28 Rarely Seen of a Very Young and Beautiful Elke Sommer in 1959

German actress Elke Sommer, the iconic 1960s Hollywood bombshell who starred in A Shot in the Dark and The Prize, has died at the age of 85. She passed away from heart failure on Wednesday night, October 28, 2026, at her residence in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her stepson, Sebastian Walther, confirmed her peaceful passing, following the July 2026 death of her husband, Wolf Walther.

In 1959, 18-year-old Elke Sommer launched her professional acting career in Europe after a chance discovery in Italy. Still known largely by her birth name, Elke Schletz, she transitioned rapidly from an au pair student into a rising cinematic star.

Her breakthrough year was defined by several pivotal moments. While vacationing with her mother in Viareggio, Italy, she won a local seaside beauty pageant. A snapshot of her victory printed in the local newspaper caught the eye of legendary Italian director Vittorio De Sica. De Sica cast her in the Italian comedy Men and Noblemen (Uomini e nobiluomini). She also made her first film appearances in The Friend of the Jaguar (L’amico del giaguaro).

Recognizing that her German surname “Schletz” was difficult for international audiences to pronounce, she officially adopted the warmer, more inviting stage name Elke Sommer. Alongside her Italian features, she crossed back into the German film industry, notably appearing in the drama The Day the Rains Came (Am Tag, als der Regen kam). By the end of 1959, Sommer was working nonstop across Europe, laying the exact foundation that would turn her into an international 1960s Hollywood icon

Sommer was also an accomplished painter inspired by Marc Chagall, holding numerous solo exhibitions. In the 1980s, she won a prominent $3.3 million defamation lawsuit against Zsa Zsa Gabor. Per her wishes, she will be buried in Marloffstein, Germany, alongside her family and late husband.

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40 Lovely Mid-Century Photos of Kids in Halloween Costumes

These lovely mid-century photos capture children dressed up in Halloween costumes during the 1950s and ’60s. The images show kids in a mix of homemade and store-bought outfits: ghosts, witches, pirates, clowns, skeletons, and popular characters of the time, posing proudly before heading out for trick-or-treating or parties.

Many of the costumes reflect the simpler, often handmade style of the era, full of charm and creativity. These photos offer a warm and nostalgic glimpse of childhood Halloween celebrations more than half a century ago.

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30 Stunning Studio Portraits of Kate Jackson in 1976

Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) is an American actress and television producer. In the mid-1970s, she skyrocketed to international stardom as the intelligent, level-headed leader of the original Charlie’s Angels. The era marked a massive turning point in her career, transforming her from a steady television actress into a defining pop culture and fashion icon.

While Jackson had gained earlier recognition playing Jill Danko on The Rookies (1972–1976), her career skyrocketed in 1976 when she helped develop and star in ABC’s smash-hit series Charlie’s Angels. She portrayed Sabrina Duncan, famously known as the smart, grounded, and intuitive leader of the trio alongside Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith. Jackson played a key role in pitching the show’s concept, she reportedly suggested the name “Charlie’s Angels” (replacing the original working title, Harry’s Angels) after seeing a picture of angels in a producer's office.

Unlike the glamour-heavy or bombshell aesthetics of her co-stars, Jackson stood out for her effortless, tailored sophistication. Her signature short, brunette dark shag haircut with soft bangs was widely copied throughout the mid-to-late 1970s as a sleek alternative to Farrah Fawcett’s iconic feathering.

On and off screen, her look leaned toward crisp button-downs, wide-collared blazers, turtlenecks, high-waisted trousers, and tailored denim. It gave her a confident, practical, and approachable modern-woman look that appealed to viewers wanting a stylish yet functional daily aesthetic.

Jackson’s performance on Charlie’s Angels earned her two Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations during the late 1970s. By 1978 and 1979, she was recognized as a versatile dramatic talent, though she famously had to pass on starring in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) due to her Charlie’s Angels shooting schedule, a role that ultimately went to Meryl Streep.

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Portraits of Barbara Barrie in 1974

Oscar-nominated and Tony-nominated actress Barbara Barrie has died at the age of 95. Her daughter, Jane Harnick, and her agent confirmed that she passed away on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at her home in Manhattan. Her passing was a medically assisted death following a terminal cancer diagnosis, in accordance with the New York State Medical Aid in Dying Law, a legislation Barrie had actively advocated for.

Barrie was a celebrated character actress whose career spanned more than six decades across film, television, and Broadway. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her beloved role as Evelyn Stohler in Breaking Away (1979). She later received an Emmy nomination when she reprised the character for the 1980 television spin-off. In a rare early starring role, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her powerful performance in One Potato, Two Potato (1964).

