Bill Cunningham 1929-2016
June 25, 2016 2:50 PM   Subscribe

Bill Cunningham, the street fashion photographer who rode his bike all over NYC in that functional blue smock, has died. If you haven't seen this 2011 documentary (previously) you've missed a gem. See also his video channel at the NYT and this New Yorker profile from 2009. His assistant posted this photo to Instagram 2 days ago, saying that Bill was under the weather, but some reports are saying that he was hospitalized after suffering a stroke recently.
posted by maudlin (75 comments total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by migurski at 2:53 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by oceanjesse at 2:53 PM on June 25, 2016


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One of the good ones. A friend to man, to whom thou say'st beauty is truth.
posted by gwint at 2:56 PM on June 25, 2016


He came to my workplace's gala every year. This year he couldn't make it due to illness.
He was wonderful to watch work.
Since we were too far from NYC for him to bike to the gala, my husband picked him up from the train station.

So sorry to hear that he's gone.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:57 PM on June 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


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posted by octothorpe at 3:06 PM on June 25, 2016


The full doc is no longer on Canadian Netflix, but there is an upload on YouTube (for now).
posted by maudlin at 3:16 PM on June 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


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posted by GameDesignerBen at 3:18 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by tychotesla at 3:23 PM on June 25, 2016


What a great life. (But also fuck the world that he's not in.)

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posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:23 PM on June 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


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posted by defenestration at 3:26 PM on June 25, 2016


Wish I had the good fortune to have been photographed by Bill. Rest In Peace.

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posted by bigZLiLk at 3:27 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by chris24 at 3:30 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by Maecenas at 3:32 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by Lesser Spotted Potoroo at 3:40 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by From Bklyn at 3:42 PM on June 25, 2016


He was my favorite part of the New York Times.
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posted by djinn dandy at 3:43 PM on June 25, 2016 [9 favorites]


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posted by rmannion at 3:50 PM on June 25, 2016


A treasure. 2016 is a hell of a thing. May he bike and photograph forever.

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posted by amanda at 3:52 PM on June 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


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posted by Jubey at 3:59 PM on June 25, 2016


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His videos always brought me great joy. I'm sure I'll re-watch them, just as I continue to listen to old episodes of Car Talk.
posted by waninggibbon at 4:02 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I hope he knew how loved he was.
posted by roger ackroyd at 4:09 PM on June 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


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posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:19 PM on June 25, 2016


The full 2011 documentary is up on Hulu.
posted by waninggibbon at 4:26 PM on June 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


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posted by Flashman at 4:32 PM on June 25, 2016


๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿป๐Ÿšฒ๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿฝ

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posted by -t at 4:35 PM on June 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


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posted by Cash4Lead at 4:36 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by moira at 4:38 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by miles per flower at 4:40 PM on June 25, 2016


Aw, that's very sad news.
The documentary about him was fantastic, and has some overlap with another great doc from the same period called Lost Bohemia, about the Carnegie hall apartments from which an unbelievable legacy of artists were being evicted after several generations. Cunningham lived there and was booted out along with all the other artists.
posted by chococat at 4:50 PM on June 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


I was actually starting to collect a few links for this eventuality ...

Bill Cunningham's jacket

Bill Cunningham's Haute Couture Hats

Bill Cunningham's Facades
posted by vespabelle at 4:56 PM on June 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


๐ŸŽฝ
posted by clavdivs at 5:00 PM on June 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


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posted by ooklala at 5:11 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by rjd at 5:20 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by Rush-That-Speaks at 5:40 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by airmail at 5:56 PM on June 25, 2016


Oh, I'm so sad. I became worried something was wrong a few weeks ago, when his weekly videos stopped appearing. What a wonderful person he was.
posted by MrBobinski at 5:57 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 6:19 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by heeeraldo at 6:37 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by lalochezia at 6:38 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by jim in austin at 6:43 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by praemunire at 6:44 PM on June 25, 2016


I only know of him from the documentary but my takeaway was he was one who gives you faith in humanity.

A rich and well lived life. I hope I can die with half that life experience behind me.
posted by latkes at 7:07 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


He was the kind of photographer that you thought would always be out there doing his thing irregardless of age.

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posted by photoslob at 7:24 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


What a creative spirit, and what a loss this is.

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posted by BlahLaLa at 7:26 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by oneironaut at 7:29 PM on June 25, 2016


The documentary is wonderful. What a delightful man he was. He sought beauty and he found it and he turned around and gave it back to us. His was a life well lived. I hope they bury him in his blue jacket.
posted by pjsky at 7:33 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by theora55 at 7:54 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by strawdog at 7:57 PM on June 25, 2016


I need that smock. Just bicycling around, asking cool people if I can take their picture, lenses and memory cards and camera bodies and note pads and pens and all of those indigo pockets... he could identify cool people through some sort of electrical phenomenon, and then take their picture with skill and verve, and get people to publish.

