Carl Mydans was born on May 20, 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA as Carl Mayer Mydans. He was married to Shelly Smith Mydans. He died on August 16, 2004 in Larchmont, New York, USA.
Joined The Boston Globe as a reporter while a student at Boston University. Later became part of the original photography staff when Life magazine was started in 1936 as a bold new experiment in pictorial journalism.
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First attracted attention in the mid-1930s after his stark black-and-white portraits of Arkansas farm families dramatized the plight of rural people victimized by the Depression.
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His wife, Shelley Smith Mydans, was also a journalist, and they often teamed up. During World War II, they were imprisoned by the Japanese for nearly two years. Mydans refused a Japanese offer of freedom if he would take photos for them. The couple was repatriated in a 1943 prisoner of war exchange, and they immediately returned to photographing the war.
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Photographed landmarks of 20th century history: the gaunt faces of 1930s dust-bowl farmers; Gen. Douglas MacArthur wading ashore in the Philippines; Frenchwomen having their heads shaved as punishment for "collaboration" with the Nazis; the Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri in 1945; and homebound rail commuters on Nov. 22, 1963, reading newspapers with the headline "President Shot Dead."
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One of his most memorable shots was on a commuter train. The shot depicted all the commuters reading the headliner "President Shot Dead" on November 22, 1963.
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He took photos of the Japanese signing official documents of surrender aboard the battleship Missouri.
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He and wife Shelley were taken prisoners in Manila by invading Japanese in 1942. They spent almost two years in Manila and Shanghai until they were released in a prisoner exchange.
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He and his wife Shelley were the first photography journalist husband and wife team to cover World War II events overseas.
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Dogville
2003
acknowledgment: FSA - OWI Collection photographs by
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Century: America's Time
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - WPA Photographer
Odyssey of Life
1996
TV Movie documentary
Himself - segment "The Photographer's Secrets", photographer, LIFE Magazine
Known for movies
Odyssey of Life 1996 as Himself - segment "The Photographer's Secrets", photographer, LIFE Magazine
The Century: America's Time 1999 as Himself - WPA Photographer
$2 Million
