Len Steckler

Who is Len Steckler?

Len Steckler is an American photographer, painter, film director, cinematographer and producer. Steckler is known for the artistry behind many famous ad campaigns, including Pepsi Cola’s “Refreshes Without Filling” illustrated advertisements in the 1950s, Noxzema’s “Take it off-- Take it all off” TV commercials in the early 1970s, and for famously putting Joe Namath in Hanes pantyhose. In 2010, he received widespread attention for the release of a previously unknown series of photographs entitled, “Marilyn Monroe: The Visit,” which offer a candid glimpse of a 1961 encounter between Monroe and famed poet Carl Sandburg.

Steckler began his artistic career with the brush. The youngest member of New York's Society of Illustrators, he painted illustrations for short and serialized stories that appeared in leading magazines of the day. As photography gradually replaced illustration, however, Steckler segued to a full-time career as a photographer.