The photographer, who documented the 'Can't Help Falling in Love' hitmaker's early days as an entertainer, passed away from natural causes.
- Oct 22, 2014
AceShowbiz - Photographer Alfred Wertheimer, who documented Elvis Presley's earlier days as a singer, has passed away. According to the Associated Press, Wertheimer's editor and gallery curator Chris Murray said the famed photographer died from natural causes at his New York apartment. He was 85.
Wertheimer first met the "Love Me Tender" hitmaker when he was assigned by Presley's label RCA to take photos of the then-less known singer. Back then, he was 26 and the star was 21.
"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," Presley's wife Priscilla said on Tuesday. "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."
Among photos he took back then, one snap called "The Kiss" shows the "Can't Help Falling in Love" hitmaker nuzzling a female fan at the backstage of his show in Richmond, Va. The photographer, who followed Presley's every move during his shows, found him with the girl packing on PDA backstage one day.
"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," Wertheimer told Smithsonian of the popular photo. "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."
