These days, the term “paparazzi” is enough to make any celebrity squirm in their penthouse hotel room. This special breed of photographer has earned the reputation for stalking and harassing the men, women, and children who live their lives in the limelight. But, decades ago—in the 1950s—they weren’t so despised, as seen in a new collection of photographs Paparazzo: The Elio Sorci Collection. Credited as the world’s first paparazzo, Elio Sorci candidly captured some of the most iconic celebrities from the second half of the 20th century—Audrey Hepburn, Bridgette Bardot, Princess Grace—and infamously revealed the affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton during the filming of Cleopatra in 1962. Here, The Daily Beast takes a look at some of Sorci's rollicking shots.
Here, Alfred Hitchcock poses for Sorci in Rome, 1960.
Elio Sorci/Camera Press
Sidney Poitier and wife Juanita Hardy, Rome, 1960.
Elio Sorci/Camera Press
Raquel Welch and Marcello Mastroianni in Rome, 1966.
Elio Sorci/Camera Press
Princess Grace of Monaco, Rome, 1957.
Elio Sorci/Camera Press
Elizabeth Taylor at the David di Donatello Awards, Rome, 1962.
Alec Guiness, Rome, 1962.
Elio Sorci/Camera Press
Paparazzo: The Elio Sorci Collection is available now from Roads Publishing.
