NEW YORK -Eddie Adams, the late Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist known for his emblematic images of the Vietnam War, was remembered Thursday for his wry smile and bright eyes that revealed an endless passion for telling the stories of humanity.
Adams, best known for his Associated Press photo of a communist guerrilla being executed in a Saigon street, died last month at the age of 71 from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
Family and friends, including many who worked with Adams
in Vietnam, gathered in Manhattan for a memorial service that began with a video he made shortly after he was diagnosed with the illness.
The crowd laughed gently, and some wiped away tears, as Adams appeared on screen, wearing sunglasses and his trademark floppy black porkpie hat. A montage of family photos and home video clips followed, with a soundtrack of Adams singing, off-key, I Just Called to Say I Love You.
Adams covered wars, international politics, fashion and show business. He shot portraits of dignitaries including Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro and Indira Gandhi. He amassed hundreds of awards, including the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for the emotionally wrenching Saigon photo.
Every picture was
for Eddie a story: sweet sorrowful
tender
gripping
sexual
deadly -but always a penetrating reality
said AP President and CEO Tom Curley.
Friends said Adams seemed to have superpowers; he could see the souls of his portrait subjects and had an almost psychic awareness of the world.
He was smart and brave and he had the magnificent sense of anticipation ... the ability to sense what is going to happen before it actually happens
said longtime friend and writer David Halberstam.
Adams represented the true spirit of the AP, said Hal Buell, the news organization's former executive photo editor.
He was dedicated to telling the story truthfully and straightforward
Buell said. His primary focus remained always on the story and the picture.
Adams was tough on himself, always searching for the perfect picture. He eventually grew so haunted by the Saigon photograph that he wouldn't display it at his Manhattan studio.
Adams later founded a photography workshop at his farmhouse in upstate New York, where an annual gathering draws established photographers and promising students for lectures, clinics and photo shoots.
One of his students, Melinda Anderson, said Adams taught young photographers that their most important piece of equipment is their heart.
We learned from Eddie that it only takes a fraction of a second to change the world
Anderson said.
Adams always insisted that he was not out to change anything, but was simply trying to record what he saw.
Well