Photography is often denigrated into a lesser art. Stieglitz. Adams. Weegee. Maplethorp. Arbus.

As a visual artist, I take photographs. They are nothing like the photos my name-dropped heroes would take. YES!
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:58 PM on June 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


. but also ugh f u New Yorker author:
โ€œOh, this is a Doktor,โ€ he said, referring to a shot of Mrs. Doktor, the secretary, with the hushed reverence accorded a Renoir or a van Gogh, as if she, not he, were the artist. โ€œOne of the most fascinating. Thatโ€™s a wooden gold picture frame that sheโ€™s wearing as a necklace. I got up close, and saw that it had been cut and it was on hinges, so that it conformed to her body.โ€
She picked out and wore the components of the outfit, lady, and on a secretary's salary, no less. She should get some credit too.
posted by kenko at 8:45 PM on June 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


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posted by Stynxno at 9:24 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by nightrecordings at 9:26 PM on June 25, 2016


He worked to the end. I was never in the right part of town, but every time I left the house feeling I looked particularly fabulous, my first thought was always that tiny hope that he would be there on his bike to maybe like and capture it.

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posted by Mchelly at 9:51 PM on June 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


* sigh *

ok, 2016, we get it, alright

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posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 10:47 PM on June 25, 2016


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posted by Spatch at 10:56 PM on June 25, 2016


. I strive to have even a small fraction of his unwavering appreciation of real beauty and imagination. An absolute GIANT.
posted by helmutdog at 12:18 AM on June 26, 2016 [2 favorites]


I always loved his bits in the NYT, and loved the documentary. Watching it I said "there's someone who's found his place in the world" and that's not all that common.
posted by bongo_x at 12:29 AM on June 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by mumimor at 1:04 AM on June 26, 2016


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posted by brevator at 4:34 AM on June 26, 2016


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posted by Fizz at 6:22 AM on June 26, 2016


I am so sad about this. His decisions about not taking a lot of money to work for various magazines because money ties you down is something I wish I could apply more to my own life. He's also a celebrity who was easy to spot if you spent any time in NYC and he was eminently approachable. Just a fine soul who will be sorely missed.
posted by xingcat at 6:47 AM on June 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by sidesh0w at 6:56 AM on June 26, 2016


Listening to WNYC this AM I heard the wind up and my heart sank. He will be missed.

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posted by xtian at 6:59 AM on June 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by supermassive at 7:00 AM on June 26, 2016


[O]
posted by sallybrown at 8:20 AM on June 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


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It's rare to have people who can step back and see things in such clear and wonderful ways. Being able to show those connections enriches humanity. The world is poorer for his passing.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 10:23 AM on June 26, 2016


Never one to care for or follow fashion, I had not heard of Bill Cunningham until I saw the documentary, but he was a remarkable man. Rarely have I seen anyone with such talent combined with such guileless charm.

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posted by bouvin at 10:51 AM on June 26, 2016


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posted by ethansr at 11:06 AM on June 26, 2016


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posted by trip and a half at 3:29 PM on June 26, 2016


Ever since I was a little girl, I knew the only place for me was New York City. There are many reasons for this feeling, but one of the top ten was Bill Cunningham. His pictures in the NYT every week shaped my idea of what it meant to live in the city, and also what it meant to exist in the world of fashion. He shot so many celebrities and socialites, but also normal people that looked great walking down the street. Because of him, being here makes me feel like every time I leave my apartment is an opportunity to express my personal style, whether during a blizzard, a gala, or an Easter parade. Sometimes a walk to the corner store for a Gatorade is also an inspiration to try out something new for 10 minutes (just to be sure).

Now that I'm finally in the city, well into my 30s, and working in fashion, I often thought of him riding by on his bicycle and spotting one of my more inspired outfits on a good hair day. I come from a huge family full of nurses, teachers, and lawyers, and so often I feel like my profession doesn't contribute much to the world. I'm so happy that we have this wonderful, joyous life to celebrate and I love seeing all the beautiful tributes to his legacy.
posted by elvissa at 6:05 PM on June 26, 2016 [8 favorites]


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posted by of strange foe at 8:22 PM on June 26, 2016


He made special Valentines
posted by maggieb at 8:58 PM on June 26, 2016 [3 favorites]


What a lovely weirdo.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:21 AM on June 28, 2016




If you have a chance to pick up the print edition of today's Sunday New York Times, the Style section (his weekly home) is almost all about his work -- and it's about twice as thick because of all the department stores and fashion houses taking out ads in his memory. Just beautiful.
posted by Mchelly at 1:10 PM on July 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


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