Papa Paparazzi

Absolutely loved "Smash His Camera," HBO's fun documentary about legendary paparazzo Ron Galella, who became Public Enemy No. 1 when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sued him for harassment, having once ordered the Secret Service to "Smash his camera" after he'd shot photos of her with Caroline and John-John riding bikes in Central Park. We studied the infamous 1972 free-speech trial "Galella v. Onassis" in my communications law class in college -- Jackie obtained a restraining order to keep Galella 150 feet away from her and her children (another judge later reduced this to 25, which Galella still managed to violate) -- but 20 years later it's almost funny how quaint Galella's tactics seem (hiding behind a coat rack in a restaurant -- ooh!, waiting outside a theater where someone is performing -- aah!). Unlike the stalking and harassing photographers that lurk around celebrities today, Galella comes across as just a huge fan who truly adored his subjects and just loved taking pictures of them. (His face still lights up as he talks about the stars of yesteryear.) I'm sure none of this matters to the people who felt violated by him back in the day, but Galella readily admits his Jackie fixation was likely fueled by his own lack of a love life at the time -- "In a sense, Jackie was my girlfriend!" -- and many people, including Liz Smith, remain convinced that even Jackie enjoyed the game of cat and mouse more than she let on, something that clearly was no longer the case with paparazzi photographers by the time Princess Diana came around, and ever since. The film's still available on-demand -- I highly recommend it.