Aarons, Slim 1916-2006
(George Allen Aarons)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born October 29, 1916, in New York, NY; died of complications from a heart attack, May 30, 2006, in Montrose, NY. Photojournalist and author. Aarons enjoyed a five-decade career taking photographs of the rich and famous in Hollywood. He took up photography after enlisting in the U.S. Army at the age of eighteen. Working as a photographer for the military, during World War II he survived battles in North Africa while a photojournalist for Yank magazine. Unfortunately, his twin brother, Peter, was not so lucky and died in action. Vowing to reward himself for surviving the atrocities of war, Aarons headed for Hollywood and set up shop as a freelance photographer. Gaining the trust of the actors and actresses there, he found himself winning entrance to the mansions, yachts, and exclusive parties attended by such famous people as Katherine Hepburn, Gloria Guinness, Jimmy Stewart, Truman Capote, C.Z. Guest, Humphrey Bogart, and the Duke of Marlborough. Aarons, whose work appeared in such magazines as Vogue, Look, Town & Country, Life, and Harper's Bazaar, made his reputation taking pictures of the rich and beautiful enjoying luxurious settings and dressed in fine apparel. One of his most famous photos shows Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Van Heflin dressed in tuxedos, sipping champagne, and laughing at the photographer after one of them joked that Aarons was a lousy actor in a bit part he once had. His photographs, the rights to which were sold to the Getty collection in 1997, have been collected in three books: A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life (1974), Once upon a Time (2003), and A Place in the Sun (2005).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2006, p. B11.

New York Times, June 1, 2006, p. A21.

Times (London, England), June 5, 2006, p. 51.