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Michael Lamont, who went from acting in Bye Bye Birdie and Oliver! on Broadway to a career as photographer for studios, theaters and actors, has died. He was 76. According to Patty Onagan, publicist for Lamont’s wife Kay Cole, he died May 21 in North Hollywood of Alzheimer’s complications.

Born on April 3, 1947 in Hoboken, NJ, Lamont moved to New York City in his teens to pursue an acting career. It was in the original 1960 production of Bye Bye Birdie where he met Cole, whom he would marry nearly three decades later. He went on to appear in several Broadway shows during the 1960s and early ’70s, including Oliver! and Jesus Christ Superstar, before relocating to Los Angeles.

Once on the West Coast, Lamont guested on a few TV series and drummed in a rock band before an actor friend asked him to photograph his headshots, and soon was being recommended by agents and casting directors.

Michael Lamont, who appeared in the original Broadway productions of Bye Bye Birdie and Oliver! before launching a second career as a production photographer, died May 21 in Los Angeles after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, a publicist announced. He was 76.

In the late 1960s, Lamont moved from New York to L.A. to continue his acting career and play drums for the rock band Group Therapy. After working in episodic television, a friend asked him to photograph his headshots, and he discovered a passion for photography.

Lamont found himself being recommended by agents and casting directors, and by the early ’70s, photography became his priority. He expanded into shooting theater productions and in 1989 was sponsored by Universal Studios to join the International Cinematographers Guild. Before long, he was shooting unit and publicity for studios.

His production and institutional photography credits included work for The Geffen Playhouse, The Old Globe,...

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