December 19, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000

Beverly Hills, CA - A new exhibition of images by renowned photojournalist and photographer Leigh Wiener will open at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on January 19, 2001, in both the Grand Lobby and Fourth Floor Galleries. Like all exhibitions at the Academy, "Photographing People: Hollywood Moments by Leigh Wiener" will be free and open to the public. It will run through April 8, 2001.

Wiener, who died in 1993, enjoyed a fifty-year career photographing people from all walks of life. While working for numerous newspapers and magazines, including the "Los Angeles Times," "Life," "Fortune," "Sports Illustrated" and "Time," he covered hundreds of people and events, including politicians, sports figures, jazz legends, the homeless, international subjects, playwrights, poets, writers, visual artists and captains of industry, as well as heads of state, including every U.S. president from Truman to Reagan. In 1960, "Time" assigned him to follow John F. Kennedy during the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles; he was subsequently hired by the Kennedy Campaign to follow JFK's road to the White House.

Perhaps Wiener's greatest subject was Hollywood, and that is the focus of the Academy exhibition. Included are his images from occasions like the Academy Awards, Sam Goldwyn's 75th birthday party, fundraising dinners with Robert F. Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra's performances with the "Rat Pack," Marion Davies embracing Hedda Hopper at the Brown Derby, and Judy Garland reuniting with Mickey Rooney on a television sound stage in the early '60s. One hundred ten images will be displayed, featuring personalities such as Jimmy Stewart, Rock Hudson, Andre Previn, Cecil B. DeMille, Grace Kelly, Esther Williams, Marlon Brando, Jack Warner, Marilyn Monroe, George Burns, Groucho Marx, Angie Dickinson, Jimmy Durante, Mary Pickford and Warren Beatty.

Wiener's photographs are in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery and several national museums. He was the author of eight books on photography and wrote a regular column on photography for the "Los Angeles Times". In addition, his work was featured in numerous Time-Life books as well as in several volumes of Robinson Jeffer's poetry. He also created and was the producer and co-host of the Emmy-winning television interview program "Talk About Pictures," which aired in Los Angeles on NBC. Many of America's greatest photographers appeared on the program. Wiener also made the award-winning sports documentary "A Slice of Sunday."

Admission to "Photographing People: Hollywood Moments by Leigh Wiener" is free. Viewing hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call 310-247-3600.