Bill Eppridge, [Juan Romero, busboy at Ambassador Hotel, kneeling to help fallen Robert F. Kennedy after he was shot by Sirhan B. Sirhan, Los Angeles], June 6, 1968 (1197.2005)
Sadly, we mark the passing of Bill Eppridge (1938-2013), one of the great photojournalists of the twentieth century. Best known for his harrowing picture of a busboy cradling the dying Senator Robert F. Kennedy moments after he was shot on Jun. 23, 1968, Eppridge seemingly covered everything in the 1960s, from the Beatles and Woodstock to Vietnam and politics. But perhaps his greatest achievements were his searing and insightful photo essays for LIFE, including one on the gay scene in San Francisco (“Homosexuality: A Secret World Grows Open and Bolder,” June 26, 1964) and one on Needle Park (“John and Karen, Two Lives Lost To Heroin,” Feb. 26, 1965). Always willing to go wherever necessary to get the difficult shot, Eppridge made the impossible photograph look easy.
Bill Eppridge, [Patrons of gay leather bar, San Francisco], 1964 (1238.2005)
Bill Eppridge, [Barney Anthony with sign he put up his bar on Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles], March 16, 1964 (1240.2005)
Bill Eppridge, [John, a heroin addict, mainlining, New York], 1965 (1949.2005)
Bill Eppridge, [Herion addicts Karen, her boyfriend Johnny, and his brother Bro, lying on hotel bed, New York], 1965 (1770.2005)
Fans in a Flashbulb 