Obituary: Fashion Photographer Luc Ekstein, 57
Photographer Bernard Luc Ekstein of Los Angeles died Nov. 5 after battling lung cancer.
For the past 10 years, Ekstein free-lanced in Los Angeles, serving as a photographer, retouch expert and print color manager for California Apparel News. His commercial work for Los Angeles–based pet-accessories company Catnap was exhibited at the Mudac Museum in Switzerland and was featured in and on the cover of “Luxury for Cats,” published by teNeues. He also taught “Pre-Press Production” at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles.
Born in 1951 in Paris, Ekstein grew up amidst the French fashion industry. His father, Bernard Ekstein, was a Holocaust survivor who became a successful fashion designer in Paris. His mother, Jacqueline Sagardoy, operated a custom clothing company in the Champs-Eacute;lyseacute;es area that pioneered women’s tailored suits.
He discovered fashion photography at an early age, apprenticing with fashion photographers in Paris and London. At age 20, Ekstein was offered a position teaching photography at Bennett College in Millbrook, N.Y., where he reunited with and eventually married Parisian high school classmate Elizabeth F. Kitchen. The two moved to Paris, where Ekstein shot and edited two feature films with O.E.T. Productions, “Muzzers” and “Stuck,” before forming his own production company with his wife. Under Luc & Lisa Inc., Ekstein wrote and directed the feature film “Dream Center,” starring a young Herveacute; Villechaize, who later co-starred in TV’s “Fantasy Island.”
The Ekstein family settled in Los Angeles with their young son, Christopher, in 1976. After a stint producing the 1977 film “Teen Angel” for Ed Pressman Productions, Ekstein returned to fashion and commercial photography, traveling to Milan, Paris and Rome, where he shot for Italian Vogue and Shape magazines.
In 1988, Ekstein launched a catering company with his second wife, Brigitte Wiltzer. The company served ABC television productions and the U2 “ZooTV” tour. The two later moved to Prescott, Ariz., and opened critically acclaimed gourmet restaurant Siena.
An avid sailor in his youth, Ekstein owned a 50-foot sailboat, named “Nightmoves” after the hit Bob Seger song. He sailed from Marina Del Rey, Calif., across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii and Tahiti.Ekstein is survived by son Christopher Ekstein, daughter-in-law Stacy Owens Ekstein and 1-year-old granddaughter Isabella Frances Ekstein, all of Los Angeles; his mother, Jacqueline Sagardoy of Paris; and his sister, Maly Alcide of Corsica, as well as a wide range of friends and colleagues.
“We will never replace Luc, but his kind spirit, vitality and sense of humor touched all of those that knew him and will never wane,” Christopher Ekstein said. “He will remain in our hearts, always and forever.”
A memorial service for family and friends will be held at the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey at 1 p.m. on Nov. 16. Memorial donations for Ekstein may be made to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org).Online condolences and memories may be shared at http://lucekstein.ilasting.com/memorial.php.
