Living, Breathing History
Movies like Sunset Boulevard may have captured the glitz, glamour and style of 1950s California, but Hal Boucher actually lived it. He’s been the Resort photographer at Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore Santa Barbara since 1948 and has photographed everyone from John and Jacqueline Kennedy, who frequented the Resort while on their honeymoon in nearby Montecito, to Rock Hudson and numerous other visiting celebrities and politicians.
When asked what his favourite era was, Boucher, who, at 85 years old, still works at the Resort, answers quickly: the 1950s. “There was such euphoria after the war that people just kept on celebrating. We had some incredible parties,” he says.
“Hal has an amazing story,” says Four Seasons Director of Marketing Janice Snowden. “He is a living, breathing storybook of the 50s and 60s and 70s.”
General Manager Karen Earp adds, “Hal has so many stories of rubbing elbows with dignitaries and the Hollywood set from the day.”
All this is not to say, however, that Hal lives his life in the past. “He knows a lot of the families in Montecito,” says Snowden. “You can still see him around the Resort talking to people, sharing his stories and, of course, taking photographs.”
