Bring back some good or bad memories


ADVERTISEMENT

January 17, 2025

20 Fascinating Portraits of a Young and Beautiful Betty White in the 1950s

Betty White (January 17, 1922 – December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vast number of television appearances, acting in sitcoms, sketch comedy, and game shows.


White produced and starred in the series Life with Elizabeth (1953–1955), thus becoming the first woman to produce a sitcom. After moving from radio to television, she became a staple panelist of American game shows such as Password, Match Game, Tattletales, To Tell the Truth, The Hollywood Squares, and The $25,000 Pyramid. Dubbed “the first lady of game shows,” she became the first woman to receive the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for the show Just Men! in 1983.

Following the end of Life with Elizabeth, she appeared as Vicki Angel on the ABC sitcom Date with the Angels from 1957 to 1958. As originally intended, the show, loosely based on the Elmer Rice play Dream Girl, would focus on Vicki’s daydreaming tendencies. However, the sponsor was not pleased with the fantasy elements and was pressured to have them eliminated. “I can honestly say that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show,” White later said. The sitcom was a critical and rating disaster, but ABC would not allow White to break her contractual agreement and required her to fill the remaining thirteen weeks in their deal. Instead of a retooled version of the sitcom, White rebooted her old talk/variety show, The Betty White Show, which aired until her contract was fulfilled.

The sitcom did give White some positive experiences: she first met Lucille Ball while working on it, as both Date With the Angels and I Love Lucy were filmed on the same Culver Studios lot. The two quickly struck up a friendship over their accomplishments in taking on the male-dominated television business of the 1950s. They relied on one another through divorce, illness, personal loss, and even competed against one another on various game shows. In July 1959, White made her professional stage debut in a week-long production of the play, Third Best Sport, at the Ephrata Legion Star Playhouse in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Below is a collection of 20 fascinating vintage photos of a young and beautiful Betty White in the 1950s:






Stunning Portraits of Eartha Kitt Taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1952

In 1952, Eartha Kitt was photographed by Carl Van Vechten, a notable figure in documenting influential artists of the Harlem Renaissance and mid-20th century. At the time, Kitt was an emerging star, known for her magnetic performances in cabaret and theater. Van Vechten’s portraits of her from this period often capture her striking beauty, poise, and unique personality, highlighting her status as an icon in the making.

Kitt is presented with a blend of sophistication and mystery, often wearing elegant outfits or accessorized to complement her poised demeanor. Her poses and expressions in the photos range from sultry to playful, reflecting her versatility as an entertainer.

These images capture a pivotal moment in Kitt’s career, as she was gaining fame for her roles in Broadway productions like New Faces of 1952 and for her captivating cabaret performances.

The photographs also align with Van Vechten’s broader project of documenting Black artists and intellectuals, celebrating their contributions to American culture during an era of significant racial inequality.






Gorgeous Photos of Greta Gynt in the 1940s and ’50s

Born 1916 as Margrethe Woxholt in Oslo, Norwegian dancer and actress Greta Gynt played lead roles in minor British films in the 1930s and early 40s, and by the late 40s she appeared in major films. The Rank Organisation tried to market her as the British Jean Harlow. She also attempted a career in the US, starring in MGM’s Soldiers Three (1951) before returning to Britain.

Her most famous films are the 1939 Bela Lugosi film The Dark Eyes of London as the tough heroine, heroic as an underground leader in Tomorrow We Live (1943), touching as Jewish Elsie Silver in Mr. Emmanuel (1944), forceful as loyal wife proving her husband’s innocence in the thriller Take My Life, a promiscuous murderess in Dear Murderer, both in 1947, and as a nightclub singer singing “The Shady Lady Spiv” in Easy Money (1948).

Her last film was The Runaway in 1963 (released by Columbia Pictures in 1966), in which she played the lead. She died in 2000 in London, aged 83. Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see the beauty of young Greta Gynt in the 1940s and 1950s.






A Young Jim Carrey Photographed by Eugene Pinkowski for Interview Magazine, 1984

When Interview first met Jim Carrey, he was a 22-year-old comedian with a television series on NBC. Featured in their December, 1984 issue as one of the “Seven Faces of Comedy” alongside Christopher Guest, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jay Leno, Carrey looked roughly the same as he does now. He was perhaps a little more affable.

“Jim Carrey is amazing in front of a camera because he never repeats a move, and he works non-stop coming up with new ideas,” said photographer Eugene Pinkowski. “This is the first publication of this image of Jim Carrey when I shot him for Interview magazine.”

At an age when many people reminisce about teething, 22-year-old Jim Carrey is already a seasoned professional. Along with a starring role in The Duck Factory, this talented impressionist and comedian has appeared in several movies, many television shows, and an astounding number of clubs.




