Timeline

1936

Born in Brooklyn, NY

1949 - 1953

Attended La Jolla High School, La Jolla, CA

1953

Wins five High School Graflex Awards, and writes a chapter on lighting for the book Graphic–Graflex Photography
Works with Andy Lopez, photographer for the Acme NewsPix, in New York as his photographic assistant
Begins publishing in Sport magazine and The New York Times
Wins Socialistic Sports Association scholarship to Pepperdine College, Malibu, CA

1954

Wins Scholastic Magazine Photographic Awards

1955

Published first photos in The Saturday Evening Post

1956

Publishes first photograph in Life magazine; photo titled Head Over Heals in Work

1957

Graduates from Pepperdine College, Malibu, CA

1958

Photographs first playmate, Joan Staley, for Playboy magazine
Publishes first color photographs of dancer Julie Newmar in Life magazine

1960

Photographs Richard Nixon’s unsuccessful campaign for President of the United States for Paris Match magazine

1961

Wins National Press Photographers Association and Encyclopedia Awards Best Storytelling Photo for photo of Nixon losing to John F. Kennedy

1962

Photographs Marilyn Monroe on the set of Something’s Got to Give for Paris Match magazine
Publishes his first Life magazine cover of Marilyn Monroe

1963

Photographs the events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, TX for The Saturday Evening Post where he photographs Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby

1964

Wins numerous awards in the Picture of the Year Competition sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association, University of Missouri School of Journalism, and World Book Encyclopedia

1965

Photographs Muhammad Ali–Floyd Patterson fight in Las Vegas for Sport magazine

1966

Publishes a major photographic essay on the indiscriminate use of LSD for Life magazine and brings out his first book on the same subject

1968

Photographs Robert Kennedy for his presidential campaign committee; one of Schiller’s photos is used as Kennedy’s last billboard before his assassination
Directs the still montage in the motion picture Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for 20th Century Fox film studios

1969

His copyrighted interview of Susan Atkins’s confession about her role in the Charles Manson killings appears in the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers

1970

Collaborates with author Albert Goldman on a book about the late comedian/satirist Lenny Bruce, titled Ladies and Gentleman, Lenny Bruce

1971

Directs the film American Dreamer, a documentary feature about director/actor Dennis Hopper, with L. M. Kit Carson
Directs still montages for the motion picture Lady Sings the Blues

1972

First collaboration with Norman Mailer, on the book Marilyn, with photographs by twenty-four leading photographers; the book becomes a New York Times best seller

1976

Covers the Patty Hearst trial and the historic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier known as “The Thriller in Manila”
Editorial Director for the Academy Award winning documentary The Man Who Skied Down Everest
Directs first motion picture, Hey, I’m Alive
Begins series of interviews with Gary Gilmore, published in Playboy

1982

Directs and produces the Emmy award winning television miniseries The Executioner’s Song; its star, Tommy Lee Jones, wins the Best Actor Emmy for the film among other awards

1984

Co-directs and executive produces the three-time Emmy award winning television miniseries Peter the Great; the film stars Maximilian Schell and wins the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries, among other awards

1994

The New Yorker magazine publishes Oswald’s Tale, Schiller’s fourth collaboration with Norman Mailer; the book becomes a New York Times best seller

1996

Writes the book American Tragedy with James Willwerth; it becomes a New York Times number one best seller, and reveals the inside story of O. J. Simpson’s defense

1998

Publishes Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, a New York Times best seller about the Jon Benet Ramsey case

1999 - 2002

Directs and produces three major miniseries for CBS Television: Perfect Murder, Perfect Town; American Tragedy, and Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story

2005 - 2006

Begins the project of documenting China’s contemporary history as told by its leading artists

2007

Publishes the first collection of photos from his ’60s archives, Marilyn 12, with East End Editions KLS, LLC, Los Angeles