Transcript
of Live Chat
with Howard L. Bingham
June 25, 2005
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:11:29 AM)
Hello all, thank you for having me here at Local 600 for the chat. I'm very honored
to have been asked and to be the first still photographer to
do
this. Really, I'm very, very honored.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:12:04 AM)
I've been a member of this Local since 1969 (then it was Local 659) so I've
been involved ever since then. I haven't always been working in the movies,
but I've been a member... and in good standing.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:12:11 AM)
Maybe a little late on dues now and then, but not too bad.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:12:50 AM)
This is very fortunate for me. I think that I am one of the luckiest guys in
the world for what I do, interacting with people, having gone to see the
world... mainly because of my friend Cassius Clay, now Muhammad Ali. It's
been wonderful.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:13:08 AM)
I don't do what I'm supposed to do, I do what I like to do. I'm always late
on assignments, bills, etc...
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:13:51 AM)
I'm always on the road because of opportunities. I was invited to Singapore
the other day. I said Yeaaah. I am going over with Ali because he was asked
by Mayor Bloomberg to go over for the New York Olympic commitee. Anyway,
let's get started!
Carl G (Jun 25, 2005 10:13:54 AM)
Howard, rumor has it that you are a star in the new Kodak ad campaign. Any
truth to that?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:14:18 AM)
Hello Carl Gustin, thanks to you I am.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:15:05 AM)
Mr. Carl G is a big senior vice president at Eastman Kodak. I had the honor
of being asked to do this commercial last year. It's a really cute commercial
and I'm looking forward to doing it. Thank you, it's very nice knowing you
and meeting you. Thanks for all your help!
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:15:07 AM)
You are 'da man.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:15:46 AM)
This is a wonderful commercial and I can hardly wait. Here I am in front of
the camera and being directed by Joe Pytka. Joe, I'm available for more.
I love it, I love it, I love it!
Warren (Jun 25, 2005 10:15:55 AM)
Your answers to questions about Cassius Clay, Martin Luther King, Gordon Parks,
and so many others are intriguing, but I want to hear more. I hope that you
are going to write a book about your life someday. Is that in your plans?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:16:43 AM)
If I write a book, I'll have to leave the country because I believe in telling
the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:17:57 AM)
As I said before I am a very fortunate and lucky individual to have met and
photographed these people... from the inside, not the outside like a lot
of people have done. I'm having a gallery show at the MB Fine
Arts
Gallery in West Hollywood in October and also there's a gallery that's named
after me at the Muhammad Ali Center opening Nov. 19 in Louisville, KY. This
gallery's going to be really something. We have backing from a lot of people.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:18:14 AM)
Also, I was named as the first, honorary curator of the gallery. We will be
showing other people's work also, but I'm showing first.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:19:27 AM)
To check it out visit http://www.alicenter.org. This center is opening up on
November 19; it's 93k sq ft, 6 floors. There's more information on the
website. We're going to have a big opening with lots of entertainment and
international
people. This organization is headed by Mike Fox, he's a hell of a guy and
doing a wonderful job. They have all good people there.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:20:53 AM)
This center is going to be for conflict resolution, to solve problems around
the world and show people how to dream and live. Ali was an individual who
knew what he wanted to do and how to live. When he was 12 he decided that
he wanted to be the heavyweight champ of the world. At 18 he became the champion
of the Golden Gloves and then the Pan American champion. In 1960 he was the
Olympic champ in the light heavyweight division. Then, in 1962 he had the
honor and privilege of meeting me when he was here to fight George Logan.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:21:24 AM)
I was with the local newspaper called the LA Sentinel and covered this big
loudmouth, but I had never heard of him because I wasn't interested in boxing.
I went to the press conference, introduced myself, took a couple of photos
and left.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:22:12 AM)
The next day I saw Ali and his brother checking out the girls on Broadway and
I asked them if they needed a ride. I said that I had some errands to run,
but afterwards I would show them around LA. I took them to the bowling alley,
to my mother's house to meet my family and it goes on and on... next question,
but we'll talk about that later.
Jesse (Jun 25, 2005 10:22:20 AM)
My father used to love to read the Sentinel. Do you miss the days when newspapers
like that one provided such a strong voice for blacks?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:23:59 AM)
A little history about the Sentinel and my working there. What happened was
from 1956 to 1958, I was enrolled in Compton Jr. College as a music major
but I wasn't interested in going to class --- English, math, band, but I
didn't
attend. A couple years after that I was kicked out. I even got an F in photography.
