Clarence Sinclair Bull

Clarence Sinclair Bull (May 22, 1896 – June 8, 1979) was a portrait photographer who worked for movie studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was head of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stills department for nearly 40 years.

Biography

Clarence Sinclair Bull was born in Sun River, Montana, in 1896.^[1] His career began when Samuel Goldwyn hired him in 1920 to photograph publicity stills of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio's stars. He is most famous for his photographs of Greta Garbo, taken between 1926 and 1941. Bull's first portrait of Garbo was a costume study for the silent romantic drama film Flesh and the Devil in September 1926.^[2]

Bull was able to study with the great Western painter, Charles Marion Russell. He also served as an assistant cameraman in 1918.^[3] Bull was skilled in the areas of lighting, retouching and printing.^[4] He was most commonly credited as "C.S. Bull."^[5]

Bull died on June 8, 1979, in Los Angeles, California, aged 83.^[1]

Gallery

• Photographs by Clarence Sinclair Bull
• 
  Charles Laughton, 1934 (publicity photo for film The Barretts of Wimpole Street)
• 
  Una Merkel, 1934
• 
  Madge Evans, circa 1935
• 
  Greta Garbo (publicity photo for film Ninotchka, 1939)
• 
  Hedy Lamarr, 1940
• 
  American actress Lynne Carver, 1940
• 
  Van Heflin, 1941
• 
  Conrad Veidt, 1941
• 
  Judy Garland, 1943
• 
  June Allyson, 1944

References

1. "Clarence Bull". Hollywood Grave Hunter. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
2. "Clarence Sinclair Bull - The man who shot Garbo". Garbo Forever. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
3. "Clarence Sinclair Bull (American, 1895-1979)". ArtNet. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
4. "The Great Hollywood MGM Photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull". Vintage Movie Star Photos. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
5. "About Clarence Sinclair Bull's Life". Andrew Weiss Gallery. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.

Further reading

• Pepper, Terence (1989). The Man Who Shot Garbo: The Hollywood Photographs of Clarence Sinclair Bull. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-69700-5. OCLC 20461098.