Last portraits of Jimmy Hoffa by Tony Spina
50 years ago on the morning of July 30th, 1975 Chief Photographer for the Detroit Free Press Tony Spina took what would be the last pictures of former Teamsters president James Riddle Hoffa. Wayne State’s Walter P Reuther Labor Library shares:
Spina was sent to visit Hoffa at his cottage on Square Lake in Lake Orion to take portraits of him for the Free Press and Newsweek. The images were not intended for a specific story; they were meant to update older photo files, which were likely outdated due to Hoffa’s incarceration from 1967 to 1971. At the time, Hoffa was challenging a federal restriction that barred him from holding a leadership position in the Teamsters until 1980, thus making him newsworthy once again.
According to Spina’s account, the backyard photo shoot was almost entirely uneventful. The two were old friends and chatted as they moved around the backyard, chasing the best light. The only notable moment occurred when Hoffa had to step away to take a call about a meeting scheduled for after lunch. It is assumed that this was the meeting held at the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, from which Hoffa never returned.
Lots more in the Reuther Library and for sure check out photos in the awesome Tony Spina Collection online!
Michigan in Pictures 
I remember Tony Spina’s name, although we always had “The Detroit News” at our house and I never really read the newspaper back then anyway. I will bet that it haunted Tony Spina that these were the last photos taken of Jimmy Hoffa. That was an interesting story and I like how your two photos show the collection of actual film strips of those photos.
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Thank you! I also like how the Walter P Reuther Library is RIGHT across the street from me!
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Very cool You had a warehouse of info at your fingertips! My longtime boss was a labor attorney for management and he had a few matters involving Jimmy Hoffa’s son, head of the Teamsters, back in the day (before my time).
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