Stanley Reilly took hundreds of pictures of stars in the 60s and 70s. The negatives lay unprinted for over 30 years. Now they are being published in a book, Being There, by Edinburgh’s Waverley Care trust. Rose de Freitas talked to Reilly
Why are you only now publishing these wonderful photographs?
I never had the money to get them printed, though I hoarded negatives and contact sheets for over 30 years. Although I was one of the original paparazzi in the 60s, I just did it because I loved to take pictures of the stars and famous people. It was a hobby rather than a profession. I never made any money from it. I’ve had problems with being severely dyslexic all my life and had other disabilities too, and this prevented me from pursuing a proper career.
I’ve been working as a volunteer at Edinburgh’s HIV organisation, the Waverley Care Trust, for about nine years and they’ve helped to finance developing my negatives into prints.
It was such a delight to see the images printed and collected in the book after all this time. I’m really grateful to Waverley Care.
Who was the most memorable person you photographed?
Peter Sellers. I met him several times. He always treated me with respect and said ‘Hello Stanley, how are you?’ Being There is also the name of my favourite Peter Sellers film.
It was really exciting to photograph Lennon too, because it was just pot luck that I turned up at the film premiere of The Magic Christian where he made a protest. I somehow managed to capture some moments from it on film.
My favourite picture is the one of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton at the Roundhouse where Richard presented Elizabeth with a huge diamond ring. It was a private launch that someone had given me a free pass to and there was a security guard with them because of the ring. I got introduced to them and remember Elizabeth being very tiny, and so nervous about being given the ring, that she was shaking.
I myself was surprised by some I didn’t know I’d taken. There’s a very young John Hurt, taken when he was making his premiere in the film about the murderer Christie. I had no idea it was him from the negative.
“Who would you most like to photograph now?”
Nelson Mandela. He’s a wonderful man and I’d love to take his picture. Although my book only contains black and white pictures taken from the 60s and 70s, I’ve continued to take photographs for the last 35 years and have worked in colour for 20 years. I still get invited to all kinds of local events, especially around the Edinburgh Festival season. I recently took pictures of Ewan McGregor at an opening and got one published.
 Being There: A Personal Photographic Record of the Sixties by Stanley Reilly, foreword by Sir Elton John, published by Waverley Care and proceeds to Waverley Care. For more info contact 0131 226 2206. Copies available in late August £9.99 |
What do you think of the celebrity culture we live in now?
There’s an edginess around it that was not there in the 60s. Back then, there was a very warm atmosphere when you turned up at film premieres and opening nights. I’d get dressed up in a suit and tie to take pictures (my day job was usually at a bar) and people began to recognise me and it felt like a family. As I’ve mentioned, people like Roger Moore, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Sellars would say ‘hello’. There were just a few of us turning up often to take photographs, not like the barrage you have to fight through these days. I do enjoy looking at Heat magazine from time to time though.
