Victor Avila

Victor Avila (born August 6, 1909, San Antonio, Texas; died May 22, 2003, San Diego, California), was a legendary Hollywood photographer.

He is best known for his dramatic portraits of legendary performers and personalities of the 20th century, such as Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Natalie Wood, Desi Arnaz, Ray Kroc, Henry Ford, Muhammad Ali, among others. He is considered to be one of the top portriat photographers of the 20th century along with Arnold Newman, George Hurrell, and Philippe Halsmann.

He was inducted into the Kodak Photography Hall of Fame shortly before his death. Durning his lifetime he was given the Master of Photography and Photographic Craftman by the Professional Photographers of America earlier than any member before or since. He achieved 2302 photographic merits with the group and is considered one of the founding fathers in the success of the organization. Avila trained many of the top photographers in their fields today. Many top photographers credit their success to him, including Dean Collins, Anne Geddes, Hanson Fong, and his longtime apprentice Seth Sabal.