Ward, who photographed presidents, stars, dies at 81

Fred Ward, a longtime Washington photographer who captured memorable images of the funeral of President John F. Kennedy and the Beatles’ first American concert and who traveled the world on assignment for National Geographic magazine, died July 19 at his home in Malibu, California. He was 81.

He had Alzheimer’s disease, said his wife, Charlotte Ward.

On his first day in Washington in 1962, Ward parked his Volkswagen van in the White House driveway, bounded inside and picked up his credentials as a photographer for the Black Star photo agency.

He often spent time with Kennedy and his family at the White House, photographing the president in his rocking chair or throwing out the first pitch at Opening Day for the Washington Senators.

When Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, Ward captured a heartbreaking image of his widow, Jacqueline, returning to Washington, with her husband’s blood caked on her legs.

Days later, Ward portrayed a solemn first lady and her two young children as they watched the fallen president’s casket leave the White House on the day of his state funeral. The color photograph appeared on the cover of Life magazine.

Ward went on to have a career of remarkable range. A 1963 photograph showed civil rights activist Gloria Richardson pushing away the bayoneted rifle of a helmeted National Guardsman during a demonstration in Cambridge, Maryland. He made rare color images of the Beatles’ first U.S. concert performance, at the Washington Coliseum, in February 1964. He photographed Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy before they were killed by assassins in 1968.

During the 1970s, Ward spent time in Cuba, compiling a book of photographs that included revealing glimpses of the country’s dictatorial leader, Fidel Castro.

When many of his fellow photographers developed specialties in portraiture, breaking news or landscapes, Ward seemed capable of capturing the entire world through his viewfinder.

“I specialize in versatility,” he once said.