Michael White is “[t]he most famous man you’ve never heard of [but] hopefully for not much longer. We want the world to share the story of Michael White – The Last Impresario,” says Gracie Otto.
Her documentary film about the show-biz legend who helped to shape London’s cultural scene in the swinging 60s and 70s features swathes of images from his vast archives.
“Michael engaged with the pop culture of his time and his photographs provide a long lasting look at a piece of history,” Otto says.
“His collection of candid shots is a forerunner of today’s iPhone generation, and his little black book network was like Facebook before Facebook.”
This collection provides a taste of the incredible images from an incredible life.
“Michael White engaged with the pop culture of his time and his photographs provide a long lasting look at a piece of history,” Gracie Otto says.
Partying with Johnny Depp and Kate Moss in Aspen in 1995.
“His collection of candid shots is a forerunner of today’s iPhone generation, and his little black book network was like Facebook before Facebook.”
Anna Wintour and John Galliano.
The editor-in-chief of American Vogue since 1988, Anna Wintour has been a friend of Michael White since the 1970s.
A photograph taken by Michael White of a young Anna Wintour.
White and his then girlfriend Lyndall Hobbs 1975. Hobbs is an Australian film director and producer.
With Jack Nicholson in the 1970s.
One of the many polaroids that form the montage of White’s life in Gracie Otto’s documentary.
A photo of Elle MacPherson labelled “Elle Belle”.
From White’s archives, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Moss.
Kate Moss and Liv Tyler.
“By the end of 1966 I was quite accustomed to living like an impresario. Our house had more paintings than furniture and I bought my first racehorse,” White says.
“Nothing in the theatre, the world over, was the same after Oh! Calcutta,” White says.
“I’m very Catholic in my tastes. As a child my mother took me to the ballet and my father took me to the football and racing, so I had a good cultural mix,” says White.
With Andy Warhol and Rachel Ward.
White back in Cannes in 2011.
Michael White’s biography, Empty Seats.
“I feel like the tortoise of the film industry, always making films that did not do well on first release but held great promise for the future,” says White.
Gracie Otto with her father, Barry Otto.
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