Gigi, sailor-inspired costume. The pre-movie star Hepburn kicked and smiled, jumped and posed for Milton and he was instantly smitten by her lighthearted, playful personality. Being a single, young man himself, a brief affair between the two...

Celebrating Milton H. Greene’s 100th Birthday

You know a lot of us are superstitious about the number 22. It means everything from love to good fortune or that you already have a large quantity of good luck following you through your life. Milton H. Greene was born in 1922 and today he would have been 100 years old. In honor of his birthday, we at The Archives have put together a little tribute to the man, his art, his personality, and...

Reframed: Marilyn Monroe CNN Special

the archives helps shape marilyn monroe documentary A year and a half ago, the production crew that was hired by CNN to film a Marilyn Monroe documentary contacted us. After getting a detailed overview, we recommended various content providers, in addition to the Archives. They also expressed interest in interviewing my mother, Amy Greene, for the film. They sent a crew to film her in Florida and we supplied them with home movies and stills....

Film Vs Digital Photography – What’s the Difference?

Film and Digital Photography Each Have their Own Unique Properties Over the past decade or so, digital photography has replaced traditional film photography. The main difference between film vs. digital is how the photos are stored. While conventional photography uses positive and negative film as the medium for capturing pictures, digital photography uses a digital sensor to capture and store images onto an electronic storage device, such as an SD card, hard drives or a...

“If you can’t light it with one light, then you can’t light it.”

Photographing a subject on a shadowless, white background became a signature look for fashion and portraiture starting in the 1950s. Milton's mantra was "if you can't light it with one light, then you can't light it." This held true for the light hitting the subject. But it had nothing to do with lighting the white environment so the subject seemed to be floating. Photographers would use different intensities of light on the background to a...

We’ll Always Have Paris

Milton H. Greene was passionate about five things: beautiful women, Paris, food, fishing, and his family. In 1951 while running down a staircase from one Paris collection to another, he passed one of the models, Nelly Nyad. They both stopped and eyed one another. Milton introduced himself as a photographer, she said she was a model working with Givenchy. A wonderful, passionate relationship ensued for three years and opened many doors for both of them....

Top Outdoor Portrait Photography Tips

Get Started with Outdoor Portrait Photography Outdoor portrait photography can be rewarding yet challenging for many photographers. Throughout the mid-20th century, Milton Greene pioneered on-location photography, which meant that he had to master the art of outdoor portrait photography. With his trusted analog camera in hand, he captured some of the most intimate and never-before-seen photos of cultural icons from this era.  Outdoor photography is different from shooting in a studio because photographers cannot control...

Old Photo Restoration: The Process

Milton H.Greene was a legendary photographer whose work was featured in many publications such as Look and Vogue magazine. Through his talented ability to capture personalities, he brought his subjects’ to life in each of his photos. According to his son Joshua, although much of Milton’s work was published, he died heartbroken that many of his favorite pictures were never seen or reproduced.  While Milton left behind an incredible body of work, many pieces needed...

What Midcentury Fashion Really Looked Like

Midcentury styles are not just for furniture - and nobody captured the era more perfectly than Milton Greene, famous for his fashion and celebrity photography during Hollywood’s golden age. From conservative designs to simple yet elegant ways to accentuate your natural features, here are ten examples of what midcentury fashion looked like in its heyday, as captured by Greene himself.  High Fashion High fashion was all the rage during the Midcentury, as captured in Milton...

Tips for Modern Photo Preservation

Photo Preservation Keeps History Alive  Preserving a physical photograph requires great care and attention to detail. Protecting it against common threats presents challenges that differ wildly from modern digital methods. These can include airborne moisture, ultraviolet light, improper handling of the photo, and many more.  Milton H. Greene pioneered on-location photography long before digital cameras were considered a concept within reach. As he amassed an incredible portfolio of work, however, a great deal of his...

Happy Birthday – John F. Kennedy

Glamour magazine did a college issue every year celebrating the top ten outstanding females from campuses throughout the country. For the 1960 issue, each state's Senator was photographed with the college winner of his home state. Senator John F. Kennedy fell to Milton, who photographed JFK with the winner from Massachusetts.    

Happy Birthday – Henry Fonda

Academy Award winner Henry Fonda was born May 16th, 1905. Milton H. Greene was contracted by American Airlines for their advertising campaign. A medley of stars were photographed including Fonda as seen here in 1955.    

Happy Birthday – Phil Silvers

Actor and Comedian Phil Silvers was born May 11, 1911. Best known for his role as Sgt. Bilko, Silvers was a television mainstay for decades. Milton H. Greene photographed Phil in 1963, when he, along with singer Robert Goulet, was a guest on friend Judy Garland’s variety TV special “Judy Garland and Her Guests.”    

Happy Birthday – Audrey Hepburn

Milton photographed Audrey in 1951 for Life magazine in a portrait setting and backstage at the Barrymore Theater for the Broadway production of “Gigi”. Adapted from the novel by Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, “Gigi” was a stage play by Anita Loos. While on assignment for Look, Milton was sent to Europe in the summer of 1955 where he photographed a medley of European and American movie stars which included Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer at their...

Happy Birthday – Barbra Streisand

Milton photographed Barbra Streisand a handful of times. In 1964, after being delayed five times, “Funny Girl” finally opened on Broadway and turned out to be a huge smash. Composer Jule Styne custom-fit the show to its star and Fanny Brice ran away with it. Milton photographed Barbara at Joe Eula’s apartment for the Life Magazine story on “Funny Girl” in May of 1964.    

Essential Marilyn Monroe by Milton H. Greene

Happy Birthday Marilyn Monroe! In honor of Marilyn's birthday, The Archives is pleased to announce our latest book project! Essential Marilyn Monroe by Milton H. Greene will be released September 17, 2017. In collaboration with @ACCPublishing and @IconicImagesNet Essential Marilyn will feature more than 280 images of Monroe by Milton.  The thing we're most excited about is that more than 160 of those photos will be unpublished images. Final selection of images is still being completed,...

The Anthology Collection

There are big changes happening here at The Archives. It's been a hectic 2016 and Joshua Greene has been busy reviewing and reorganizing the current collections while also going over some new images in preparation for some new products.The first big announcement is the introduction of The Anthology Collection. The Anthology Collection is comprised of new, never-before-seen images as well as some of Milton's best-known works. The intent of the Anthology Collection is to capture...

Happy Birthday, Marilyn Monroe!

June 1st, 2016 would've been Marilyn Monroe's 90th Birthday. In celebration of her birthday, the Archives is releasing this unseen and unpublished photo by Milton H. Greene. Taken for a Life Magazine feature on Asian gowns, Milton photographed Marilyn in his New York Studio March 28, 1955. Marilyn always had a bond with her pets and, in particular, a special affinity for small dogs. Her beloved French Poodle, Maf, was a gift from Frank Sinatra...

Elizabeth Taylor Birthday February 27th

Elizabeth Taylor’s birthday was this past weekend. February 27th. Elizabeth Taylor, 1975 Russia I always wanted to go to Russia. We traveled to St. Petersburg for two weeks to photograph Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Ava Gardner, and Cecily Tyson. Milton and Life had the world exclusive on George Cukor’s film “The Blue Bird”, a fairytale by Maurice Maeterlinck. Away from the movie set, Milton wanted a more glamorous location for Elizabeth. What could be more...

Lee Marvin

While on a photographic assignment for McCalls in 1969, Milton H Greene took this color image of action star Lee Marvin sitting on a beach preparing to do some fishing.