Leee Black Childers
Born
Lee Black Childers

(1945-07-24)July 24, 1945
Jefferson County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 6, 2014(2014-04-06) (aged 68)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
EducationKentucky Southern College
Occupations
  • Photographer
  • writer
  • rock music manager

Leee Black Childers (July 24, 1945 – April 6, 2014) was an American photographer, writer and rock music manager, who "recorded the legacy of a theatrical cross over between rock music and gay culture."[1] Born Lee Black Childers in Jefferson County, Kentucky,[2] he started to spell his name with three rather than two "e"s as a child.[3]

Biography

Childers was born on July 24, 1945, in or near Louisville, Kentucky, to Ova Childers, a railroad switchman, and Harriet Black, who later went by Kathlyn Black Stone. He had two brothers, Larry and Henry.[3] He attended Kentucky Southern College[3] before moving to San Francisco, California, and later, in 1968, to New York City.[4]

He began taking photographs of drag queens and was encouraged by Andy Warhol to work as a photographer, gaining a reputation for his portraits of the artists, musicians, and others who passed through the Factory in New York.[3] In the early 1970s, he managed Warhol's stage production Pork, directed by Tony Ingrassia at the Roundhouse in Londonx.[1] He was assistant to Warhol at the Factory between 1982 and 1984, and took photographs of visiting celebrities, counter-cultural figures and musicians, particularly of punk rock and new wave music stars, such as Ruby Lynn Reyner, Debbie Harry, Jayne County, and the Sex Pistols. He worked as a tour manager for David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Johnny Thunders, and Mott the Hoople, among others.[5]

In 2012, he published Drag Queens, Rent Boys, Pick Pockets, Junkies, Rockstars and Punks, a collection of some of his photographs and their backgrounds, which was the subject of exhibitions in London in 2011[6][7] and Los Angeles, California, in March 2014.[5]

In 2016, Childers's 2010 interview was featured in Danny Says, appearing alongside Danny Fields, Iggy Pop, and Alice Cooper.

Childers died in Los Angeles on April 6, 2014, at the age of 68, from undisclosed causes.[1] At the time of his death, he lived in Brooklyn, New York.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Robinson, PC (April 7, 2014). "Leee Black Childers Chronicler Of Drag Queens And Punks Dies". Artlyst. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ Kentucky Birth Index, 1911–1999 at Ancestry.com; accessed April 8, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Weber, Bruce (April 11, 2014). "Leee Black Childers, Portraitist of a Downtown Demimonde, Dies at 68". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ Spice, Anton (April 7, 2014). "Iconic music photographer Leee Black Childers has died". Fact Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Gil, Billy (March 12, 2014). "Amoeba Sponsors Leee Black Childers Photo Exhibit, Has Signed David Bowie, Patti Smith Prints". Amoeba Music. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2011, Leee Childers interviewed: risqué tales of Warhol, glitter and Iggy's best feature". Shapersofthe80s.com. 2011-10-22. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  7. ↑ Soar, Andrew (October 14, 2011). "Leee Black Childers: Drag Queens, Rent Boys, Rockstars & Punks". Culture & Life. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
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