Alfred Wertheimer, who captured the definitive photographs of Elvis Presley in the early years, died of natural causes on October 19th at his New York apartment. Wertheimer's niece, Pam Wertheimer, said he died of natural causes. Wertheimer was 85.

The photographs that Alfred Wertheimer took of 21-year-old Elvis Presley in 1956 are considered the definitive visual document of the soon-to-be "King of Rock & Roll." Wertheimer's photographs, along with Elvis Presley's own recordings from that time, are the most important vintage documents of Elvis Presley in 1956, the year Presley and his music transformed the American music tradition.

"Alfred Wertheimer took an assignment nobody else was interested in, to shoot an up-and-coming crooner from Memphis. He had the instinct to know that a revolution was coming and he followed Elvis on the road and elsewhere for another two weeks after his job for RCA was done. What came out of this is extraordinary in its intimacy and unparalleled in its scope. Al immortalized a young man in the very process of making history," said to Bendikt Taschen, who published Mr. Wertheimer's last book, Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll, in 2013.

Wertheimer was born in Germany but fled when he was six with his father Julius, his mother Katy, and his brother Henry during Adolph Hitler's rise in 1936. The Wertheimers came to New York City and settled in an apartment on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. Wertheimer graduated from high school in 1947 and went to Manhattan's Cooper Union School of Art. He photographed his first events with a camera his brother Henry had given him while at the famous art school.

Wertheimer graduated with a major in advertising design in 1951. In 1952, he was drafted into the army. Wertheimer returned to New York City after service in 1954. He began working with fashion photographer Tom Palumbo at Harper's Bazaar magazine. Al became a freelance photographer in the middle of 1955. Paul Schutcer, a friend, introduced Wertheimer to Ann Fulchino, a publicist at RCA who asked Al photograph RCA's latest young singer Elvis Presley.

Wertheimer moved from freelance analog photography to being a documentary cinematographer. He was one of the principal cameramen in the film Woodstock. He also covered the 1960 Presidential campaigns of John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.

Four books about Elvis Presley were published featuring Wertheimer's photographs and stories were the basis for four other books. Elvis at 21, which came out from the publisher Insight Editions in 2006, was selected by American Photo Magazine as one of the ten best photo books of the year.

The Smithsonian recently finished d a tour of 14 major museums featuring Wertheimer's photographs. Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer, was co-organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Govinda Gallery. The exhibition was accompanied by a catalog titled Elvis 1956 (Welcome Books). Mr. Wertheimer's books were edited by Chris Murray, Director of Govinda Gallery. That exhibition opened at The Grammy Museum and included stops at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Mr. Wertheimer's photographs were featured in the inaugural exhibition at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Artist to Icons. Wertheimer also had a one-person exhibition of his photographs at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.