Weegee takes a shot

Madeline Webb became a photographic historical footnote when she was arrested in March 1942 in New York for the murder of wealthy Polish refugee Susie Reich.

Weegee, the most famous crime photographer of the day, captured an image of Madeline and lover Eddie Shonbrun being booked (above). It appeared in PM’s Daily Picture Magazine along with a shot of detectives helping Madeline into a police wagon, and a photo of the third suspect, John Cullen.

The photographer’s real name was Usher Felig. As a freelancer during the 1930s and 1940s, he lived in a tiny studio apartment across the street from NYPD Headquarters, sleeping with a police radio near his bed.

Working almost exclusively at night, Weegee often beat the cops to the scene of a crime.

When he wasn’t shooting murder victims, firefighters, and drunks, he prowled the streets looking for subjects, the grittier the better.

My favorite is the photo above of children sleeping on a fire escape during a heat wave in 1938.

The International Center of Photography in New York owns the Weegee archive of 16,000 photographs and frequently exhibits his work.