December 28, 1936
Born, Brooklyn, New York
1943
Family moves to San Diego, California
1949
Attends La Jolla High School
1953
Wins five High School Graflex Awards, and writes a chapter on lighting for the book
Graphic–Graflex Photography
Graduates from La Jolla High School, La Jolla, CA
Works with Andy Lopez, photographer for the Acme NewsPix, in New York as his photographic assistant
Begins publishing in Sport magazine and The New York Times
Writer Jacob Deschin labels Schiller “A Pro at Sixteen” in US Camera magazine
Wins Socialistic Sports Association scholarship to Pepperdine College, Los Angles, California
1954
Wins Scholastic Magazine Photographic Awards
1955
Published first photos in The Saturday Evening Post
1956
Publishes first photograph in Life magazine; photo titled “Head Over Heals in Work”
1957
Graduates from Pepperdine College
1958
Photographs first playmate, Joan Staley, for Playboy magazine
Publishes first color photographs of dancer Julie Newmar, in Life magazine
1960
With wife Judi Schiller, has first of three children, Suzanne, Marc, and Howard
Photographs Richard Nixon’s unsuccessful campaign for President of the United States for Paris Match magazine
1961
Wins National Press Photographers Association and Encyclopedia Awards “Best Storytelling Photo” for photo of Nixon losing to John F. Kennedy
1962
Photographs Marilyn Monroe on the set of Something’s Got to Give for Paris Match magazine
Publishes his first Life magazine cover of Marilyn Monroe
Publishes his second Life magazine cover of Marilyn Monroe
1963
Photographs the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, for The Saturday Evening Post, where he photographs Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby
1964
Wins numerous awards in the Picture of the Year Competition sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association, University of Missouri School of Journalism and World Book Encyclopedia
1965
Photographs Muhammad Ali–Floyd Patterson fight in Las Vegas for Sport magazine
1966
Publishes a major photographic essay on the indiscriminate use of LSD for Life magazine and brings out his first book on the same subject
1967
Art Seidenbaum of the Los Angeles Times profiles Schiller in New West magazine
1968
Photographs Robert Kennedy for his presidential campaign committee; one of Schiller’s photos is used as Kennedy’s last billboard before his assassination
Directs the still montage in the motion picture Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for 20th Century Fox film studios
1969
Photographs Paula Kelly nude for Playboy magazine, whereby the magazine publishes pubic hair for the first time
His copyrighted interview of Susan Atkins’s confession about her role in the Charles Manson killings appears in the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers
1970
Collaborates with author Albert Goldman on a book about the late comedian/satirist Lenny Bruce, titled Ladies and Gentleman, Lenny Bruce
1971
Directs the film American Dreamer, a documentary feature about director/actor Dennis Hopper, with L. M. Kit Carson
Directs still montages for the motion picture Lady Sings the Blues
1972
First collaboration with Norman Mailer, on the book Marilyn, with photographs by twenty-four leading photographers; the book becomes a New York Times best seller
Follows with an exhibit that travels around the world
1973
Publishes W. Eugene Smith’s epic photographic essay Minamata in book form—the first major photographic work on industrial pollution
1976
Covers the Patty Hearst trial and the historic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier known as “The Thriller in Manila”
Editorial Director for the Academy Award winning documentary The Man Who Skied Down Everest
Directs first motion picture, Hey, I’m Alive
Begins series of interviews with Gary Gilmore, published in Playboy
Collaborates with Norman Mailer on the book The Executioner’s Song, for which Mailer, in 1981, wins his second Pulitzer Prize; and the book becomes a New York Times best seller
1977
Esquire magazine profile on Schiller
1982
Directs and produces the Emmy award winning television miniseries The Executioner’s Song; its star, Tommy Lee Jones, wins the Best Actor Emmy for the film among other awards
1983
The Executioner’s Song motion picture is shown at the Berlin Film Festival
1984
Co-directs and executive produces the three-time Emmy award winning television miniseries Peter the Great; the film stars Maximilian Schell and wins the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries, among other awards
1987
Delegate to the Moscow Peace Forum at which Mikhail Gorbachev announces the beginning of perestroika
1994
The New Yorker magazine publishes Oswald’s Tale, Schiller’s fourth collaboration with Norman Mailer; the book becomes a New York Times best seller
1996
Writes the book American Tragedy with James Willwerth; it becomes a New York Times number one best seller, and reveals the inside story of O. J. Simpson’s defense
Vanity Fair profile on Schiller, written by David Margolick
1997
Profiled in Playboy magazine with an interview written by David Scheff
1998
Publishes Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, a New York Times best seller about the Jon Benet Ramsey case
1999–2002
Directs and produces three major miniseries for CBS Television:
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town; American Tragedy, and Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story
2002–2004
Directs and produces Trace Evidence, the Dr. Henry Lee series for television about thirty-four different crimes that Dr. Lee was primarily responsible for solving
2005–2006
Begins the project of documenting China’s contemporary history as told by its leading artists
2007
Publishes the first collection of photos from his ’60s archives, Marilyn 12, with East End Editions KLS, LLC, Los Angeles