When I got kicked out, I needed a job, so I got one at Vons market, mopping
floors every morning.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:24:41 AM)
A month or so afterwards I asked for a better job like a stock clerk, box boy,
whatever. They said next month. They did that for 18 months and so I told
them to take that job and SHOVE IT. I left, but I wasn't worried because
I lived with my mother and father.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:25:48 AM)
I noticed my neighbors were photographers and I would always see them with
beautiful women, and thought WOW. I would hear about them in the newspapers
and thought, hey, I like this. About a month or so later, I went down to
the local newspaper and talked to Cliff Hall, every day for a week. I said,
can I help you today? He said, no, come back tomorrow. I did this every day
for 5 days and he finally said, come on in, but don't bother anything.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:26:45 AM)
I was there for a month running errands. After a month I asked, hey, why don't
you get the editors to hire me? Ruth Washington was the editor at the time.
If I do this for you, Hall said, I get half your salary. Hall told the editors
that I was this and that, that I had lots of skills but it was all a lie.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:28:10 AM)
I made $60 a week and gave half to Hall. I went out and every day came back
with no film, out of focus film, but I always had an alibi. But, I learned
fast from my mistakes and look at where I am today. Eighteen months later
they fired me, which really hurt me. They fired me for doing other jobs like
weddings outside of the paper. It really hurt me because I was doing a good
job. There were a couple of guys who heard about me, like Dootsie Williams
and Jesse Robinson, they told me don't worry about anything.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:28:25 AM)
Really, I haven't looked back. That was the best thing in the world, being
fired.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:28:38 AM)
Up until recently there were a lot of guys still there.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:30:19 AM)
Yes, I do miss those days, they were exciting and were my learning days. I
made a lot of friends, and one of the friends that I met was named Fred Hicks,
who was an ambulance driver. He would take me off on the weekends and I would
ride in the ambulance, going out on different calls that they had -- accidents,
shootings, knifings in the you know what. They would introduce me as an intern
photographer, and that was fun and exciting, because I got to a lot of places
and I had first dibs on taking the pictures and stuff.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:30:37 AM)
I miss those days because that was an outlet for people who don't regularly
get into the news, to get news of their peers.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:30:48 AM)
But they fired me and I don't care!
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:30:53 AM)
Thank God for that.
Harry (Jun 25, 2005 10:31:00 AM)
Howard, you've called yourself the Forrest Gump of the photographic world.
Can you tell us why?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:31:46 AM)
I did not call myself that, somebody else said it. The reason why is because
of all of the events and things I would pop up at. People would see me on
TV at this or that event, with Ali or a whole lot of people, in newspapers,
etc...
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:33:41 AM)
I have been around on a lot of really world-wide news events and coverages.
I went to Africa with Ali in 1964, and as I'm his best friend, I met the
people that he met and those people met me -- and it was their honor. I met
presidents and queens. I met Bush, Bill Clinton who I know pretty good, Nixon,
Ford... I didn't meet Reagan. I didn't meet Kennedy - I took a photograph
of him, but I met his brother Bobby and Ted and a lot of his family.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:34:47 AM)
I met the Pope
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:36:02 AM)
I've had the opportunities to really get in and do things that other people
would have liked to have done. For instance, in 1965 there was the Watts
Riots. At that time a lot of the media publications knew me because of my
association with Ali and because I was from L.A. Life, Look, Sat. Evening
Post called me to cover the riots, but I was in Sweden with Ali doing exhibitions.
At that time I knew all the cops and everybody in the area, so I would have
either been rich or dead because of all that happened.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:37:25 AM)
That next year in March 1966 there was a mini riot in Watts and I was in the
area when it happened, so I called Jordan Bonafonte and he said start shooting.
Later on, Life magazine, Ralph Crane, Co Rentmeister and Bill Ray -- they
were Life staff photographers. They all came out and we were shooting. Next
week in Life magazine there were only my photographs -- that was my entree
to getting a contract with Life.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:37:45 AM)
Word was out that this would be a long, hot summer, so Life put me on a riot
contract. Wherever riots were, Bingham went.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:38:52 AM)
I went to Detroit, Buffalo, San Francisco, Bakersfield ... and I met a lot
of people at a whole lot of these places . I was coming back one night from
Bakersfield with Tom Brokaw. See, I knew him when he was at KNBC in L.A.
in 66. It goes on and on.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:40:04 AM)
One of my photographs that was in that Life magazine was a policeman in a police
ca,r and they were hauling somebody out to jail. He had a cigar in his mouth
and I took the photograph. It was against regulations and that was in Life
magazine so I heard that he got in trouble.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:41:33 AM)
A lot of the situations I was involved in: in 1968 they wanted to do the Black
Panthers. At the time Eldridge Cleaver was the minister of information and
he was in jail. I had not met him at the time. Life said ok and they called
me up and there was a writer from NY named Gilbert Moore, and we went up
to Oakland and we met and talked, and then met Eldridge and started shooting.
