Roddy McDowall surrounded by some of the celebrity portraits he took
On Monday, Aug. 15, Roddy McDowall will be headlining TCM’s Summer Under the Stars line-up. McDowell spent most of his life in the spotlight after landing his first film role in the British children’s film Scruffy (1938) when he was only 10-years-old. In 1940 his family relocated to Los Angeles to escape the London Blitz following the outbreak of WW2 and soon afterward he appeared in the Oscar-winning drama How Green Was My Valley (1941) directed by John Ford. The film made McDowell a household name and the acclaimed child actor quickly landed parts in a number of family friendly films including My Friend Flicka (1943) and Lassie Come Home (1943). In the 1950s, McDowall took a break from Hollywood and practiced his craft on stage but he returned in 1960 and continued to act in movies and television until his death in 1998.
During his long career, McDowall developed a passion for photography and Hollywood history. He revered his fellow actors and began snapping candid pictures of his costars on and off set when he was just a teenager. As he got older, McDowall’s obsession developed into a serious artistic pursuit and he became a highly respected professional photographer. His photos appeared in many prestigious magazines including LIFE, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Architectural Digest, Premiere and Playboy and his work was displayed in galleries. He also shot album covers and book jacket portraits for a number of famous friends.
McDowall’s portraits of fellow performers are often very intimate and his subjects typically seem relaxed and at ease. These are not artless pictures of random celebrities; these are personal studies of dear friends, coworkers and admired acquaintances. McDowall was an accomplished actor in his own right but throughout his life he remained an ardent film fan who filled his home with movie memorabilia and worked tirelessly for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences helping to preserve films. He loved the movies and he obviously loved the people who made them and you can detect that love in many of his photos, which represent decades of Hollywood history.
When he died in 1998 at age 70 following a battle with lung cancer, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored his memory by renaming their extensive collection of photos the Roddy McDowall Photograph Archive.
To celebrate this unique aspect of McDowall’s career and highlight some of the actors you’ll be seeing during Summer Under the Stars, I’ve compiled a selection of his star portraits to share that I came across during my research.
Many of these photos can be found in magazines as well as a series of books Roddy McDowall released under the title Double Exposure 1-4. If you enjoy his photos I highly recommend seeking out McDowall’s books, which also include short accommodating essays written by his celebrity friends. The books are currently out of print but you can find used copies selling cheaply online.
