author
William Carroll
1915–2014
Best known for photographing a young Norma Jeane before she became Marilyn Monroe, this California-born creative lived an unusually varied life that also included work as a chef, aircraft inspector, inventor, and early color-film photographer.
1 Audiobook
Solomon's Orbit
by William Carroll
About the author
Born in San Francisco on August 26, 1915, he was later raised in Southern California and built a career that stretched far beyond writing alone. Sources consistently describe him as an American author with a remarkably wide range of pursuits, including professional photography, cooking, invention, and aircraft inspection.
He is especially remembered for his early photographic work in California and for taking some of the first professional pictures of Norma Jeane Dougherty, the future Marilyn Monroe. Accounts of his life also note that he was among the early photographers in California to use and process color film, which adds to his reputation as an inventive, hands-on creative figure.
He died on January 27, 2014, in McKinleyville, California, at the age of 98. Even in brief biographical records, he comes across as someone whose life was driven by curiosity, practical skill, and a willingness to master very different crafts.