By day Victor Friedman was a high society hairdresser tending to Manhattan's moneyed matrons. But away from the salon patronised by the likes of Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, Victor spent his time in New York City's more down-at-heel locales pursuing his passion for photography.

For more than 40 years, until his recent retirement from the coiffure trade, 83-year-old Victor straddled these two disparate worlds giving him a unique insight into the high and the low of New York society, as well as a treasure trove of stories and images of a city that has largely disappeared.

Produced for the BBC by Michael Maher

First Person is a series of video features published every Monday on the BBC News website which tells the stories of unique individuals from all walks of life in their own words.