A couple days after that Eldridge called me over and said, "I know you,
but this guy, your partner, I think he's the pig."
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:43:14 AM)
Then I said no, he's not, he's just a little bashful and shy and hadn't been
around... anyway, we were with him almost 2 months on assignment. This story
changed this guy's life all around. Once he went back to NY to write, Life
wanted him to write it one way and he said no, I want to write it the way
I saw it. What happened is he ended up writing a book called "Special
Rage".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:43:24 AM)
I'm having some of the Black Panther photographs in my exhibit.
G.G. (Jun 25, 2005 10:43:35 AM)
I’ve seen The GOAT collection. Very impressive. Who made the decision
to make it oversized? How many copies have actually been sold?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:47:51 AM)
The GOAT book was thought of by Benedikt Taschen, one of the biggest publishers
out there. 44 years old, publishing since he was 18. Matter of fact, I just
came back from Italy and he just got married. I saw a couple of old friends
over there like William Cladston and also Julius Shulman, architect-photographer;
he's 93 years old. The GOAT book is an acronym for Greatest of All Time,
and who is that? If you know Taschen and his works he does oversized books
and some of the bigger books he's done are on Helmut Newton, Marilyn Monroe,
Stanley Kubrick is coming out this year, and he's also doing one on Michael
Mann -- just a lot of interesting books. He was into comic books at 18 and
then went into art books.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:48:51 AM)
His website is www.taschen.com and
the book's website is www.taschen-goat.com. There
were 10,000 books printed, all signed and numbered. The first 1000 books cost
$7500. How many would you like to buy, G.G.?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:49:11 AM)
The other 9000 books cost $3000 a piece.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:50:04 AM)
Most of the 1000 books are sold. Believe it or not, the #1 book is available
and it's going to go up for auction. Right now they're having all the pages
signed by people in the book -- Berry Gordy, Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier --
and they are auctioning it off, and the funds go to the Ali Center.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:50:59 AM)
More importantly than that, I have GOAT book #2 for my 65th birthday out at
WCAC. Benedikt came out and handed me a note. The note said, "My dear
Howard, Happy Birthday! This sweater will keep you warm. There is another
thing to follow soon; and since #1 is not available, we have #2 for G.O.A.F.
(Greatest of All Friends). Yours, Peace... Benedikt and Lauren". I asked
him what it meant and he said it meant that I get the #2 GOAT book. He is
a real hands-on guy.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:51:24 AM)
To pick the photographs for the book, he came over to my place for a couple
weeks. He doesn't send an art director, he is a real plain, good guy.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:51:49 AM)
I'm the major photographer in the book, I have almost 500 photographs in it.
Myself and Neil Leifer are the major photographers in the book.
SBDP (Jun 25, 2005 10:52:03 AM)
During your years photographing Ali, did you prefer shooting images of him
fighting and training or those taken during his downtime?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:52:59 AM)
I actually shot everything but when he was fighting I did not get the fight
shots that other photographers got. When he got hit, I got hit because he's
my friend. I am not known as a fight photographer but I have photographs
of everything else, his personal life, family, blah blah blah.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:53:35 AM)
Boxing is brutal. It should be regulated. It's really sad to see how a lot
of fighters end up broke. People take advantage of 'em and use 'em. It's
sad and should be regulated like all the other sports.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:53:45 AM)
I know I'm going to get in trouble for that, but it's true.
CA in VA (Jun 25, 2005 10:53:52 AM)
Hi, Mr. Bingham. I read the article that Sports Illustrated ran on you a few
years back and found it very inspiring. Have you ever felt like you were
suffocated by the shadow of Muhammad Ali? Did his fame ever affect your friendship
in a negative fashion?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:54:57 AM)
Number 1, CA, I'm very very honored to have been the only photographer that
you know of know to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated or any other major
magazine.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:55:40 AM)
Even now, that was in 1998, I can't believe it . The title was, "Who's That
Guy with Howard Bingham?" That was a photograph of Ali and I, he was sitting
in the ring, and I had my arms around him with my camera. "You don't know
Muhammad Ali until you know his best friend".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:55:50 AM)
The issue was July 13, 1998.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:56:25 AM)
I'm going to say this, the first guy who called me about the article... it
was on a Monday afternoon in NYC... this guy was getting off the airplane
from Salt Lake City. It was Dick Ebersol, the president of NBC Sports.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:57:00 AM)
He got off at LaGuardia and was passing by the newsstand, and they had the
window full of Sports Illustrated magazines, and he thought it was a joke.
