The photographer who got away the day Danny Kaye was front page news

Some of my best photos have been hard earned – like this one I took Danny Kaye When he came to Australia to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. (Photo, 1975.)

American entertainer (who raises money for musicians’ retirement funds) calls Australia “guest chef” From the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, I asked him to pose on stage Daily Telegram following a press conference. Kaye declined the offer, saying he only had time to do an interview with one TV channel. This bothered me. More members of the Sydney public were reading books at the time tele than watching TV news

The next day, Kaye was rehearsing with the orchestra at a suburban theater. When I asked the front desk if I could take his photo during the rehearsal, security turned me away; No media was allowed inside.

Kaye had rejected me twice, but I was very determined. I walked to the back of the theater and entered the stage door.

Once inside, I walked towards the dress room and peered through a gap in the curtain into the orchestra pit where Kaye was conducting. Using my telephoto lens, I worked quickly using only available light and no electronic flash.

With Kaye’s expressive face, eyes half-closed, conductor’s baton raised, ready to signal the orchestra to the next beat, I knew I had achieved a powerful image, but the problem would be getting it out of the theatre.

Knowing that I would be challenged by security before leaving the building, I opened the exposed film roll, hid it in my sock, and inserted another roll into the camera. As the security guards were coming towards me, I fired a few shots. Suddenly they came at me and demanded my roll of film.

I looked as shy as I could, unrolled the feed roll, and handed it over. A guard roughly removed the filmstrip from the tape, held it up to the light, and asked me to leave the theater. So I complied and raced back to the office with the actual roll of film still in my sock and a cheeky smile on my face.

The picture turned out better than I thought and made the front page of both magazines. Daily Telegraph And Australian.

When my picture editor asked me if I wanted my signature next to the photo, I replied: ‘Definitely Johnny. I felt like I deserved it!

**This photo is part of an IA. A series that looks at Australia through the eyes of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**

Bill McAuley’s 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a student photographer at ‘The Age’ in Melbourne.

He has several published collections including ‘Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley’ and ‘Last Light on Victoria Dock, 1999’. Click to see more from Bill Here.

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