Fame

I photographed a lot of rock and roll stars, but that wasn't all. All kinds of celebrities would show up backstage at concerts, or go to the parties thrown by the record companies. One of them was Jeff Conaway. He passed away this week after a long struggle with substance abuse. 

Rona Newton-John and Jeff Conaway at Xenon, 1978

I don't know whether or not he was abusing drugs the night I shot this. It was the Seventies after all, but he seemed fine to me that night. And happy. Things were certainly going well in his career. This photo was taken at Xenon, at a party for Cerrone, the disco star. The woman is Rona Newton-John, sister of Olivia. They weren't married yet. Unlike many celebrities today, Jeff loved having his picture taken (at least back then)-- I have more from that party that haven't been scanned yet-- and he was a pleasure to shoot. It's so sad. 


Too many deaths lately.