Herman Leonard (March 6, 1923, in Allentown, Pennsylvania – August 14, 2010, in Los Angeles, California) was an American photographer known for his unique images of jazz icons. Early life and education Leonard was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania to Joseph Leonard and Rose Morrison, who were Romanian Jewish immigrants who emigrated from Iaşi to the U.S. Leonard gained a BFA degree in photography in 1947 from Ohio University, although his college career was interrupted by a tour of duty in the United States Army during World War II. In the military, he served as a medical technician in Burma while attached to Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese troops fighting the Japanese. Career After graduation, he apprenticed with portraitist Yousuf Karsh for one year. Karsh gave him valuable experience photographing public personalities such as Albert Einstein, Harry Truman, and Martha Graham. In 1948, Leonard opened his first studio in New York's Greenwich Village at 200 Sullivan St. Working free-lance for various magazines, he spent his evenings at the Royal Roost and then Birdland, where he photographed jazz musicians such as Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and others. The number of shots possible at a time was limited. Using glass negatives at this time, Leonard increased the sensitivity of the plates by exposing them to mercury vapor. After working for jazz record producer Norman Granz, who used his work on album jackets, Leonard was employed in 1956 by Marlon Brando as his personal photographer to document an extensive research trip in the Far East. Following his return, Leonard moved to Paris, photographing assignments in the fashion and advertising business and as European correspondent for Playboy magazine. He also photographed many French recording artists for Barclay Records, including Dalida, Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferré, Henri Salvador, Jacques Brel, Jean Ferrat, Les Chaussettes Noires, Eddy Mitchell, and Johnny Hallyday. In 1980, Leonard, along with his wife Elisabeth and two children, Shana and David, moved from Paris to the island of Ibiza, where he remained until 1988, when he relocated to London with his children. It was here that Leonard had his first exhibition of his work at the Special Photographers Company in Notting Hill. The exhibition was visited by over ten thousand people, including singers Sade and Bono of U2. The show toured the United States in 1989, and Leonard briefly moved to San Francisco. After an exhibition at A