REMEMBRANCE: Alfred Wertheimer's evocative photos of Elvis Presley

Elvis reading his fan mail

Over the course of a few days in March 1956, 26-year-old photographer Alfred Wertheimer shot a series of images of 21-year-old Elvis Presley, who was just at the cusp of becoming a worldwide sensation. His evocative photos capture the singer's innocence and sweetness at a singular moment in time, and the images have become iconic.

Mr. Wertheimer was just starting his own career when he got a call from RCA Records asking him to take some publicity shots of one of its new artists, "a young Southerner about to make his first television appearance". At the time Presley had recently released “Heartbreak Hotel”,  which was soon to become a chart-topper. Mr. Wertheimer had never heard of him.

“He got lucky,” Pam Wertheimer said of her uncle’s encounter with the emerging Presley. “He got there right when Elvis was still a human being.”

Alfred Wertheimer, whose illustrious career included cinematography ("The Making of the President 1960","Woodstock") and film editing, passed away in his home on October 26, 2014.   He was 84 years old.

"The Kiss" -- perhaps Wertheimer's most famous photo

Below: more photos from "Elvis 1956"

The NY Times remembrance of Alfred Wertheimer can be found here