For nearly a century, the Rockettes have been American icons. Not only have they appeared at Radio City Music Hall in thousands of stage spectaculars, the dance company has also performed at the centre of many memorable moments in history—like joining the USO and entertaining troops abroad during wartime and even performing at a Presidential inauguration.

In 1952 George took documentary photographs of the Rockettes, the legendary showgirls who perform at Radio City Music Hall in New York, for Picture Post magazine. Before showtime every girl had to rest in the dorm above the theatre. The girl in the front of the picture is winding an alarm clock – not checking her phone as many  assume ! That was about it as far as health and safety went – his atmospheric photographs also show the girls cheerily smoking cigarettes and eating junk food before swinging onstage for their evening performance.

Who Was George Douglas 

Born in 1922 in Rottingdean, a seaside village just outside Brighton but his father was American and the family moved to the States in the 1930s, first to Texas and then to Santa Monica, California.

Santa Monica, guaranteed sunshine apart, was not that different to Brighton. George bought a battered old Leica camera from a pawnshop for a few dollars, and patrolled the seafront, capturing the locals doing their thing.

His work began appearing in magazines like Life and other publications all over America but he wasn’t content. What he admired was the daring style of the ground-breaking British magazine Picture Post, which was setting new standards in photojournalism.

In 1951 he travelled to London by ship, busked his way into the Picture Post office the day after he arrived and managed to sell them a feature. Two days later he sold them another. George and Picture Post were made for each other. He sold them 99 stories in three years – serious features, silly celebrity stunts, beautiful reportage on the lives of everyday working people in England and always, whenever possible, beautiful girls.

The commissions rolled in as he met and photographed a myriad of celebrities and chased stories all over the world.

Then, when he was still only 48, he decided to give it all up, shrugging off the decision with: ‘Press photography is a young man’s job.’