Stanley Tretick

Tretick died in July 1999 at the age of 78, just days after John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s plane crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

When Look magazine folded in 1971, Tretick became a founding photographer of People magazine where he retired in 1995 as a contributing photographer. He covered major stories such as Watergate, Iran-Contra and the Clarence Thomas hearings.

Tretick also covered Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. His last picture of Bobby Kennedy was taken as Kennedy was going down to speak to his jubilant supporters after his victory in the California primary. Kennedy was assassinated after making that speech. One of Tretick's photos of Robert F. Kennedy was used for a commemorative stamp released in 1979.

In later years, Tretick began to spend more time covering the movie industry. In addition to his news work, Tretick did special still photography for movies, becoming friends with Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and others. His first major Look cover for a movie was of the "dames" of Valley of the Dolls in 1967. In 1996, Washingtonian magazine said that "his career has been a kind of metaphor for the Washington-Hollywood connection."

On October 2, 1963, Tretick took his most famous photograph for an article about the President and his son. While Jacqueline Kennedy was out of the country, Tretick was allowed to join the father and son, walking the halls of the White House and playing together in the Oval Office. Tretick's photo of the moment John, Jr., popped out from under the President's desk, with Kennedy seated behind, encapsulates the myth of Camelot. When Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, these pictures were already on the newsstands and helped create lasting memories of John F. Kennedy the man.

In 1961, when Kennedy took office, UPI refused to assign Tretick exclusively to the White House. Kennedy told Tretick to get a job with any publication that would, promising him extensive access. On this basis, Look hired Tretick. Tretick is noted for the photographs he took of President Kennedy with his children.

The agency, which became United Press International, assigned Tretick to travel with Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960. Tretick logged more miles with Kennedy during the presidential campaign than any other photographer. The photographer and candidate became friends and Tretick took many important pictures during this time.

Tretick moved to United Press, which acquired Acme in 1952. He covered Capitol Hill, the White House and the presidential campaigns of the fifties. In 1952, the television audience saw the intrepid photographer punched by a delegate at the Republican National Convention. A photo of Tretick in 1957 being hit by gangster Johnny Dio outside the Senate Caucus Room appeared around the country. Tretick complained, "The worst part of being hit while on assignment is that some other photographer scoops you with a sensational shot of you getting belted."

In 1951, Tretick's were among the Korean War photos in the exhibit "Korea—The Impact of War" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His photo of a soldier crumpled with despair and holding his muddy face in his hands was selected by Military Times as one of the one hundred most-enduring images captured in combat.

Tretick was born in Baltimore and raised in Washington, D.C., graduating from Central High School in 1940. Following a stint as a copy boy for The Washington Post, he joined the Marines in 1942. Trained as a photographer, he served in the Pacific during World War II and then covered D.C. as a tough-talking news cameraman. Tretick joined Acme Newspictures and photographed combat during the Korean War.

Aaron Stanley Tretick (July 21, 1921 – July 23, 1999) was an American photojournalist who worked for UPI, Look, and People magazines. He covered every president from Harry S. Truman through George H. W. Bush. Tretick also did stills for many films, including All the President's Men and The Candidate. He is best known today for the photographs he took of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign and presidency. In the final issue of Look, in 1971, Tretick was called "President Kennedy's photographic Boswell."