On Broadway, she was the original Sarah in Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking musical Company (1970), a performance that earned her a Tony Award nomination. Audiences widely recognized her as Elizabeth Miller, the wife of Hal Linden’s title character on the 1970s hit comedy Barney Miller, and as “Nana” Keane, the sharp-witted grandmother to Brooke Shields on all four seasons of the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan.

Born Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago in 1931, she grew up in Texas before moving to New York City to launch her theater career. In addition to her acting work, Barrie was a published author who wrote two candid, optimistic memoirs (Second Act and Don't Die of Embarrassment) chronicling her 1994 diagnosis and recovery from rectal cancer. She was also open about her later battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease.

Barrie was married to actor and director Jay Harnick from 1964 until his death in 2007. She is survived by their two children, Jane and Aaron. Rest in peace, Barbara Barrie!

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Faith Domergue: The Sultry Scream Queen of 1950s Sci-Fi

Faith Domergue (1924 or 1925–1999) was an American actress known for her dark beauty and memorable roles in 1950s science fiction and horror films.

Discovered as a teenager by Howard Hughes, Domergue was signed to a contract and groomed for stardom, though her early career was marked by delays and limited opportunities. She gained lasting recognition in the mid-1950s with appearances in cult classics such as This Island Earth (1955), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), and Cult of the Cobra (1955), earning her a place among the era’s early “scream queens.”

With her striking features and intense screen presence, Domergue remains a distinctive figure of mid-century genre cinema. These captivating photos highlight the dark beauty and dramatic presence of Faith Domergue, a memorable face of 1950s science fiction and film noir.

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Vali Myers, the Witch of Positano

Vali Myers, widely known as the “Witch of Positano,” was a visionary Australian artist, professional dancer, and iconic bohemian mystic. Born in Sydney in 1930, she lived an uncompromising, boundary-pushing life that spanned the post-war avant-garde scene of Paris, the iconic Chelsea Hotel in New York, and a remote canyon in southern Italy. With her striking shock of red hair, facial tattoos, kohl-lined eyes, and gold teeth, she was a muse to cultural giants and a pioneer of the eco-spiritual counterculture.

After leaving home young to become the lead dancer of the Melbourne Modern Ballet Company, she boarded a ship to Paris at age 19. There, she lived in post-war poverty on the Left Bank, becoming a prominent face of the Beatnik generation. Photographed extensively by Ed van der Elsken for his seminal book Love on the Left Bank, she was embedded in circles with Jean Cocteau, Allen Ginsberg, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

To break an opium addiction, Myers retreated with her partner Rudi Rappold to Il Porto, a wild, deep ravine on a cliffside near Positano, Italy. They inhabited an abandoned, centuries-old stone structure lacking electricity or running water. For decades, she lived entirely attuned to nature, drawing obsessively, creating her own spiritual language, and operating a wildlife sanctuary for rescued foxes, owls, and dogs. Her fierce protection of the valley ultimately led to it being secured as a WWF-protected oasis.

Myers occasionally re-emerged into high-society art hubs. During her time at New York’s Chelsea Hotel, she became close friends with icons like Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, and Patti Smith (famously tattooing a signature lightning bolt onto Smith's knee).

Later in life, she returned to Melbourne, opening a bustling studio and continuing to exhibit her work internationally until her passing from stomach cancer in 2003.

Myers’ artwork consisted of highly intricate, obsessive pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings. Often channeling mystical trances, her pieces depicted primordial magic, animal forms, and raw, powerful representations of femininity. Her singular aura was immortalized in underground cinema, most notably the intimate 1967 experimental documentary Vali: The Witch of Positano directed by Sheldon Rochlin and Flame Schon, which captures her dancing, tending to her menagerie, and working out of her dream-filled “black book.”

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Vintage Kodachromes of the 1960 Aloha Week Parade

These vintage Kodachrome photos capture the vibrant spirit of the 1960 Aloha Week Parade in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Established in 1946 to celebrate Hawaiian culture and heritage, Aloha Week featured colorful floral floats, pāʻū riders in traditional attire, marching bands, and the Royal Court making their way through the streets of Waikiki.

The rich, saturated colors of Kodachrome film beautifully preserve the tropical flowers, bright costumes, and festive atmosphere of the event. These images offer a nostalgic and vivid glimpse of mid-century Hawaiian pageantry more than sixty years ago.

Aloha Week parade, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1960

Aloha Week parade, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1960

Aloha Week parade, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1960

Aloha Week parade, Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1960. Lots of pineapples going on here

Aloha Week parade, Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1960

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