Bill Cunningham, NY Times Fashion Photographer, Dies at 87

Cunningham was known for his trademark blue jacket and riding a bicycle with a small camera bag strapped to his waist

Bill Cunningham, a longtime fashion photographer for The New York Times known for taking pictures of everyday people on the streets in New York, has died. He was 87. 

New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy says Cunningham died Saturday in New York City. The Boston-born photographer had recently been hospitalized after suffering from a stroke. 

Cunningham was known for his trademark blue jacket and riding a bicycle with a small camera bag strapped to his waist. 

After serving in the Army, Cunningham wrote fashion pieces for the Chicago Tribune and then started taking photographs of people on the streets. A chance photograph of Greta Garbo got the attention of the Times and in 1978 he began publishing a regular series of photographs in the storied paper.

Cunningham was given the Legioin d'Honneur by the French government in 2008 and was named a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy the following year. 

He was also the subject of a documentary, "Bill Cunningham New York," which premiered in 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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