| |
Among the unsourced contributors to the In Cold Blood story was an otherwise well-known Garden City photographer and writer named Jack Curtis. An honors graduate of Kansas State University’s School of Journalism, Curtis’s articles and photographs appeared in such prestigious publications as Time, Life, and People magazines, and he was a regular contributor to the UPI News Features syndicate.
Curtis had long been close with the Clutters and was, in fact, the family’s “official” photographer. He took nearly all photos of the Clutter family that are widely seen today, including the famous scene of happier times depicting the whole family gathered around the fireplace at Christmas.
Figure 49. Clutter family circa 1950
Photo © 1950 Jack Curtis; provided courtesy of the Curtis family
Curtis also photographed Perry Smith and Richard Hickock while they were at the Finney County jail. Photos of the menacing eyes of each killer from the mug shots taken by Curtis were used in Capote’s book without credit or compensation. As Curtis’s youngest son Ken recounts, his father was so furious with Capote that he destroyed all remaining photos he had taken of the Clutters, including the negatives.[182]
––––––––
Figure 50. Richard Hickock and Perry Smith
Photos © 1960 Jack Curtis; provided courtesy of the Curtis family
In a separate interview Curtis’s eldest son, Jack, maintained that his father “always said there was someone else, not just Smith and Hickock” involved in the crimes.[183] Whether he held that view based on firsthand knowledge or was told by someone in a position to know, Jack’s father neither elaborated on the matter nor revealed his source before he died in 2008.
