Hy Peskin, a leading sports action photographer who split his life into two distinct parts when he became a philanthropist and renamed himself Brian Blaine Reynolds, has died. He was 89.
Peskin died June 2 of kidney disease at a hospital in Herzliya, Israel, his family said.
From the 1940s to 1960s, as a sports photographer who could distill drama and emotion in often poetic pictures, he was known as Hy Peskin. But in 1964, he suddenly reinvented himself as a philanthropist and entrepreneur, creating a new identity from the middle names of his three sons.
In 1954, Peskin became the first staff photographer hired by Sports Illustrated. Two of his images made the magazine's list of favorite photos of the 20th century.
One, of Carmen Basilio leaping into the arms of his cornermen after knocking out Tony DeMarco in their 1955 welterweight title fight, was said to partly inspire the set design for the film "Rocky." The black-and-white image walked "the line between reportage and film noir," the magazine said.
The other, an image from the 1950 U.S. Open taken from behind Ben Hogan at the end of a swing, showing the extra spike in his shoe for increased balance as well as the crowd surrounding him, became one of golf's most famous photographs.
"Here's Ben Hogan on this incredible comeback from near death in an auto accident, and Hy takes this iconic photograph. He had a wonderful ability to capture great moments in American sports," said Neil Leifer, a leading photographer who said he grew up worshiping Peskin's action photography before working with him at Sports Illustrated.
"I still feel like he was the greatest sports photographer of all time," Leifer said.
Peskin, a loner, sought out unusual vantage points at a time when sports photographers commonly hung out as a pack in the press box. He was the first sports photographer to move down to the field and shoot from ground level, Leifer said.
He went on to shoot more than 40 covers for Sports Illustrated and freelance for such magazines as Time, Life and Look.
In 1953, Peskin, who couldn't swim and was frightened on the water, shot a series of photos that were his favorites -- a barefoot John F. Kennedy sailing with his future wife, Jacqueline Bouvier. One landed on the cover of Life.
He is also credited with taking the first action photographs in color, showing a boxing match in 1945.
