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He was a man's man. A tough man. A man who played hard, worked hard, and enjoyed his drinks and women. Nobody told him what to do, and he worked for himself all of his life, as far as we know. Although we met John Meredith more than once, very late in his life, we have not (yet) been able to find any biographical information on him, such as his birth date, or what year he passed away.

1953_Stereo_Realist_display_at_Pan_Pacif
Bikini Babe on the Pool by John Meredith
1947 LA Times June 10th Apt Fire in John
Did we happen to mention that John Meredith was always a heavy smoker? He was the last person we ever let smoke in our home, when he visited in 1988. 
1982 John Meredith Christmas Card to Sus
1982 John Meredith Christmas Card
to Susan and David
1953 - The Realist News - Hollywood Soci
1951 October - The Realist News - Hollywood Society
1953 John Meredith Professional Photogra
1983 John Meredith Christmas Card to us.
Please Note - all photos will enlarge bo
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JOHN MEREDITH

Biographical Notes
by David Starkman and Susan Pinsky
1953_Stereo_Realist_display_at_Pan_Pacif
1953 Stereo Realist display at Pan Pacific Auditorium with John Meredith by Harold Lloyd
66 John Meredith middle of the street fo

The last time we saw him he was probably in his late 70's or 80's. As far as we could surmise he was a lifetime bachelor, and in his final years he lived in a small, and very modest apartment on South Stanley Avenue near Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles.

However, when we visited him he was happy to let us look through all of the stereo slides that he still had, and we were able to purchase a fair number of them. We wish now we had purchased more. His apartment could have used a good cleaning, but then it probably hadn't been touched in forty years. He told us stories that went back to the times of William Randolph Hearst, spending time hanging out with that group up at Hearst castle, in and around those opulent swimming pools, drinking hard, and enjoying life.

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On October 11, 1988 he visited us in our Culver City home, along with fellow 3-D photographer and Stereo Realist public relations professional Marvin L. Rand. (Marvin wrote the chapter "Stereo In Business, Science and Education" in the "Stereo Realist Manual" - 1954).

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So, why include him in 3-D Legends? While we don't know much about the man himself, he has left a worthy legacy of interesting 3-D images from the 1950s.

John Meredith middle of the street for Rose Parade by George Mann
Muscle Beach 2 by John Meredithcc.jpg
Muscle Beach by John Meredith
59b Feeding the porpoise at Marineland.j
Feeding the porpoise at Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, CA by John Meredith 
Couple overlooking the coastline by John
Couple overlooking the California coastline by John Meredith (man holding Stereo Realist)
2 models with the Golden Gate Bridge by
Two fashion models with the Golden Gate Bridge in backround by John Meredith 
Balancing Act by John Meredith.jpg
Muscle Beach 2 by John Meredith

First, we know that he was a professional portrait, glamour, and fashion photographer. (He wrote the chapter in the "Stereo Realist Manual" on "Portrait and Fashion"). He knew and photographed Hollywood celebrities, as well as wannabe starlets. Through his Hollywood friends, in the 1930s and 40s he was a guest at Hearst Castle parties. He showed us some black and white pictures of him posing in, and around, the pools at Hearst Castle! Wow, who gets to do that?!!

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Skipping ahead to his 3-D years, we know that some time between the introduction of the Stereo Realist, and 1953, he was hired to take photos for the David White Company - the makers of the Stereo Realist Camera.

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We know this because we have pictures of him at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, and in a field of yellow flowers. In both photos he is wearing a red and white varsity-style jacket with the words "Stereo Realist" embroidered in very large letters on the back. When looking at these slides with him, he told us that the David White paid him extra money to wear that jacket, and bonuses if it appeared in any press or publicity photos!

John Meredith & a disrobing woman behind
Harold Lloyd & John Meredith at artistic

We surmise that he was one of the photographers who took, uncredited, photos for "The Stereo Realist Library of Original Slides". Almost all the photographers for that series were uncredited.

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We know that he was working for Stereo Realist at least by 1953, as we have a photo of John at work, at the 1953 Inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Under magnification we could read the Press Credentials ribbon on his jacket, which indicates "1953 Inaugural" and "Reception". Based upon this we can assume that he was no doubt one of the uncredited 3-D photographers of the boxed set of stereo slides that David White Company produced to commemorate the inaugural. He had a certain style, so we've included some of those images that appear to have been taken by Meredith.

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We also have pictures of John working at the 1953 Stereo Realist booth at a photographic trade show at the Pan Pacific Auditorium, in Los Angeles, taken by Harold Lloyd. He was friends with Harold Lloyd, George Mann, Kent Oppenheimer and Tommy Thomas, who often traveled around together shooting similar, but different perspectives of the same subjects, and each other. 

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Thus, we know that John Meredith not only worked for the company that made the Stereo Realist camera, and wrote a chapter in the "Stereo Realist Manual", he also has left us a legacy of wonderful 3-D images. Without any further text to write about him, those slides alone are worthy of a page on 3-D Legends.

