Murray Garrett

Murray Garrett worked as a professional photographer specializing in show business, first in New York in the early 1940's then in Hollywood from 1946 to 1973. In the early fifties, as Garrett's talent and services were recognized by more celebrities, their PR firms and production companies, Garrett, with Graphic House remaining as his agent, went out on his own. He formed the firm Garrett-Howard, Inc., with life long friend, portrait photographer Gene Howard (a former vocalist with Stan Kenton and Gene Krupa) as his partner. In a very short time they became one of the most successful photographic concerns in Hollywood, offering both candid and studio photographic services to publications, the entertainment industry, as well as filling a very special niche...covering personal events for their celebrity clients. In the sixties, Leo Monahan, now a world renowned illustrator joined Garrett-Howard as a partner and art director and the firm's name became Studio Five, Incorporated. Almost overnight Studio Five became the leading firm in design and photography, catering to the entertainment industry. Studio Five worked for just about every major studio and record label in the United States. In peak years they would create as many as three hundred and fifty record album covers a year. During this period, Garrett was nominated and elected to serve on the west coast Board of Directors of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences).