Weegee

Weegee [b. Usher Fellig, 1899, Złoczów, Austria; d. 1968, New York] Weegee’s one-word professional moniker evoked both the Ouija board game and the squeegee used to remove excess ink from newspaper printing presses. A New York news photographer throughout the 1930s and early 40s, he seemed to appear wherever there was a breaking story, especially if it involved a grisly crime scene, deadly fire or nocturnal disaster. He was the first reporter in New York to secure a permit for a police-band radio, which may explain Weegee’s success in arriving at crime scenes before other reporters and photographers. His first book of photographs, Naked City, was published in 1945 and became a surprise bestseller.