(Photos by Eugene Pinkowski)

Beautiful Photos of the 1979 Bianco S Series 2 Coupe

The Sao Paulo International Motor Show in 1976 saw the launch of the Bianco, a car produced by Ottorino (Toni) Bianco, who was also the designer of Brazil’s first Formula 3 car. The Bianco boasted a reinforced plastic body and fiberglass and utilized Volkswagen’s engine and mechanicals. Its most prominent variants are the Bianco S (also known as the Furia) and Bianco Tarpan.

The design of the Bianco was inspired by European styles and guidelines, resulting in a production rate of around 20 units per month. Bianco showcased newer models at international auto shows and received accolades for its achievements. Despite being a Brazilian concern of the 1970s era, the company experienced moderate success but eventually shut down in 1979 due to disputes among its principal members.

The Bianco S is the most recognizable model and flagship of the company. It sold over 180 units during its launch at the Salon International of the New York Auto Show in 1976, making it the top-performing model of the company. The car features a reinforced plastic and fiberglass body with flowing lines, a large windshield, front trunklid, spacious side doors, and taillights from the General Motors Opals of the time.

The Bianco S also has four low-placed headlights and additional safety structures such as bars and sheet metal reinforcements on the sides for added impact resistance. The car is handcrafted and equipped with a wood steering wheel, bucket seats, console, alloy wheels, and leather upholstery. Under the hood, the Bianco S has a Volkswagen 1,600-cc horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine that is air-cooled and fitted with dual carburetors, built on the popular VW platform.

Here below is a set of beautiful photos of the 1979 Bianco S Series 2 Coupe.






January 16, 2025

22 Fascinating Vintage Photos of Barbara Kent From the Late 1920s and Early 1930s

Barbara Kent (December 16, 1907 – October 13, 2011) was a Canadian film actress, prominent from the silent film era to the early talkies of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925, Barbara Kent won the Miss Hollywood Beauty Pageant.

Barbara Kent was born in Gadsby, Alberta, Canada, and grew up in Canada before her family moved to Hollywood, California. After finishing high school, she studied acting and sought opportunities in the film industry, which was thriving in the 1920s.

Kent’s acting career began with silent films in the mid-1920s. She gained attention with her debut in Fascinating Youth (1926), a film showcasing up-and-coming stars. However, it was her role in Flesh and the Devil (1926), starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, that truly put her in the spotlight. Kent played a pivotal supporting role, earning praise for her expressive acting style.

Kent is also remembered for her performance in Lonesome (1928), a silent film directed by Paul Fejos. The film, often lauded for its innovative storytelling and visual techniques, became one of her most enduring works. She made a successful transition to sound films in the late 1920s and starred opposite Harold Lloyd in Welcome Danger (1929) and Feet First (1930).

Kent lived a long life away from the public eye, passing away in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 103. Though her career in Hollywood was relatively short, her contributions to early cinema remain significant. Her work in both silent films and the transition to sound films showcased her versatility and ability to captivate audiences during a transformative period in filmmaking.

Barbara Kent is often remembered as one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s silent film era. Her legacy endures through restored prints of her films and retrospectives on early Hollywood cinema.






Baby Moss, Adorable Childhood Photographs of Sipermodel Kate Moss

Katherine Ann Moss (born January 16, 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the “supermodel era,” Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fashion icon status. She is known for her waifish figure, and role in size zero fashion.

Moss has had her own clothing range, has been involved in musical projects, and is also a contributing fashion editor for British Vogue. In 2012, she came second on the Forbes top-earning models list, with estimated earnings of $9.2 million in one year. The accolades she has received for modeling include the 2013 British Fashion Awards acknowledging her contribution to fashion over 25 years, while Time named her one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2007.

Kate Moss was recruited as a model in 1988 at age 14 by Sarah Doukas, founder of Storm Management, at JFK Airport in New York, after a holiday in The Bahamas. Corinne Day shot black-and-white photographs of her, styled by Melanie Ward, for The Face when she was 16, in a shoot titled “The 3rd Summer of Love.” Moss was presented as a young unknown, and Day described the pictures as “dirty realism” or “grunge.”

Moss then featured in the Levi’s campaign ‘Levi’s for Girls,’ with great success, set up by The Design Corporation and again shot by Corinne Day. A further shoot followed for The Face, by Tony Briggs, entitled “Haute Coiffure,” Moss went on to become the “anti-supermodel” of the 1990s in contrast to the models of the moment, such as Cindy Crawford, Elle Macpherson, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell, who were known for curvaceous and tall figures.

Moss featured in the fashion look heroin chic in 1996 (which prompted speculation over her weight) with a campaign for Calvin Klein. Then-US President Bill Clinton spoke out against the trend. Moss said, “It was just the time. It was a swing from more buxom girls like Cindy Crawford and people were shocked to see what they called a ‘waif.’ What can you say? How many times can you say ‘I’m not anorexic?’”

Below are some adorable photos of Kate Moss when she was a kid in the early 1980s:









FOLLOW US:
FacebookTumblrPinterestInstagram

CONTACT US

Browse by Decades

Popular Posts

Advertisement

09 10