Famed Photographer Douglas Kirkland is Our Guest DJ

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One day I found myself looking through the photographs of Douglas Kirkland. His photos of Marilyn Monroe, with little more than a white sheet and a glass of champagne, are now legendary and he captured famous shots of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson and many more. He’s traveled the world working on movie sets – he’s worked with Baz Luhrmann a bunch, including the recent “The Great Gatsby” – and, in his late 70’s, is still going strong and loves to work.

by Douglas Kirkland
by Douglas Kirkland (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

It’s impossible not to be inspired when you meet someone like Douglas. And even more so when you meet his wife Francoise. They’ve been married for 47 years and, when you see them together, it’s clear he was not on this artistic journey alone.

Douglas and Francoise Kirkland
Douglas and Francoise Kirkland (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

He’s lived quite a life and was happy to share the songs that marked his path, whether it’s being turned on to an obscure Ray Charles song by a renowned French actress on a movie set or telling the story of an Italian photo shoot with Peter Sellers (see pic below!)

peter sellers
by Douglas Kirkland (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Hear the full set here.

Douglas Kirkland Guest DJ Project

Benny Goodman – “Let’s Dance”
Ray Charles – “Guess I’ll Hang my Tears Out to Dry”
Moulin Rouge  Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina – “Your Song”
Nino Rota – “La Dolce Vita Finale
The Beatles – “The Long and Winding Road”