"L.A.'s own...Internationally known..."
Native of Los Angeles, citizen of Hollywood, freelance photographer, pop music historian/researcher/writer, musician/songwriter, and tv/film/radio insider, Robert Leslie Dean has been actively chronicling the entertainment world, musical community and rock'n'roll circuit for over two decades.
As a musician, Robert was a member of The Bryan MacLean Band that included the former LOVE co-founder, along with Bryan's sister Maria McKee, before she formed Lone Justice. The band also included legendary and influential New Orleans drummer Charles Connor, a founding father of rock'n'roll, originally with Little Richard's Upsetters, the first black rock'n'roll band.
Dean was both a photographer and musical contributor to the 2000 cd "Connor's Beat", a spoken-word - with music - history of Charles' amazing career in show business. In 2002, Dean was also extensively quoted in British author Barney Hoskyn's book on LOVE leader Arthur Lee, "Alone Again Or", published by MOJO Books.
As a writer, Dean enjoyed a lengthy contributing relationship with "Focus On Fox", the 20th Century Fox Studio employee news magazine. He filed over two-dozen articles for the periodical on subjects such as the famed Fox Scoring Stage, Research Library and Music Department, to interviews with actress Christina Applegate among others. He even had his own column, "Flashback", where he wrote about film treasures from the Fox archive. Dean says, "Any movie I dug and wanted to research, was fine with my editors. Initially, in 1986, I wrote a one-off piece on the 30th anniversary of "The Girl Can't Help It." It's my favorite rock'n'roll movie, and I got a chance to access all the Fox files as well as ‘blabber' about Little Richard."
Dean was also hired as ‘special event' photographer on the Fox lot from 1999 thru 2003, capturing the Fox Holiday parties and private functions featuring some of Hollywood's biggest celebrities and executives.
For a two year period, 1997-98, Dean was also hired by Camera Press, the leading British photo agency, to shoot Hollywood premieres, events and parties, where his work was syndicated world-wide. He says, "I've ‘hung out' all my life. I take photos now because, I re-wound my memory and realized I had seen so many important concerts, events, people, billboards, marquees and moments of value over the years, in my hometown of Hollywood, that exist only in my head now. They should've been ‘lensed'."


For years, many music periodicals and magazines have published his photos, including MOJO, Goldmine, Music Connection and Overture, as well as TIME and DGA magazines, along with The L.A. Times and L.A. Weekly newspapers.
Robert Leslie Dean also has several album photo credits in his portfolio, his most recent one features a group shot of ace guitarists Ben Harper and Robert Randolph posing with the Blind Boys of Alabama, in Capitol Records' famed Studio A. The picture is included in the Blind Boys' 2002 Grammy-winning cd "Higher Ground."
An earlier collection of Dean's photos was used in the booklet to the World Classic Rockers cd, which featured Denny Laine(ex-Wings), Randy Meisner(ex-Eagles), Spencer Davis, Bruce Gary(ex-Knack) and several others. He also contributed liner notes and a photo for friend Bryan MacLean's posthumous cd "Candy's Waltz."
For many years, Robert has also served as photographer for several legendary radio personalities, including well-known L.A. deejays Johnny Hayes, Bob Eubanks, The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Gary Owens, Casey Kasem, Art Laboe and others.
Additionally, Dean was(until recently) the ‘official' in-house photographer at Tower Records' flagship Sunset Strip store and is always an invited ‘shutterbug' for The Guitar Center's RockWalk ceremonies. He is also a welcome presence at Johnny Grant's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star induction events, and his photo portfolio is an endless testimony to his own Hollywood heritage as well.
Dean's most recent endeavors find him capturing images of British singer/songwriter sensation Damon Gough-aka-Badly Drawn Boy, local Hollywood blues legend Carlos Guitarlos, North Carolina-based wildman-guitarslinger Unknown HINSON, and cosmic-country-rock outfit I See Hawks In L.A. Says Dean, "I prefer shooting in color. The world is in color. But, there are times when black and white fits the mood, or sets the scene. In January 2004, I did a black and white photo shoot of an all-black cast of three-dozen actors in a musical, "North On South Central Avenue", that is touring regionally."
Dean has also been documenting, with his camera, the legacy of the Gold Star Recording Studio founders and legendary musicians, known as "The Wrecking Crew", for the last few years. He's just been acknowledged in drummer Hal Blaine's new double cd "Hooray For Hollywood (and local 47)...The Hal Blaine Audio Story." As Dean points out, "The (Gold Star) owners and engineers, like Dave Gold, Stan Ross and Larry Levine are all part of the L.A. recording history ‘thread'. And my philosophy is to always put my camera on those that never got ‘front-page' coverage or photographs. Not just the major players and big bands, but guys like Charles Connor, the guy behind the drums that you never see. Or the bass player. Give them a moment in the spotlight too. A lot of photographers exclude those musicians and only go for the major ‘money shot'. That's not where it's at for me. My concept for photography is to point...frame...and shoot the total picture."


Dean also cites the well-respected photographer/musician, Henry Diltz as a major influence. "He could play music and also take photos. Henry Diltz is my inspiration, going back to 1966 and seeing the back cover of the "Hums of The Lovin' Spoonful" album. I saw his name in the music and photo credits and noticed that there was ‘someone who takes pictures and also plays music.' Henry is my avatar. He's my man!"
For Robert Leslie Dean, it all began when he was a newspaper boy in the early Sixties, with his paper route being the famed Desilu Studios television lot in the heart of Hollywood. No one else can claim the same geography or memories. He got his newspapers after school, at 3 o'clock, and would sell them to the stars as well as the cast and crew on popular tv shows like "The Untouchables", "Lassie", "My Three Sons", "Ben Casey", "My Favorite Martian", "The Jack Benny Program", and the "Andy Griffith", "Lucy", "Danny Thomas" and "Dick Van Dyke" shows.
Along with all the entertainment and music-related photography he's been doing the last few decades, whether it be shooting a star-studded opening night event, a cd autograph party, a recording session, a band publicity photo, an actress' headshot, as well as the constant live-music venue pictures, Robert also continues his Aliso Village Housing Project photo chronicle. This ongoing, highly-personal project is a document of - and a tribute to - his old, racially diverse neighborhood on the western edge of Boyle Heights in East L.A., where he was born and raised.
Dean says, "I enjoy taking pictures. It's an art form and it gets me in and around the music. I've always followed music, but now I follow it with my camera. It's my ‘instrument'. There are times when the ‘music' needs to be photographed, like the fleeting, special moments in the studio. Or on stage. Or during an in-store appearance. The music, the moment, needs to be visually captured. And I want to be there when it happens!"

Contact:

Robert Leslie Dean

Hollywood, CA

323-665-7911

e-mail:RocnRobert@aol.com