Terence Daniel Donovan (14 September 1936 – 22 November 1996) was an English photographer and film director, noted for his fashion photography of the 1960s. A book of his fashion work, ''Terence Donovan Fashion'', was published 2012. He also directed many TV commercials and oversaw the music video to Robert Palmer's " Addicted to Love" and " Simply Irresistible". ''The Guardian'' labelled “Addicted to Love“ as being "fashion's favourite video" since it was released.

Early life and education

Donovan was born in Stepney in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have univ ...

to lorry driver Daniel Donovan and (Lilian) Constance Violet (née Wright), a cook. He took his first photo at the age of 15. He had a fractured education, but between the ages of 11 and 15 studied at the London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography.

Career

The bomb-damaged industrial landscape of his home town became the backdrop of much of his fashion photography, and he set the trend for positioning fashion models in stark and gritty urban environments. Flats and gasometers were popular settings, and he often had the models adopt adventurous poses. He wedged one model up the side of a building, and photographed another as she posed dangling from a parachute. Along with

David Bailey David Royston Bailey (born 2 January 1938) is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Early life David Bailey was born at Wh ...

and Brian Duffy (nicknamed by

Norman Parkinson Norman Parkinson (21 April 1913 – 15 February 1990) was an English portrait and fashion photographer. His work revolutionised British fashion photography, as he moved his subjects out of the studio and used outdoor settings. While servin ...

the 'Black Trinity'), he captured, and in many ways helped create, the ''

Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mu ...

'' of the 1960s: a culture of high fashion and celebrity chic. The trio of photographers socialised with actors, musicians and royalty, and found themselves elevated to celebrity status. Together, they were the first real celebrity photographers. He joined the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

in 1963, gaining his Associate in 1963 and Fellowship in 1968. In the early 1970s Donovan branched out into film production and it was during this period that he moved his studio to 30 Bourdon Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

, now marked by a memorial plaque. Donovan shot for various fashion magazines, including ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

'' and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

,'' as well as directing some 3000 TV commercials, and the rarely seen 1973 cop film, '' Yellow Dog'' starring

Jiro Tamiya Jiro is the registered name used by Sun Microsystems for an extension to Java and Jini. Jiro as an industry initiative, along with an EMC initiative called "Wide Sky" were catalysts in the late nineties for a common interface to storage devices ...

. He also made documentaries and music videos, and painted.

Personal life

Donovan was married twice. His first marriage to Janet Cohen was short-lived, but he remained married to his second wife, Diana Dare, until his death. He was the father of the musician Dan Donovan, the actress Daisy Donovan and Terry Donovan, a co-founder of Rockstar Games. He was a black belt in

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

and co-wrote a popular judo book, ''Fighting Judo'' (1985), with former World Judo Gold medallist Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki. Terence Donovan (Green Plaque)

Death

Donovan committed suicide, after suffering from depression. His last interview appeared in a British photography magazine a few weeks after his death.

References

External links