J. R. Eyerman

J. R. Wharton Eyerman (9 November 1906 – 7 December 1985) was an American photographer and photojournalist.

Early life Eyerman was born in his parents' Butte, Montana photography studio. In a biographical vignette that Life often published on their photographers and writers on the title page, he explained, in verse, that the mysterious letters preceding his surname were not initials for any actual names;

He left Butte to study civil engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Life magazine Eyerman was on staff for Life magazine from 1942 to 1961. He covered World War II for Life on the European and Pacific fronts. He once said

Among his most famous photographs is the oft-reproduced long-shot of movie audience members all wearing 3-D glasses while watching the premiere of Bwana Devil in Hollywood in November 1952.

Previously, at MoMA, Eyerman had contributed to Memorable Life Photographs, November 20 – December 12, 1951; and Korea - The Impact of War in Photographs, February 13 – April 22, 1951, in which five of his G.I. portraits were shown; and later his work appeared in Photographs from the Museum Collection, November 26, 1958 – January 18, 1959, also at the Museum of Modern Art.

He left Life in 1961 to work for Time, National Geographic, and several medical magazines.

Technical innovations After opening his own structural engineering firm in Seattle, he developed new tools to photograph in difficult situations. In his 1957 book, author Stanley Rayfield noted that

Death Eyerman died of kidney failure and heart failure at his home in Santa Monica, California.