Once he got back to his office he and his assistant, Aimee Leone, called
and congratulated me on that.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:57:31 AM)
He was the first one. This story was thought of by Frank Deford, one of the
most wonderful, best sports writers in the world. He's one of Sally's (in
our live audience) favorites. Sorry, he's married.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:58:05 AM)
And as you know, he is one of the commentators on NPR and on Bryant Gumbel's
HBO Real Sports, and the founder of the National Sport Daily.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 10:59:15 AM)
In 1998, the comeback story for him was the story on me. Since it was so nice,
they wanted to put it on the cover. We did it in March but didn't get on
the cover until July. The reason for that is that each week there was something
big in sports, and that was the year that Michael Jordan was retiring, and
Michael was on the cover 100 times. My cover beat out Wimbledon that year
and Pete Sampras didn't have a cover because of me. Hahahahah!
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:00:33 AM)
I have known Dick Ebersol for many moons mainly because of my association with
Ali. He loves Ali big time and is a good guy. Every Olympic year they invite
a photographer. For Sydney, they invited me, which was wonderful. I could
do everything I wanted, go to any event on the field. I was on NBC news because
after Maurice Green did the victory lap after the 100, he saw me on the side,
came over to me and hugged me.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:03:19 AM)
But back to Dick Ebersol, 1996 was the Atlanta Olympics and I lobbied a whole
year to get Muhammad Ali to light the cauldron. I sent pictures, books etc...
to the Olympic committee. Before this, I went to talk to Ebersol and he said,
I like that and have the same idea. About a month later I was coming out
of the GE building in NY and Ebersol called me over and said, "Howard,
one of two guys will call you from the organizing committee." I didn't
get a phone call until June. I would call Ebersol and he hadn't heard from
anybody either. Finally, I got the call and they said that we would like
Ali to light the cauldron, but keep it a secret and let's see if Ali can
do what they want him to do. They put me up in a hotel, first class ticket,
piece of cake. Then they said, "Howard, if any of this gets out, we
have somebody else to do it", because it is about the element of surprise...
and everybody was shocked when it happened.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:04:53 AM)
I didn't tell nobody. I told Ali's attorney, Ron DiNicola and his wife Lonnie.
I told them not to tell Ali because he has a big mouth and would tell everybody.
When we did tell Ali, he didn't want to do it because of his Parkinson's.
I said oh, man, I'm in trouble now. I said, Ali, this is the time in history
when the world is saying thank you for your sacrifices. That night, everybody
cried. I had so many phone calls on my voice mail that said, Howard, I cried,
I cried. Everybody cried. President Clinton cried. It was a wonderful night.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:06:02 AM)
So, Dick Ebersol said that one of the reasons it took so long to get an answer
for Ali is because of Billy Payne. I shouldn't be saying this but it's over
now so it's over, but Payne was the president of the Atlanta organizing committee,
and he didn't know who Ali was outside of boxing. So, Dick Ebersol got together
a tape of Ali in Africa, China, all over and this is what sold Billly Payne,
and as you know, "it was Billy Payne's idea".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:07:36 AM)
I was worried about where I would be that night to shoot. I knew where Ali
would stand and tried to buy tickets nearby. And then, I asked the people
from the organizing commmittee, where can I be shooting? Anywhere you wanna
be. I ended up right next to Ali, where he lit the cauldron. A half hour
after that the President wanted to see Ali, and we went over and met him
and his family. He said something that night when he was on Late Night with
Bob Costas. Bob was asking him, how about Ali? He said, "I'm so happy
that the Olympic Organizing Committee could find a way to do that... I put
my arms around him and I told him how happy I was for him and how proud I
was for our country and what an important moment I thought it was to have
him up there. Sort of the ultimate reconciliation of Muhammad Ali in America".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:07:42 AM)
It was wonderful.
Wide Angle (Jun 25, 2005 11:07:44 AM)
You talked about Gordon Parks and Bill Cosby and some of your other peers.
