Milton Greene

Milton Greene (1922-1955) was an American Fashion and Celebrity and Film/Television producer. He is best known for his photo shoots with Marilyn Monroe (53 photo sessions in total!), some of which became well known. Greene’s photograph of Marilyn in a ballet tutu from 1954 was choosen by Time Life as one of the three most popular images of the 20th century.

Greene initially established himself in high fashion photography in the 1940’s and 1950’s. His fashion shots appeared in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Green then turned to portraits of celebrities. He photographed many high-profile personalities in the 1950’s and 1960’s including Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Sammy Davis Jr., and Judy Garland among numerous others.

Together with Greene, Monroe formed Marilyn Monroe Productions in an effort to gain control of her career. Greene would go on to produce Bus Stop (1956) and The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) after which Monroe and Greene’s friendship ended and Monroe fired Greene.

All images © Milton Greene