GeorgeMann1954probablyHollywoodFrwy.jpg
1954 view of models in front of the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles by John Meredith
John Meredith adjusting the set around h
John Meredith adjusting the set around his nude model in his photo studio on La Cienega
ModelonafencewithaKodakStereobyJohnMered
Model on a fence with a Kodak Stereo by John Meredith
1987 John Meredith at Susan Pinsky and D
1988 John Meredith at Susan Pinsky and David Starkman's home in October by Susan Pinsky
Hunter%20%26%20Realist%20photo%20set%20u
John Meredith and a disrobing model behind a frame 
Harold Lloyd and John Meredith at artistic shoot 1950s
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Hunter whiskey and Stereo Realist advertising connection for store window photo set-up shot
John Meredith using a little dog to get
John Meredith using a little dog to get a smile from his nude model in his studio
1953_John_Meredith_at_LA_Pan_Pacific_hos
1953 Stereo Realist display at Pan Pacific Auditorium of  John Meredith by Harold Lloyd
John Meredith with convertible car in a
John Meredith with convertible car in a desert field of yellow flowers
1953_John_Meredith_at_LA_Pan_Pacific_hos
1953 Stereo Realist display at Pan Pacific Auditorium of John Meredith by Harold Lloyd
IkeParalIke Eisenhower on train maybe.jp
Dwight D. Eisenhower on train campaigning 
Featuring Stereos by John Meredith.jpg
Featuring Stereos by John Meredith
1954 John Meredith files before by Georg
1954 John Meredith files before by George Mann
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Mr Truman greet President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mrs Mamie Eisenhower at White House  
Ike2_Pres & Mrs Eisenhower at Inaugural
1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mrs Mamie Eisenhower at Inaugural Ball
Big_Fish_&_model_in_a_TR3_by_John_Meredi
Big Fish and a model in a Triumph TR3 by John Meredith
Brunch female by John Meredith.jpg
Brunch in a bathing suit by John Meredith
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Abbott and Costello and Miss Wisconsin Cheese Ad by John Meredith
Woman with a Stereo Realist with flashbu
Woman with a Stereo Realist camera with flashbulb attachment
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Stereo Realist camera and photographic dealers banquet
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1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower portrait with flag
An Enthusiastic voter at Festival of Sta
An Enthusiastic voter at 1953 Festival of Stars No 22 by John Meredith
1956%20November%20Hollywood%20Stereoscop
Dwight D. Eisenhower portrait with flag.
Jayne Mansfield flat.jpg
Romanoffs restaurant menu.jpg
Ike2_Pres & Mrs Eisenhower Ex-Pres Hoove
1953 Jan 20 - President & Mamie Eisenhower, Ex-Pres Herbert Hoover on Reviewing Stand No 6
Pres & Mrs Eisenhower Ex-Pres Hoover on
Model with black poodle by John Meredith
IkeParalIke American Indians at Eisenhow
1953 American Indians at Eisenhower's Inaugural Parade
1953 March The Realist News John Meredit
1953 John Meredith portrait-Colorized (1
1953 March "The Realist News" John Meredith classes announcement
1953_Stereo_Realist_display_at_Pan_Pacif
1953 Stereo Realist display at Pan Pacific Auditorium by Harold Lloyd
Feeding the dolphins underwater at Marin
Feeding the dolphins underwater at Marineland of the Pacific, Palos Verdes, CA by John Meredith
Bra advert by John Meredith.jpg
Brassiere advertisement by John Meredith
IkeParalIke%20Governors%20Reception%20at
1953 Governors Reception at Statler Hotel
John Meredith shooting the view of the c
John Meredith shooting model at Dante's View in Death Valley, California
John Meredith shooting the view of the c
1980 John Meredith Christmas Card to Sus
 Freeways of Los Angeles by John Meredith
IkeParalIke Fashion show at the Inaugura
1953 Fashion show at the Eisenhower Inaugural Dinner
John%20Meredith%20with%20car%20in%20the%
John Meredith with car in the desert
1953 John Meredith at Eisenhower Inaugur
1953 John Meredith at Eisenhower Inauguration Reception 20 Jan with Stereo Realist
Bikini Babe on the Pool by John Meredith
Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL by John Mere
Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL by John Meredith
Demur blonde with red scarf by John Mere
Demur model with red scarf by John Meredith
Eisenhower press photos with hyperstereo
Eisenhower press photos with hyperstereo photographer
John Meredith with two models overlookin
John Meredith with two models overlooking San Francisco Golden Gate bridge
Nude study with pink and gold fabric by
Nude study with pink and gold fabric by John Meredith
Ike Parade My Pop likes Mamie.jpg
Ike Parade My Pop likes Mamie
Realist Cover Shot by John Meredith.jpg
Stereo Realist Book Cover Series shot  by John Meredith
Sidewalk teenagers like Ike Inaugural Pa
Sidewalk teenagers like Ike Inaugural Parade No 23
Wow%2C%20his%20is%20really%20large!%20by
Wow, his is really large! by John Meredith
Woman_with_skunk_named_McCarthy_1950's_p
Woman with skunk named McCarthy 1950's political stunt
We Like Ike Convention by John Meredith.
"We like Ike" signs at Eisenhower campaign
from the collection of Susan Pinsky and
Film Director Billy Wilder and movie star William Holden
Eisenhower%20Realist%20Inaugural%20slide
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