Glenn V. Embree was a photographer who took pictures of a rather long list of famous people. He also was featured in calendars for his work with airplanes and cars. During his five-decade career in Hollywood, he photographed hundreds of motion pictures.
Embree died in 1995, and just like all famous artists, is just barely receiving recognition for his work. For the first time ever, a photo gallery just dedicated to his work is on display in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho. That's in Eastern Idaho if you didn't know. Never heard of Idaho? Well that wouldn't surprise me, but I digress.
Glenn V. Embree attended the University of California at Berkeley, pursuing a major in Art, and later, he studied motion picture photography and set direction at USC. He later worked for Paul Hesse Studios in the late 1930's. He has served in the Air Force as a photo officer in China during World War II. He later opened his own studio in Hollywood and that's when his career took off.
He's taken famous portraits like Walt Disney, Louie Armstrong, Andy Griffith, Bill Cosby, and John Wayne. That's just for starters.
"These are the movie stars I grew up with... Lawrence Welk is one of my very favorites, I still watch him every Saturday night," said Judy Garlind, who visited the gallery in Rexburg.
"It's impressive... It is an inspiration to know someone like that. The beauty of it is the humility and the goodness and everydayness of the person," said Richard Bird, who told me he knew Embree personally.
Embree moved to Eastern Idaho in 1988 with his wife where he continued to produce calendar photos until he died in 1995. And while Embree was humble about his professional work, his 90-year-old wife remembers how methodical he was.
"He was a perfectionist... He had something in his mind that he wanted that picture to be, and he would work until he got what he wanted haha," laughed Phillis Embree, widow of Glenn Embree.
The Upper Valley Art Guild is displaying samples of all the genres Embree worked with and is the first to display Embree's work. (First time to feature only his work in a gallery) So if you're old enough to remember some of the famous stars, or if you just have a love for genuine photography, you may want to check out Embree's work.