Ben Ross is not a name that comes to mind when we think of Marilyn’s photographers, at least not immediately. Nevertheless, his photographs of Marilyn Monroe are some of the most beautiful ever taken. In Marilyn’s lifetime, Ross photographed her three times, the most famous of which was the ‘Emotions’ session.
Ben Ross was born in 1916 in New York and was given the name Benjamin Rosenblatt. He took up a position with Parade magazine, where he worked alongside his brother, Sid, as a journalist because he had a natural gift for photography. His style of photography was unusual for the era; he did not like staged pictures and preferred to capture his subjects in candid poses. Photographing the famous wasn’t something he was used to.
I never did that. I basically photographed during interviews, or, you know, just as they were.
During a visit to Hollywood in 1951, he was asked if he could photograph Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn’s tendency to be late may well have started long before she was a star. Marilyn appeared to have had trouble preparing herself for the camera and was worried about her appearance from the very beginning of her career.
I got Marilyn Monroe walking down the street the first time I photographed her. She kept me waiting for an hour and a half. She was very charming, once she got there – a person with heart, not the usual Hollywood person. She was probably the only Hollywood star that you could relate to.
