Photo Opportunity #53

Photo Opportunity #53

For our September Photo Opportunity, I’ve delved again into my personal collection of 35mm transparencies (more commonly known as slides). This particular shot is from a collection of extremely rare photos which I still believe remain unpublished – I certainly haven’t seen them in any publication. A few photos from this session have appeared, usually with Clint wearing a yellow polo style shirt, often with a cigar and in the grounds of a hotel or villa. It’s believed that these were taken around the summer of 1967 when Clint was in Europe on a promotional trip for A Fistful of Dollars. 

The card slide mounts carry the stamp of photographer Herbert Fried (born 21/06/1926 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf) (died 1980). There is not much known about the man, except for his legacy of taking star photos from the 50’s and 60’s and often with his trusted Rolleiflex. Of late, his work has started to stir a great deal of interest. 

Among the collection I obtained (probably some 30 years ago), are photos from this session that saw Clint outside on a Patio area surrounded by exotic looking plants and some less formal shots of him relaxed inside the hotel or villa in a setting that could be either Italy of Spain? The couple of photos I have previously seen published appear to have no details whatsoever – making it extremely hard to confirm the facts. Some of these photos can be seen on the A Fistful of Dollars page. For this Photo Opportunity I’ve chosen a photo that captures Clint in very relaxed mood in the bathroom area – probably preparing for the photo session. Please excuse the watermark, this is simply to protect the photo’s integrity.