Bill Eppridge, one of the greatest photojournalists of his generation and the photographer who famously captured Robert Kennedy’s assassination in Los Angeles in June 1968, died on October 3, 2013. He was 75.
Born in Buenos Aires on March 20, 1938, Eppridge moved with his family to the United States early in his childhood, settling first in Richmond, before moving to Nashville, and finally, Wilmington, Del. He began his long relationship with photography early in life, spurned by an unlikely motivator: sibling rivalry.
“I have this older sister who has always been a very fine artist. She draws, paints, sculpts — and I can’t draw a straight line. I wanted to do something so I could compete with her. So I went to her and asked her to show me how to use a camera,” Eppridge told the Danbury News Times in 2011.
By high school, Eppridge was shooting for his school newspaper and yearbook. By age 15, he earned a spot as a sports photographer at the local paper, the Wilmington Star.
After initially studying archaeology at the University of Toronto, Eppridge transferred to the University of Misssouri’s famed journalism school, where he graduated in 1960.
Upon graduation, Eppridge immediately found good fortune: a photo of his was awarded first prize in the pictorial category of the 1959 NPPA Pictures of the Year competition. Coupled with his achievement of being named the College Photographer of the Year, Eppridge was offered an internship at LIFE — the start of a storied career with the famous magazine.
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