Sixty years of shooting stars

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Louis Armstrong warming up before a concert in Zurich in 1962 Keystone

Muhammad Ali on his way to defeating Jürgen Blin in Zurich in 1971 Keystone

South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba performs in Zurich in 1969 Keystone

The Rolling Stones go shopping in Zurich in 1967 Keystone

Stauss focuses on the "Topless Band" in Zurich in 1969 Keystone

German singer and actor Hildegard Knef on stage in Zurich in 1966 Keystone

German performer Nina Hagen in Zurich in 1987 Keystone

British pop star Billy Idol in Zurich in 1990 Keystone

Swiss rock band Krokodil in a Zurich studio in 1970 Keystone

A scene from a 1962 performance in Zurich of Bolero, with music by Maurice Ravel and choreography by Maurice Bejart Keystone

Swiss mime artist and clown Dimitri in Zurich in 1961 Keystone

Prince performs in Zurich in 1993 Keystone

Lenny Kravitz in Zurich in 1996 Keystone

US artist Andy Warhol in front of his work "Self-Portrait" during an exhibition in Zurich in 1978 Keystone

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He snapped them all: the Rolling Stones, Andy Warhol, Prince, Louis Armstrong. On Saturday, Niklaus Stauss, Switzerland’s most famous celebrity photographer, turned 80. 

StaussExternal link has led a colourful and full life. He travelled around the world many times, learnt shop window decoration as a trade, worked as a graphic artist and devoted himself to his great passion: photography. 

Swiss celebrity photographer Niklaus Stauss Keystone

He opened a photo studio in Zurich and founded an advertising agency. From the 1950s he worked freelance for the photo agency Keystone. 

Stauss has remained true to his tastes, art, music and culture all his life. His skill was to be at the right place at the right time, enabling him to document the rich and famous for more than 60 years. 

He has photographed more than 50,000 celebrities and today owns one of the largest private archives of cultural and artistic images.