Arts & Culture

Famed Beatles Photographer at Morrison Hotel Gallery

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Angela Carone / Cultural Enterprise Reporter

Published April 23, 2009 at 11:17 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Robert Whitaker is the photographer behind one of the most controversial album covers ever released. It was called "The Butcher Cover" and featured The Beatles in white lab coats covered in blood, raw meat, and dismembered baby dolls. It was recalled almost immediately because it was so outrageous. Robert was also a war correspondent during the Vietnam War. His photographs will be on view at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in La Jolla.

Maureen Cavanuagh: The 1960s was a decade of extremes. While many young people around the world were screaming with joy for British rock bands like the Beatles, other young people were fighting and dying on battlefields in Vietnam. Photographer Robert Whitaker found himself right in the middle of both those worlds. He got the amazing post as staff photographer of the Beatles' music company in 1964 and by 1970 he was wounded while working as a photojournalist in Vietnam. Robert Whitaker is in San Diego for the opening of an exhibit of his photographs at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in La Jolla.

The Photography of Robert Whitaker will be on display through May 24th at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in La Jolla. An opening reception for the artist where you can meet Mr, Whitaker takes place this Saturday night from 6-9pm. You can see the famous "butcher cover" at the KPBS arts blog Culture Lust.

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Robert Whitaker is a veteran photographer who photographed The Beatles, Cream and the Vietnam and Indo-Pakistani wars. His photos are on display in a new exhibit at the Morrison Hotel Gallery. He is best known for having taken the famous Butcher Cover on the Beatles album Yesterday and Today.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Angela Carone

Angela Carone covered arts and culture for KPBS and was the author of Culture Lust. Angela has produced public radio programs focused on the arts for the Atlanta and San Diego markets. In this role, she has covered topics ranging from books, film, theater, music, visual arts and pop culture. She also has more than 15 years experience in print media, having been published in various newspapers, alternative weeklies, and exhibition catalogs. Angela has degrees in political science from Pennsylvania State University and in English literature from Georgia State University. She is also a published photographer.

See stories by Angela Carone