Ron Galella - Dean of American Paparazzi

"My job is thick with risks, threats, occasional violence and sometimes the necessary folly that courts humiliation and ridicule. But I don't care. I see myself as the Dean of American paparazzi." —Ron Galella

Ron Galella is most widely known for his photographs of celebrities and his technique, which was innovative in the mid-1950s, of catching the subjects of his photos in everyday settings or surprising them to capture their reactions. This technique, however, resulted in a lawsuit by Jackie Onassis and an injunction against Galella in 1972 after a very public trial (Onassis v. Galella). He was restricted from coming within 100 yards of her home and 50 yards from her or her children. The distance was later reduced to 25 yards.

In June 1973, Marlon Brando broke Galella's jaw and knocked out four of his teeth. Brando's hand became infected as a result. Galella later took to wearing a football helmet when photographing Brando. Brigitte Bardot once enlisted some friends to soak Galella with a hose.
After attempting to take hidden camera photos of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor poolside in Mexico, Burton's bodyguards kicked Galella in the jaw and roughed him up after discovering his hiding place.