ATLANTA – A former Associated Press photographer who captured iconic images of the Civil Rights movement as well as of sports and political legends has died. Charles Kelly was 84.
Kelly's son Alex Kelly said his father had lung cancer and died Friday at his residence in the Atlanta area.
After working at The Charlotte Observer and The Charlotte News, Kelly joined The Associated Press in Memphis in 1961 and moved to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bureau the following year. In 1966, he moved to Atlanta, where he stayed until retiring in the mid-1990s.
With the AP, he covered Braves baseball for 32 seasons, beginning with the Milwaukee Braves.
He also photographed former presidents Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter; newsmakers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Vince Lombardi; and musicians including Ray Charles.