The Camera Never Lies

"I'd call it the discovery of the century!"

Miriam Lieb, the longtime aide to the late celebrity photographer Anthony Trilby, breathed a sigh of relief at the end of her interview with New York Times arts reporter Melanie Piersall. After six decades, she no longer had a secret to hide.

It was Miriam to whom Anthony gave the keys to his safe box just a week before he died in 2018 at the age of 88. Anthony knew his time was near, and he knew Miriam would fulfill his wishes after he was gone.

She waited until after his funeral to open the safe box. The photos were in a secured envelope and were still in good condition. There were only about 20, and in Miriam's eyes, they were just as beautiful as the day they were taken.

--

Miriam was 21 years old on that warm night in May 1961 when Patricia McKay and Ricardo "Ric" Robinson entered Anthony's Manhattan studio. Patricia and Ric didn't arrive until well after midnight, and not because they were late.

Anthony never spoke above a whisper during the entire session. "As you know, we've got to work fast."

"You don't have to tell us," Patricia quietly responded, as Ric nodded.

Patricia was a 23-year-old Broadway actress who had landed a few small supporting roles in Hollywood. With silky light-brown hair and bright blue eyes, she was a perky, angelic presence on stage and screen, even though she longed to do more serious roles and not the light-hearted performances she was known for.

Ric, a 28-year-old boxer-turned-actor, was also experiencing career frustration; it seemed that he could only land roles playing athletes or petty criminals. He dreamed of being the leading man in a movie, and feared that he would only ever be the person who either lost to the actual leading man, or tried to rob him.

Ric had met Patricia in late-1958 during the production of "Champion's Chance," a low-budget thriller where she played the girlfriend of a prizefighter, played by the late Tommy Hampshire, who would be killed by the Mafia if he lost to an opponent played by Ric. Patricia thought he was incredibly attractive; his muscular physique and smooth brown skin was unlike anything she had ever seen, and she found him compelling, charismatic, irresistible. At one point during filming, she ruined a take by getting so into Ric that she began rooting for his character, instead of Tommy's.

Ric was also attracted to Patricia, and they began a clandestine relationship. Trying to keep friends, family, agents, managers, studio executives and the media in the dark was extremely difficult, but the sex was great, and it motivated them to keep things going as long as possible.

By the spring of 1961, Patricia and Ric knew things could not last; it was a near-miracle that they were able to keep things hidden for over two years. Yet they wanted something that would immortalize their relationship--and they entrusted Anthony to accomplish that goal.

That evening, with Miriam's help, Anthony took some of the most provocative photos of his career. One photo showed Ric unzipping Patricia's dress, his veins of his powerful hands seemingly aroused by the act. Another photo showed a topless Patricia smiling erotically as Ric ripped her panties right off her body. A third photo showed Patricia's pale, lightly freckled hand stroking and caressing Ric's erect penis. A fourth photo showed Ric kissing Patricia's neck as his hands cupped her breasts.

Not all of the photos were nudes. Some of them were simple shots of Ric and Patricia kissing; the shots were innocent, romantic, playful. Yet Ric, Patricia, Anthony and Miriam knew how scandalous the photos would be if anyone found out.

The photo session ended at 4:45 AM; by 5:15 AM, the two actors had fully dressed, and shared one more kiss before preparing to leave separately.

"You have my word," Anthony vowed. "None of this gets out until the last one of us wants it out."

"Thank you," replied Ric.

"People will know about us one day," said Patricia softly.

"Just can't be today," Ric added.

"I know," Anthony noted. "But the world's gonna change one day. I don't know by how much, but the world will change."

"I sure hope so," Ric replied.

After Patricia and Ric left, Anthony turned to Miriam and placed a finger on his lips.

__

Miriam never saw Patricia or Ric in person again after 1961. She wrote fan letters to both actors after they became stars on television--Patricia dominating soap operas while Ric frequently appearing as cops or judges--but neither of them ever wrote back, or even acknowledged having received the letters. When Patricia died in 2013 at the age of 75, Ric was too ill to attend the funeral; he would pass away in 2016 at the age of 83.

Before reaching out to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Miriam contacted Patricia and Ric's surviving family members, asking their permission to use the photos as part of a posthumous exhibition of Anthony's work. Both families were shocked by the evidence of the relationship; so dedicated were Patricia and Ric to keeping things secret when they were alive that their relatives claimed not to have even heard vague rumors that they had been together. Despite the shock, none of their relatives expressed any serious objection to having the photos included in the exhibition.

Miriam visited the museum on the opening day of the exhibition, and smiled as she listened to the positive responses of fellow patrons to the photos of Ric and Patricia. Anthony was right, she thought to herself. It look long enough, but the world has changed.