Bob Willoughby RIP

Lord Evans, Bob Willoughby and Richard Evans

We are deeply saddened to hear that our very good friend and iconic photographer Bob Willoughby has passed away last Friday after a short illness at the age of 82. Earlier this year in June I took a flight over to France to specifically see Bob to hear how he was keeping and to update him on with all the good news happening at Legende Celebrity Art, he was on top form and as always bright as a button! Bob was always so incredibly supportive and interested in how things were developing at Legende and so very professional to work with . His lovely wife Dorothy prepared a fantastic lunch for us at their beautiful home near Cannes. Bob, I and my father David chatted away and asked all sorts of questions about his career which was fascinating. He offered to take a portrait of my eldest daughter as he spotted she was so photogenic. Just a few days ago I received a personally signed calendar from Bob and Dorothy sending me their good wishes and luck for the coming years. Bob mentioned he was poorly to me a few weeks back and asked if there was anything he could do to help me. We had talked about some video interviews as we have done with our other friends Terry O’Neill and John Wright, to document to the experiences he had with each celebrity he photographed but unfortunatly it couldnt happen.

Bob Willoughby had an incredible career photographing the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Kim Novak, Jean Seburg, Ann Bancroft, Mia Farrow, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Curtis, Peter O’Toole, Katherine Hepburn, Julie Andrews, Dirk Bogarde, Natalie Wood, Oliver Reed, Jane Fonda, Richard Burton, Timothy Dalton, Barbra Streisand, The Rat Pack, Deborah Kerr, Gregory Peck, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Montgomery Clift, David Lean, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Mitchum, Sammy Davis Jr, Richard Chamberlain, Jack Lemmon, Sean Connery, Lee Marvin, John Wayne, Van Johnson, Susanna York, and Candice Bergen.

I bought this photograph from Bob for my own private collection as its one of my favourites and only 3 ever printed in total of Audrey Hepburn 1953 Los Angeles.

Audrey Hepburn 1953 Los Angeles

Our thoughts go out to Bob’s family. RIP Bob, you are not only a total professional but a true gentleman and a sincere pleasure to work with, we shall miss you xx