How well acquainted are you with the generation that followed yours? Spike
Lee, the Wayan brothers, John Singleton, etc. How well do you think they've
carried the torch for Black folks in entertainment?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:10:15 AM)
Gordon Parks, he's my idol. He's my man, I just saw him last week in NY. He's
93. I was with him in Dallas where he had just opened his show, Half Past
Autumn, at the Dallas Museum. Then, Saturday afternoon there was a program
with his music. They had this orchestra playing his music and it was wonderful,
and he played something also. Bill Cosby -- thanks to him I am in this room
right now, in Local 600, because of his dedication and his helping me to
become a member of this union.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:11:10 AM)
In 1968 I had a job that I couldn't work. Bill Cosby wanted me to be on the
Bill Cosby Show with Chet Kincaid, the basketball coach. In order to work
here I had to become a member of the union. I came down to the union to say
that I have a job and I'd like to sign up for membership. They said no, that
all the members would have to be working, which never happens.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:11:54 AM)
I said fine, and I went back to Cosby and he wrote a letter saying that Howard
Bingham is the only one that can and will work on this show. Cosby paid a
standby photographer 18 months in order for me to work on the show. At the
same time the EEOC was having hearings on Hollywood and their employment
practices.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:12:10 AM)
Once they had finished, it was part of the agreements that I had to become
a member of Local 659 and that's why I'm here.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:13:29 AM)
I know all those guys pretty well and I think that all of them have done wonderful.
John Singleton was the youngest; look at him now, he's made a lot of movies
and making bigger movies. He just made a wonderful movie called "Hustle
and Flow".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:15:56 AM)
I think you know about Spike with "Malcolm X" with Denzel Washington,
and "Jungle Fever".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:16:34 AM)
The Wayans brothers, they've been out there for a long time. "In Living
Color", "White Chicks", it's been wonderful.
Filmer (Jun 25, 2005 11:16:58 AM)
Can you talk about Robert Redford's influence on the movie aspect of your career?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:18:35 AM)
After I became a member of the union, I began getting phone calls for different
jobs. At the time I was contracted with Life magazine and so I did a thing
with Russ Meyers as a special on movie "Sweet Ride". Then I got
a call from Walter Koblenz, he was one of the producers working with Redford
at the time. They called and wanted me to work on "All the President's
Men".
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:18:47 AM)
I said no because I don't like being tied for months at a time
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:19:13 AM)
I have a lot of things, opportunities that happen, and sometimes I don't want
to be tied up
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:20:10 AM)
A week later I got another call from Walter saying that Robert Redford wanted
to meet with me. I went out a couple days later and I ended up working with
him on "The Candidate". He is a wonderful guy and I enjoyed it.
One of the reasons he wanted me to work on the movie is because I was familiar
with magazines and newspapers, and he wanted me to photograph it like that,
not as a still photographer.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:20:40 AM)
After that I worked another movie with him, a little movie called "All
the President's Men". I worked "Electric Horseman" with him
too. I like him big time.
Rosamond (Jun 25, 2005 11:20:53 AM)
You mentioned that you were the still photographer on some TV shows for CBS
and ABC in 1968 and '69, but you didn't say which programs. Can you name
some, and are there any stories about those shows?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:22:52 AM)
I worked a lot of sitcoms and weekly shows, like "Mod Squad", "Dick
Van Dyke Show", "Doris Day Show". I had an assignment to go
to the "Doris Day Show", and I mentioned it to another photographer
who said, "I wouldn't do that because she's a bad lady." I ended
up doing it and had a ball. As a matter of fact, I've never had a problem with
anybody. A lot of photographers walk in with big heads, but I just treat people
like I like to be treated.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:23:21 AM)
I've worked a lot of shows, the "Bob Newhart Show"... I used to fly
up to Carefree, Arizona every week for the Newhart show.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:26:30 AM)
Another movie I worked on was with Bill Cosby, because he had gotten me in
the union I couldn't argue with him, so anything that he does I do. He did
a movie in 1971 called "Man and Boy" with George Spellman and Douglas
Turner Ward. I also did "Leonard Part 6" and then "Ghost Dad".
I've been working with Cosby since 1966 -- I've been photographing his ads
-- he's been a wonderful guy. He's all about education and helping people,
and involved in a lot of good things.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:26:38 AM)
And his wife, who is the boss... Camilla's my lady.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:26:48 AM)
One of his daughters is a photographer because of me, Erinn.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:28:08 AM)
You always think about Ennis, his son who was murdered in 1997 in L.A. He was
a good guy in the wrong place, wrong time. He wanted to help people. He overcame
dyslexia, and everybody he met, he said, "Hello friend." That's
why Cosby started a foundation called Hello Friend to help educate teachers
on dyslexia. It's a huge loss because Ennis would have made a big difference.
