Flip Schulke, a Minnesota-born photographer who captured timeless images of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali, Fidel Castro, Elvis Presley and John Kennedy, died Thursday in Florida of congestive heart failure. Schulke, who had lived in West Palm Beach for the past 15 years, was 77.
Born Graeme Phelps Schulke in St. Paul on June 24, 1930, Schulke grew up in New Ulm after running away from home at age 15. He earned his nickname on the trampoline with the New Ulm High School gymnastics team.
His love affair with the camera began when he was 15, after he was given a Kodak Brownie camera. He worked at the local newspaper, the Journal, while still in high school.
In 1954, he graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, where he had won the College Photographer of the Year award in 1952. One of his first freelance assignments was for the U.S. Information Agency, which was looking for ways to build cultural and social bridges between U.S. and German citizens after World War II. Schulke immediately thought of New Ulm, which had a large German population.
"One of my suggestions was to photograph my hometown, where people still spoke German, had polkas and drank beer at beer halls," Schulke said in an interview in Minnesota Connect, a business magazine focusing on southern Minnesota. "That was the beginning of my career."
Schulke's photography career took him across the globe, working for Life, Newsweek and National Geographic. The highlight of his career was photographing King during the civil rights movement, an assignment that would span more than a decade.
Among the many assignments Schulke covered were James Meredith's enrollment at the University of Mississippi, the funeral of Medgar Evers, the March on Washington and the Selma Freedom March.
Beyond news photography, Schulke was a groundbreaking underwater photographer.
Schulke, who was married and divorced four times, is survived by children Robin Chisholm-Seymour of Alpharetta, Ga.; Paul Schulke of Yardville, N.J.; Lisa Davidson of San Francisco and Maria Cohen of Orlando; stepsons Joe Toreno of Los Angeles and John Toreno of Miami; a sister, and six grandchildren. A memorial service is being planned and will be held in New Ulm.
