Clarence Sinclair Bull (May 22, 1896 – June 8, 1979) was a

portrait photographer Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective Photographic lighting, lighting, Painted photography backdrops, backdrops, and poses. A portr ...

who worked for movie studios during the

Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestersh ...

. He was head of the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

stills department for nearly forty years.

Biography

Clarence Sinclair Bull was born in

Sun River, Montana Sun River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 124 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town is named after the Sun R ...

, in 1896. His career began when

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

hired him in 1920 to photograph publicity stills of the

film studio's stars. He is most famous for his photographs of

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic c ...

, taken between 1926 and 1941. Bull's first portrait of Garbo was a costume study for the silent romantic drama film ''

Flesh and the Devil ''Flesh and the Devil'' is an American silent romantic drama film released in 1927 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the novel '' The Undyin ...

'' in September 1926. Bull was able to study with the great Western painter,

Charles Marion Russell Charles Marion Russell (March 19, 1864 – October 24, 1926), also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an American artist of the American Old West. He created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Native Americans, an ...

. He also served as an assistant cameraman in 1918. Bull was skilled in the areas of lighting, retouching and printing. He was most commonly credited as "C.S. Bull." Bull died on June 8, 1979, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, aged 83.

Gallery

File:Charles Laughton-publicity2.JPG,

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future ...

, 1934 (publicity photo for film ''

The Barretts of Wimpole Street ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Ka ...

'') File:Una Merkel - still.JPG,

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

, 1934 File:Madge Evans - still.jpg,

Madge Evans Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary '' Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model. Biography Child model and stage actress ...

, circa 1935 File:Garbo - Ninotchka - Clarence Bull.JPG,

(publicity photo for film ''

Ninotchka ''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...

'', 1939) File:Hedy lamarr - 1940.jpg,

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...

, 1940 File:Lynne Carver (1940).JPG, American actress

Lynne Carver Lynne Carver (born Virginia Reid Sampson, September 13, 1916 – August 12, 1955) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1934 and 1953. Early years Carver was born in Lexington, Kentucky. Her father, Reid John ...

, 1940 File:Van Heflin - 1941.jpg,

Van Heflin Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...

, 1941 File:Conrad Veidt 1941.jpg,

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films '' Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and '' The Man Who Laug ...

, 1941 File:Judy Garland in Presenting Lily Mars.jpg,

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...

, 1943 File:June Allyson-publicity.jpg,

June Allyson June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She sig ...

, 1944

Biography

Gallery

References

Further reading