Charles Clyde Ebbets

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Charles Clyde Ebbets
Born(1905-08-18)August 18, 1905
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Known forphotographer of Lunch atop a Skyscraper
Spouses
Josephine Ward
​
​
(m. 1928; d. 1931)​
Mary Green
​
​
(m. 1932; div. 1937)​
Laurie Chase
​
(m. 1938)​
Children2

Charles Clyde Ebbets (August 18, 1905 – July 14, 1978) was an American photographer credited with taking the iconic photograph Lunch atop a Skyscraper (1932).[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Biography

On August 18, 1905, Ebbets was born in

Broward, Florida.[9] His second wife was Mary Green, with whom he had a son, Charles.[10] His third wife was Laurie Chase, whom he married in 1938.[11]

Early career

Ebbets started his career during the 1920s in

Miami Daily News, and a freelance photographer.[8]

In 1927, the first attempt was made to traverse the entirety of the dirt road from

Tampa, called the "Tamiami Trail". Ebbets was chosen to be one of the three men making the trip by his extensive knowledge of the region and wildlife and his ability with a camera to document the adventure for newspapers and the Essex Motor Company who sponsored the trip and car. The photos of their success were carried in newspapers across the country.[8]

Lunch atop a Skyscraper

Main article: Lunch atop a Skyscraper
Lunch atop a Skyscraper

By the 1930s, Ebbets was a well-known photographer and published work in major newspapers across the nation, including

RCA Building
in several months of construction. It has been postulated that multiple photographers collaborated on the shoot. However, the Ebbets family has produced verified written records of Ebbets' authorship, including original receipts on Ebbets' professional letterhead showing his billing for the work done on the shoot, an original glass negative of Ebbets at work that day on the beam adjacent to the workmen, other authentic images taken by Ebbets during his work at Rockefeller Center, photos of the image displayed in Ebbets' office at Rockefeller Center, as well as copies of the original article from 1932 showing the famous photo which were found in his personal scrapbook. [13] All of these documents supporting Ebbets' authorship have been independently verified by professional researchers, intellectual property attorneys, and private investigators. During the photo's worldwide circulation over the past 20 years [when?], no other photographer nor any photographer's estate has ever claimed authorship of the famous image.

"The image was a publicity effort by the Rockefeller Center. It seems pretty clear they were real workers, but the event was organised with a number of photographers."— Ken Johnston, chief historian and archivist for

Corbis Images[14][15][16]

Later career

In 1933 Ebbets moved back to Florida, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. His interests were now focused on the exciting growth of tourism in the state, the

Seminole Indians, and the vast expanse of untouched nature in the Everglades. In 1935, Ebbets became an official Associated Press photographer for the region. That same year, his photos of the infamous 1935 Labor Day hurricane that devastated the Florida Keys were circulated worldwide. During this era, he also founded the Miami Press Photographers Association and was its first president.[8]

His extensive knowledge of the Everglades and closeness to the people of the region led to a friendship with many of the members of the Seminole Indian tribe. Over time, he counted many of the tribal leaders among his personal friends and was allowed unprecedented access to the villages and camps to document their lives in pictures. In 1938, he was the first white man ever allowed to witness their sacred

Green Corn Dance and was permitted to photograph the entire week-long event. Many of these images were seen in the pages of newspapers throughout the country, and this extensive collection remains one of the finest of its kind in the world.[8]

For the next decade, Ebbets continued his travel and adventures both on and off assignment and broke his back while shooting photos in the Everglades, an injury that kept him out of the military during

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute, which was training the American and British Royal Air Forces. During the war, he documented all phases of base development and personnel training in Florida and spent time in South America working under General "Hap" Arnold, who oversaw the training of American and British pilots at bases in Brazil.[8]

Ebbets returned to his Miami home at the end of World War II and would be one of the three founders of the City of Miami Publicity Bureau. For the next 17 years, he was the chief photographer of the City of Miami.

National Geographic, Outdoors Unlimited, Field & Stream, Popular Boating, U.S. Camera, Outdoor Life, Look, Popular Photography (the June 1938 issue featured an 8-page spread about Ebbets and his work), and others.[8]

Throughout the 1970s, Ebbets continued to photograph life in the South Florida region. On July 14, 1978, at the age of 72, Ebbets died of cancer. At the time of his death, he had more than 300 nationally published images.

In 2003, he was honored at the Photo East Expo held at the

Corbis, with at least 21 of Ebbets' pictures. His daughter has established a website of some of his images which can be seen at EbbetsPhoto-Graphics.com, and is archiving and restoring his vast collection of pictures to be included in a book about his life and work.[8]

References

  1. ^ Time History's Greatest Images: The World's 100 Most Influential Photographs, Time Home Entertainment, 2012, page 24.
  2. ^ Amateur Photographer, April 28, 2012, page 36.
  3. ^ Lookout Alabama, "Visionary Talent", Summer 2015, pages 56-62.
  4. ^ Star-News, Wilmington, NC, November 10, 2003.
  5. ^ The Daytona Beach News-Journal, "Famous Photo Leads to Book, Movie", March 21, 2012.
  6. ^ Pollak, Michael (March 9, 2012). "Answers to Questions About New York". The New York Times.
  7. ^ 1910 United States Federal Census
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ebbets Photo-Graphics".
  9. ^ Florida, County Marriages, 1823-1982
  10. ^ Florida, State Census, 1935
  11. ^ Florida Marriage Indexes, 1927-2001
  12. ^ Gambino, Megan (September 19, 2012). "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot". Smithsonian. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Hotz, Amy (November 10, 2003). "A photo finished". Star-News. Gatehouse Media LLC. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  14. ^ Clark, Nick (September 20, 2012). "A casual lunchtime snap, or the world's most iconic publicity stunt?". The Independent. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  15. ^ Specktor, Brandon (July 7, 2016). "The Greatest Photo In The World Might Have Been Fake". Reader's Digest. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  16. ^ Anderson, John (November 8, 2012). "How a Galway Pub Led to a Skyscraper". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  17. ^ "Question of the Week". HistoryMiami. Retrieved April 30, 2022. President Truman at the wheel, 1947. Charles Ebbets, photographer. City of Miami Collection, HistoryMiami, CM-1-03961.

External links

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