John Iacono
2008 Honoree / Achievement In Sports
JOHN IACONO was born November 12, 1941. He was born and raised on the Lower Eastside of New York by his father Joseph Iacono of Italian descent and a New York City police officer and his mother Helen, of Irish descent. He has two living siblings, Robert and Joseph Jr. and one sister Marie , who is deceased.
John’s adolescent school years were spent at Lady Of Sorrows, PS 110, Corlears Junior High and Seward Park High School.
At the age of 13, he joined The Henry Street Settlement where he started his photo career. In 1957, The Henry Street Settlement was asked to put up a photo exhibit at The New York Coliseum Photo Show. That same evening, his mentor, Nelley Pisschowitz was invited to go on a tour of the Life Magazine Photo Lab, where John met George Karis and Bill Summit. John, a very shy young boy, bravely approached the two men and asked for a job at the magazine. They said to come back after high school. John did just that.
He worked in the photo lab for 4 years from 1959 – 1964. He was also shooting freelance for other magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Dell Publications, True Magazine, Time Magazine and Life Magazine. After John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Life Magazine bought the Zepruda Film which he managed. He was assigned to show the film to Governor Connolly at his home in Austin, Texas, as well as Scotland Yard and The U.S. Government Agencies at the New York office.
From 1964-1966, John served two years in the Army for basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Then he was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington, where he was a Post Photo Photographer. While at Fort Lewis, John entered the Military Photo Contest, competing against twenty thousand photographers. John won 1st Place. He received a five day pass to go to Washington D.C. to accept his award. When his two years were up at the Army, he was offered a job back at Life Magazine as a photographer assistant from 1966-1970. When Life Magazine folded in 1970, John went from a freelance to contract to staff photographer for Sports Illustrated Magazine.
John’s body of works include numerous magazine covers from various magazines worldwide. His assignments have taken him all over the world. Some of his assignments, sports coverage and exhibitions include:
. OLYMPICS: Lake Placid, Seoul Korea, Yugoslavia, Atlanta
and Barcelona,
. GOODWILL GAMES – Moscow, Russia,
. GLASNOST – A joint exhibit between the Sports Illustrated
photographers and Russian sport photographers.
. TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP OLYMPIC TRIALS –
Switzerland, Germany, Rome.
. WORLD SERIES and regular season games, from 1961 – to
present date,
. SUPER BOWL and regular season games, from 1969-
present date,
. Hundreds of boxing championships including Ali, Tyson and
Sugar Ray Leonard
. Horse racing – Derby’s, Preakness and Belmont,
. Golf – The Masters, US Open, British Open, PGA,
. Car Racing – Indy 500, Pocono’s 500, Daytona 500 and
. Other sports include Tennis, Hockey, Wrestling, Chess
and Basketball Championships.
John Iacono presently resides on The North Shore of Long Island with his wife Nancy of 40 years, whom he calls the backbone of the family, his daughter Alexis, a film and theater actress and Eddie, their Westie dog.