* Don Cropper; Renowned Los Angeles Photographer

Don Cropper, 67, a Los Angeles-based photographer whose work appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Sentinel, Ebony magazine, Variety, DownBeat and Billboard, and was featured in the book “Life in a Day of Black L.A.: The Way We See It.” A native of Chicago, Cropper served in the Air Force before moving to California to explore his interest in photography. He photographed many of the great figures of American life, including Muhammad Ali, Cesar Chavez, Miles Davis, John F. Kennedy and Andrew Young. His work has been exhibited across the United States and in Europe, including Sweden, Denmark, England and Germany. He was one of 10 African American photographers to participate in the “Life in a Day of Black L.A.” book project, which later became a photo exhibition. A Times reviewer commented that Cropper “proved himself to be a portraitist of [the] first rank.” A longtime activist for equal opportunities for black photographers and filmmakers, Cropper was the founder of the Society of Western Associated Photographers. In 1971 he moved to Sweden, where he taught still photography and worked as a medical pathology photographer for a major hospital in Gothenburg. He returned to Los Angeles in 1978 and worked in the film and television industry. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Lake Shrine, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. On Nov. 8 of a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.