Black and White Candid Photographs of Celebrities in the 1950s and 1960s

In the post-war years of the 1950s, Italy saw an explosion in international film production, and as stars flocked to Rome—followed by models, playboys, and monarchs—the city was transformed. A small band of press photographers—or 'paparazzi'—were the very first to document this 'Hollywood on the Tiber' phenomenon, and prominent among their number was Elio Sorci, who pursued and captured candid images of celebrities.

Brigitte Bardot filming in Fiesole, Tuscany, 1962.

Dodo’ D’Hambourg, Rome, 1960.

Clint Eastwood, Via Veneto, Rome, 1965.

Elizabeth Taylor at the David di Donatello Awards, Rome, 1962.

Princess Grace of Monaco, Rome, 1957.

Sophia Loren at the premiere of C’era una volta (More Than a Miracle), Naples, 1967.

Ted Kennedy visiting the set of Barabbas, Cinecittà Studios, Rome, 1961.

Audrey Hepburn, Rome, 1961.

Actor John Wayne arrives at Ciampino Airport in Rome in 1960.

German-born strip tease performer Dodo d'Hambourg of Paris Crazy Horse Saloon fame appears in Italy in the 1960s.

Actress Audrey Hepburn arrives at Fiumicino Airport, Rome in 1958.

Italian actress Sophia Loren attends the film premiere of 'Once Upon a Time in The West' in Naples, Italy in 1967.

American film director, actor and producer Orson Welles appears in Rome in 1969.

Italian actor Vittorio Gassman and then partner Danish actress Annette Stroyberg attend the Silver Mask Awards in Rome in 1961.

The French actor Alain Delon appears while making 'The Sicilian Clan' in Rome in 1969.

Prince Karim Al Husseini, The Aga Khan IV, appears in Italy in 1960.

British actor David Niven appears in Italy in 1970.

Italian film and stage actress Anna Magnani appears in Rome in the 1960s.

French actress and singer Juliette Gréco pictured in Rome in the 1960s.

Italian actress Claudia Cardinale pictured in Sorrento, Italy in 1967.

(Photos © Elio Sorci/Camera Press, via Shooting Film)