There’s now some clarity surrounding how the late Bill Cunningham wanted his possessions and fortune dealt with following his death. The beloved street-style photographer whose work regularly showed in the New York Times left behind two wills more than a decade apart, according to “Page Six.”
His most recent will, signed in 2010, leaves $500,000 to be split among his nephews and niece, Patricia Simonson. He stated that she would also receive his back catalogue of photos and negatives. Louise Doktor, one of Cunningham’s muses, is also stipulated to receive $50,000 in addition to his clothing, jewelry, and other household possessions.
An earlier will, though, asks that things be dealt with differently. The earlier will was signed in 1993 and filed in New York Surrogate’s Court for “safekeeping,” a clerk told “Page Six.” That will left the majority of his fortune to his siblings and one of his longtime photography subjects, Toni “Suzette” Cimino. Cunningham’s siblings are now deceased and Cimino was not included in the second, more recent will. Cimino, who turned 90 last year, would often dine and read the paper with Cunningham, according to “Page Six.”
