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.”

See more»

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

See more»

20 Photogarphs of Julia Roberts as Daisy Arujo on the Set of “Mystic Pizza” (1988)

Filming Mystic Pizza (1988) in the fall of 1987 was the definitive breakthrough moment that put Julia Roberts on the map just two years before she achieved global superstardom. Only 19 years old when filming began, Roberts was a relatively unknown actress navigating her first major Hollywood experience. She was far from the first choice for the fiery, rebellious role of Daisy Araújo. Director Donald Petrie ultimately cast her because of her iconic, infectious, room-lighting laugh and her raw ability to hold her own alongside more experienced castmates.

Roberts later described the character of Daisy as being “full of fire and full of spice.” Playing a character who acted entirely without forethought gave the young actress a sense of a creative “free-for-all,” allowing her to feel completely uninhibited to say and do what she wanted in front of the camera. Decades later, during an Entertainment Weekly Cast Reunion, her co-stars recalled that Roberts was the cast member who consistently had the most fun on set, attributing it to her inherently happy, energetic nature.

While the movie is famously set in Mystic, Connecticut, the real-life Mystic Pizza parlor was too small to fit a 35mm Hollywood film crew and could not halt business operations. Instead, Roberts and the crew filmed restaurant interior scenes inside a simulated replica set built inside a nearby warehouse, as well as a converted home on Water Street in the neighboring town of Stonington. The pizza shop’s “secret sauce” is a major plot point in the movie. On set, however, Roberts and her co-stars handled a vibrant mixture of tomato paste and heavy food coloring designed specifically to pop vividly on 35mm film.

During the six-week shoot, Roberts, Lili Taylor, and Annabeth Gish formed close bonds while staying locally at the Mystic Hilton. The production also featured Matt Damon in his very first on-screen role at age 17. Today, the real Mystic Pizza Pizzeria in Connecticut operates as a major tourist destination and local gallery, displaying original production stills, behind-the-scenes memorabilia, and signed photos of Julia Roberts from the fall that changed her life forever.

See more»

26 Photos of a Very Young Susan Saint James in the 1960s

Emmy-winning actress Susan Saint James died on Monday, October 26, 2026, at the age of 80 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. While she became a household name in the 1970s and 1980s starring in McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, her meteoric rise to fame began in the mid-to-late 1960s, where she established herself as a remarkably talented, charismatic, and refreshing young presence on television.

Saint James landed her first major television job at age 20 in the TV movie pilot Fame Is the Name of the Game. Audiences instantly fell in love with her portrayal of Peggy Maxwell, a sharp and inquisitive editorial research assistant. When the pilot was picked up as a full wheel-series titled The Name of the Game in 1968, she continued her role. Her performance was a massive critical success, earning her three Emmy nominations and a win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1969.

In an era of traditional Hollywood glamour, Saint James intentionally downplayed her high-fashion model looks for a relatable, “girl next door” magnetism. She infused her characters with a delightful mix of down-to-earth charm, intelligence, and playful klutziness. She further showcased her comedic chops as a recurring quirky thief alongside Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief (1968) and appeared in the 1968 comedy film Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.

She transitioned out of the 1960s as one of television’s brightest young stars, paving the way for her legendary run as Sally McMillan in the 1970s. She is remembered by her family and fans not just for her six-decade career, but for her immense kindness, vibrant personality, and lifelong advocacy work with the Special Olympics.

See more»

30 Fascinating Vintage Photos of People Walking Around Brussels in the 1940s

These fascinating vintage photos capture people walking around Brussels in the 1940s, a decade shaped by wartime occupation and postwar recovery. The images show everyday street life in the Belgian capital: pedestrians on busy avenues, shoppers, workers, and ordinary residents navigating the city’s streets and squares.

From the subdued atmosphere of the occupation years to the renewed energy after liberation, the photos preserve a vivid record of daily movement and urban life. They offer a compelling and nostalgic glimpse of Brussels more than eighty years ago.

Young woman walking on a Brussels street, circa 1940s

Woman and child walking on a Brussels street, circa 1940s

Boulevard Adolphe Max, Brussels, March 1941

Boulevard Adolphe Max, Brussels, November 1942

Boulevard Adolphe Max during the German occupation, Brussels, 1943

See more»

Amazing Photos of a Very Young Elsa Lanchester From the Early Days of Her Career in the Late 1920s

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (October 28, 1902 – December 26, 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television. During the 1920s, she established herself as a vibrant, avant-garde force in bohemian London through a multi-faceted career spanning cabaret ownership, comedic music hall performances, early independent film roles, and serious stage acting. Long before she achieved global Hollywood fame as the iconic title character in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), her 1920s career was defined by theatrical entrepreneurship and subversive satire.

Lanchester co-founded and ran The Cave of Harmony in the early 1920s, a popular London nightclub and cabaret venue. It became a central hub for avant-garde artists and intellectuals, including writers like Evelyn Waugh, Christopher Isherwood, and Osbert Sitwell.

She gained a fierce reputation for performing cheeky, socially critical sketches and singing satirical, old Victorian ballads. Clad in top hats, tights, and high heels, she subverted traditional expectations with highly physical, witty acts. Her performances became so popular that Columbia Records signed her, resulting in 78 rpm recordings of her famous comic numbers like “Please Sell No More Drink to My Father” (recorded in 1926) and “Don’t Tell My Mother I’m Living in Sin.”

Her film career was catalyzed by her bohemian social circle. In 1924, Evelyn Waugh cast her as a seductress in his amateur silent film The Scarlet Woman. This smoothly transitioned her into mainstream British silent cinema later in the decade, securing parts in shorts and features like One of the Best (1927) and Blue Bottles (1928).

Her eccentric cabaret work acted as a springboard into prestigious stage plays. In 1927, she starred in Arnold Bennett’s play Mr. Prohack. It was on the set of Mr. Prohack that Lanchester first met fellow cast member Charles Laughton. The two formed an instant artistic connection, marrying in 1929 and beginning one of the most distinctive, unconventional acting partnerships in cinema history.

See more»

1953 Chevrolet Corvette: The Birth of America’s Sports Car

The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette marked the beginning of one of the most iconic American sports cars. Unveiled as a concept at the 1953 GM Motorama in New York, it entered limited production later that year with only 300 hand-built examples completed in Flint, Michigan.

Every 1953 Corvette was finished in Polo White with a red interior and powered by a 150-horsepower “Blue Flame” inline-six engine paired exclusively with a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. Featuring a groundbreaking fiberglass body, the car combined sleek European-inspired styling with American engineering.

Though production was modest and performance modest by later standards, the 1953 model established the Corvette name and laid the foundation for decades of legendary sports cars to follow. These classic photos capture the pioneering style and historic significance of the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, the first of its kind.

See more»