Bruce M (Jun 25, 2005 11:26:54 AM)
About your craft, what other photographers have influenced your work? How?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:29:07 AM)
The main photographer was Gordon Parks. I liked some of the techniques that
he did that I couldn't do, and still haven't learned to do. You know, I watch
a lot of people. I'm not above not watching and learning. I watch photographers,
help photographers, and take a lot of things from a lot of people.
Live Audience (Jun 25, 2005 11:29:33 AM)
If you could display only one of your photos, which one would it be and why?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:31:04 AM)
(Makes pained face) That's a rough question. I've had the opportunity to take
a lot of photographs of a lot of famous people and non-influential people...
and just people. I really can't think of one. Some of the ones that come
to mind are those of Mr. Mandela. One of my favorites is of Mandela and Ali
in South Africa in 1993, face to face, side by side hugging each other. That's
one of my favorites. I don't know.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:32:41 AM)
One of my favorite subjects has been this guy Cassius Clay. I knew Clay and
Muhammad Ali. I know them. He's the most wonderful, giving guy in the world.
He's really kind, loves people, is a super guy and cares for others. One
of the reasons why he is liked so much is because he never lied to the public.
He said what he was going to do. He said, he could have gone into the army
and never seen a battlefield, but he gave up millions of dollars in the prime
of his life because of principle. He's been a controversial guy, but he's
always come out on top.
Film Guy (Jun 25, 2005 11:32:50 AM)
The photos you took of Zaire in 1974 were so striking. The images of Mobuto
and his government were haunting, yet very honest. How do you resist the
urge to judge your subject, even as you're sizing them up through your lens?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:35:04 AM)
Unfortunately I do not judge my subject before. I wish I had and then I may
have had different feelings. Zaire was a really wonderful experience. We
were there 2 months due to the cancellation of the fight because Foreman
got hurt. I've never seen anything like it; everything so rich. Just everything
there. Now to think of what happened and all these things that this guy,
Mobuto, this sicko, did. He raped the country and died one of the richest
men in the world. I think it's wrong for our government and the UN to allow
this to happen. I think that they should monitor the funding, and shell out
the money over time, rather then give them big, lump sums.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:35:46 AM)
They gave just one guy the right to do whatever. I think he was one of the
wickedest guys in the world. I did not know that at the time, but I took
a lot of photographs over there and when I came back, I had a couple drawers
of transparencies and B&W proofs of Zaire. Just wonderful pictures.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:36:04 AM)
I wanted to go to the Zaire embassy and have an exhibit, but it never did happen.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:36:12 AM)
Anyway, Mobutu's dead but a little bit too late.
Bob (Jun 25, 2005 11:36:23 AM)
Howard, you mentioned that you're in the process of archiving your millions
of still shots. Are you doing that alone or is an archival organization helping
you? What are your plans for all those negatives? Will they go into an archival
facility?
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:38:22 AM)
I am in the process of archiving my photographs. Right now there is no organization
involved with me -- well, one organization that's helping make it possible
is Kodak. I could have had this done a long time ago but I am a very particular
individual and I don't like to send my photos away because they're valuable
things. Everybody likes Ali and I have photographs of Ali that are copied
and people are making prints and selling them... it's awful. Now I'm getting
serious because I'm getting old. I'm making big-time progress and it's going
to be a really good archive.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:39:06 AM)
Because of my relationship with Ali, and this has been different, there hasn't
been any one guy who photographed another his whole life that just got millions
of photographs, but that archive is wonderful. The Cosby archives are wonderful.
My civil rights things, just everything.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:39:13 AM)
On who's going to get it, no comment.
Howard Bingham (Jun 25, 2005 11:40:56 AM)
Thank you for coming, I'm sorry I bored you guys. This is fun for me and I
hope that I have said some things that you had not heard before. I'm just
honored to have done this. Thank you again for listening, thanks Bob, everybody
involved, Sally, Tasha, and my typist Nick. Oh, this guy types so fast. And
Gene, mean Gene. It's been wonderful here at Local 600. And just thinking
back to 659 and they said, "We'll fight you". They did, but things
change.
Moderator (Jun 25, 2005 11:41:08 AM)
That concludes our chat. Thank you for attending. The complete transcript will
be available on our web site later this week.
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