It was a chance encounter with Marlene Dietrich in Montreal, Canada in the late 1950s that led Kobal to develop his affection for the Golden Age of Hollywood.
He used his contacts from a BBC freelance appointment in New York from 1964 to acquire Hollywood related photographs,[3] and start The Kobal Collection, eventually numbering about 500,000 images dating from the end of the silent era to contemporary movies.
[4] The author of 30 books, Kobal is credited with essentially 'rediscovering' the great Hollywood Studio photographers – including George Hurrell, Laszlo Willinger, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Ted Allan - who were employed by the movie studios to create the glamorous, iconic portraits of the most famous and intriguing stars of the day that now epitomise Hollywood.
[5] He reunited these forgotten artists with their original negatives and produced new prints for many subsequent exhibitions mounted worldwide at, amongst others, National Portrait Gallery, London; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC and LA County Museum, Los Angeles.
But it was John who realized their importance, sought them out, and was ready to acquire, preserve and protect hundreds of the original negatives at a time when no one else gave a damn about them.