Rex Hardy photographs
Special Collections
Margaret Herrick Library
© 2014
Title: Rex Hardy photographs
Date (inclusive): 1937-1997
Date (bulk): 1936-1937
Collection number: 909
Creator:
Hardy, Rex
Extent:
2 linear feet of photographs.
Repository:
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Languages:
English
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Available by appointment only.
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are
responsible for obtaining all necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies
or individuals before quoting from or publishing materials obtained from the library.
Rex Hardy photographs, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Gift of Julian "Bud" Lesser, 2001
Rex Hardy was an American still photographer active from 1936 to 1941. Hardy went to New York City in
1936 and landed his first position as a professional photographer with the newly founded Time magazine.
Time sent him to Hollywood as staff photographer to cover the Hollywood scene (primarily movie stars,
studios, film sets, and costume designers) for its newly established Life magazine. In mid 1937 he was
sent back to New York to continue work there for the Time/Life organization. He left Time/Life in early
1939 and returned to the West Coast, where he set himself up as a freelance photographer, doing work for
various magazines, advertising agencies, and private individuals. In 1941, a call to active duty in the
U.S. Navy ended Hardy's career in photography, and he subsequently moved on to a career in aviation.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Rex Hardy photographs span the years 1937-1997 (1936-1937) and encompass 2 linear feet. The
collection consists of 1,856 35mm nitrate negatives taken by Hardy on assignment for Life magazine in
1936 and 1937. Only a small percentage of the images were actually published. The library has struck 276
custom modern archival prints from the negatives. There are behind the scenes views of films in progress,
candid portraits, and images of the 1936 (9th) Academy Awards, restaurants in the Los Angeles and
Hollywood area, and the 1937 Hollywood studio strike. Two vertical files, containing publicity clippings
from 1937 to 1997 and a book, are administered by the Special Collections department.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series: 1. Vertical files; 2. Photographs, subseries A-C as follows: A.
Motion picture production; B. Biography; C. Subject.
Hardy, Rex , 1915-2004--Archives.
photographers