Alfred Wertheimer Elvis Presley Photographer Dies at 85

A while back we reported on the spectacular duet between Barbara Streisand and Jimmy Fallon and now it’s time we talked about another legend that is no longer with us: Alfred Wertheimer Elvis Presley photographer.

Photographer Alfred Wertheimer was the man who documented Elvis’ earlier days as a singer. He was the man who had a part in making Elvis the legend and sex-symbol that he is and was. Today, it is with great sorrow we announce that he has passed away at the age of 85.

Chris Murray, Wertheimer’s editor and gallery curator, told Associated Press that Mr. Wertheimer died from natural causes at his apartment in New York.

Alfred Wertheimer first met Presley when he was assigned to take photos of him by the singer’s record label. When the two met, Elvis Presley wasn’t very well known; Elvis was 21 and he was 26.

Elvis Presley’s wife, Priscilla Presley, said yesterday about the news:

There has been no other photographer that Elvis ever allowed to get as up close and personal in his life through photos as he did with Alfred. I’m deeply saddened by the death of Alfred Wertheimer. He was a dear friend and special soul. I feel he was a gift for all who knew him especially, Elvis Presley.

One of the most famous photographs that Albert Wertheimer took of Elvis Presley was The Kiss. It shows the legend kissing with a female groupie backstage at a show in Richmond, VA. Wertheimer used to follow the singer on the road and recorded every move he made during his shows. He snapped hundreds of thousands of photos of the King and thanks to him we’ve got a great repository of Elvis photographs.

Wertheimer himself commented on The Kiss photography:

She says to him: ‘Elvis, I’ll betcha can’t kiss me,’ and she sticks out her tongue just a teeny bit. And he says, ‘I’ll betcha I can,’ in a very masculine, cool way. And he then approaches the kiss, he’s got his tongue stuck out just a wee bit, and he overshoots the mark. I didn’t realize that till I developed my film later on. He bent her nose, you see, a very romantic view. So now he backs off coolly, and tries it a second time, comes in for a perfect landing, and that’s the end of that. That tenth of a second became history.

Rest in peace, Albert Wertheimer Elvis Presley photographer and artist!