George Frederic Cannons

George Frederick Cannons (1897–1972) was a Hollywood portrait photographer of the 1930s. Professionally known as Cannons of Hollywood. Cannons worked in both Hollywood and London.

George Cannons was born July 8, 1897, and after serving in France during World War I and working as a photographer for a leading radiologist in London he went to California via Canada in 1922. His reputation as a stills photographer was first established during the silent film period, whilst working for Mack Sennett from 1924. Cannons was the official photographer of Mack and specialised in portraits of Sennett's bathing beauties.

During 1927 Cannons opened his Little English Studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, opposite the new Garden of Allah Hotel. Cannons divided his time between his own independent work and that with Mak Sennett. During the past year Mr Cannons' services were sought by most of the prominent stars and players in Hollywood.

In the early 1930s he continued working in Hollywood with portraits of leading stars including Dolores del Río and Jean Harlow. After returning to England in 1934 he set up his own studio in Dover Street in central London known as Cannons of Hollywood and exploited his Hollywood credentials and specialised in glamour portraits.

Cannons found work hard to come by due to the number of established photographers in London's West End. This led Cannons to seek work as a stills photographer for J. Arthur Rank who was based at Pinewood Studios and he was assigned to work with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger on two of their finest films. In 1946 he created the colour portraits of Jean Simmons during the filming of Black Narcissus. These images were featured in film annuals like Film Review by F. Maurice Speed.

In 1948 he was promoted to the position of principal stills photographer on The Red Shoes and responsible for the iconic stills of Moira Shearer during the ballet sequence. His publicity portraits of Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Leonide Massine and Ludmilla Tchérina for The Red Shoes are also particularly striking. This undoubtedly elevated his career and along with Fred Daniels he was credited as the best portrait photographer to work with Powell and Pressburger. He continued to work for the Rank Organisation and in 1949 he took a series of portraits of Valerie Hobson which are in the National Portrait Gallery collection in London. He died in Salisbury, Wiltshire 27 April 1972.

Life Early years in the UK George Frederic Cannons was born on 8 July 1897 and his birth was registered at Islington South West on 6 October 1897 with an Entry Number 441 in Book 94. His father was Harry George Tuner Cannons (Head Librarian, Finsbury Borough) and his mother Annie Cannons (née West). George Cannons had one sibling, a sister Winifred Gertrude Cannons who was born in 1899, who never married and had no children. Little is known about his early years apart from a certificate of attendance at Sunday School mornings at St Philip's Tottenham, dated Christmas 1909. Cannons was enlisted as a Private on 4 September 1914 in the 12 Battalion London Regiment. Cannons sent a Christmas card from France in 1917 with a photograph of the Battalion with approximately 50 personnel. In 1918 the Battalion held a show A.P.S.S.B.E.F. France, with 15 acts including a chorus, illusionist, comedian, bass and burlesquers. Pte. Cannons was the stage manager for the production. Cannons was issued a Certificate of Disembodiment on 22 April 1919. Interestingly his Disembodiment Certificate states his date of birth was 1895, rather than 1897 as recorded on his birth certificate.

And to North America Cannons at the age of 23 travelled on 10 July 1920 from Liverpool, England to Quebec on the ship Megantic, landing on 19 July 1920. Cannons wrote in a 1933 article, Twelve years ago I was broke. England did not seem to have very much to offer a returned soldier, so I went to Canada, working my way across the continent at anything that turned up until I reached Los Angeles. On 12 October 1920 Cannons travelled from Vancouver B.C. to the United States for a 'brief, temporary sojourn only' depositing a head tax on that date. Cannons returned to Canada and married Mae Margaret Spencer who was born 27 May 1890. Mae Spencer Cannons died at the age of 32 in 1922 in Portland, Multnomah, shortly after their marriage. They had no children.

Cannons continued to write in 1933, It would be romantic to say that I arrived in the film city equipped with boundless optimism and my trusted and faithful friend, my camera, but the hard fact that my faithful friend was reposing in a Montreal pawnshop, and I had nothing but the boundless optimism! Cannons continues I dispense with all the usual trappings of the photographic studio. Too many photographers "dramatize" the camera-making their subjects nervous in consequence- but II have found it best never to put on an "act". Instead, I make it more of a party of the proceedings, taking my subjects naturally during the course of conversation. Moreover, I work without make-up.

The P.P.A exhibition of 700 camera portraits at Princes Galleries opened on September 17, 1935. The British Journal of Photography reported Next we come to the Hollywood portraits. These are of very large size and are most of stage and screen celebrities, as indeed is to be expected. Technically, Mr Cannons is as good as the best. Every one of these prints is of splendid quality, clean and clear and telling. The composition is simple and unambiguous and any one of these prints could have taken its place with dignity and impressiveness among the photo posters of the P.P.A. Commercial Exhibition. The Northern Chronicle reported on the exhibition stating that Hollywood has given a lead to British Photographers. Cannons of Hollywood have sent in seven photographs which are in a class by themselves.

Cannons photographed Lady Alexandra Haig, eldest daughter of Field Marshal Douglas Haig in 1938 and her picture was published in The Tatler 5 January 1938.

David Niven in his book 'The Moon's a Balloon' writes that he was taken by Nessie in uniform to a photographer in Piccadilly called Cannons of Hollywood and had me preserved for posterity.

The Star reported on 5 July 1941, that Cannons is now "still" photographer at Gainsborough's Islington Studio, working on the film version of "Hi Gang". The article continues Since those early days many of the almost legendary beauties of American films - Jean Harlow, Norma Tahmadge, Loretta Young, Carole Lombard, Dolores del Rio and Jeanette MacDonald among them - have owed much of their fame to the art of Cannons, who is now photographing Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon and Vic Oliver.

The Secretary General of the British Film Academy wrote to Cannons on 10 May 1948 informing him that your still of Jean Simmons as Caroline in Uncle Silas had been chosen as the best Portrait Head Female in the Exhibition (Two nominations). Your still of Jean Simmons as Kanchi in Black Narcissus has been chosen as the best Colour Portrait.

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