The Last Photoshoot of the Rolling Stones With Brian Jones, May 1969

To make matters worse, in March 1969, Brian Jones borrowed the band’s Jaguar to go shopping. The parked car was towed, and so Jones hired a chauffeur-driven car to get home. Then, in May 1969, Jones crashed his motorcycle into a store window and was secretly taken to hospital under a fake name. From that point on, despite attending a few recording sessions, Jones was no longer a major contributor to the band.

Talk about making a complete 180! Mick Jagger told Jones that he would be fired if he didn’t show up to a scheduled photoshoot. In the end, he showed up, but he was looking frail. His last photo as an official Rolling Stone, took place on May 21, 1969. The photos were taken by Ethan Russell, near Tower Bridge and also at George Nichol’s studio in London; later resulting in the cover and gatefold pics used for the Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol.2) compilation album.

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Nirvana in New York, Photographed by Stephen Sweet for Melody Maker (UK), 1993

Photoshoot for a 2-part interview in Melody Maker (UK) weekly newspaper. The whole day was reserved for press, and photographer Stephen Sweet picked up the band by taxicab and brought them to the Liberty Theatre, an abandoned movie theatre on the 42nd street, Manhattan, for the photo session.

Jenny Holzer’s art installations that focus on the delivery of words and ideas in public places were the featured backdrop for the photos. The shots are often referred to as the “Men Don’t Protect You Anymore” photos. This is one of her works of the ‘survival’ series, where she, thorough quotes tries to communicate and evoke a public’s reaction to sexual assault.

Stephen had also taken photos of Nirvana’s performance at Roseland Ballroom on the previous night. Here’s the story behind the photoshoot:

“The way I remember it is that the shoot took place the day before the show at Roselands, in New York. Nirvana were playing towards the end of the week of the New Music Seminar. In my mind that meant a Sunday night show, but a quick search tells me that the concert was on July 23rd 1993, a Friday. 

It follows the shoot must have taken place Thursday July 22nd 1993. Where is easier. The theatre in the background was the Liberty Theatre. The address was 233 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036. Obviously, we were standing across the street from there. It was planned as much as it could be on my part. I like that you think it has the look of a shot grabbed on the way to somewhere else.   

Let me explain what I mean and what was arranged. Apart from photographing the gigs during the week of the New Music Seminar, and the shoots that happened through those days, I knew at the close of the festival I was there to meet with Nirvana for a photo shoot. So far so organized. Thing was, I had enough bad experience to know it would be a chaotic shit fight of a day no matter what guarantees anyone supposed they had. 

The shoot was for Melody Maker. I was told to get enough for 2 to 3 front covers. Also, lots of promotional shots for the magazine and plenty candids. I knew I needed several locations lined up in my head, or more likely one location with alternative backgrounds. I had the fear that it could end up being 5 minutes in the lobby of their hotel.  

My main aim was to photograph one of the biggest bands around at that time, and to place them in a busy street and to see what transpired. I wanted to take them on the subway (done to death now, at that time I don't remember seeing it anywhere). I found 41st street was full of closed up movie theatres and slogans had replaced the film line ups. I considered Port Authority terminal if it was raining. I liked 41st street because I could take the group shot then I could turn everything the other direction and it looked sufficiently different. 

On the morning of the shoot the hotel lobby they were staying at was packed out with photographers, it was messy and the mood was anxious and ugly. I found the running order for the shoots and saw that I was around 5th. There was a feeling something was wrong; time was wearing on and Kurt was still in his room. Krist and Dave were closed off, talking to their people. No one knew what the problem was. I asked someone to point out to me who was first on the list and I pushed through the throng and went for a talk with that photographer. He seemed stressed and did not really have a clear idea of what he wanted to do. (I think he said he might take them to Central Park. It didn’t sound promising.) I offered to swap with him and he jumped at the chance. I went back and told Anton Brookes (Nirvana’s UK press agent, and part organizer of the running order) the news. 

Just then the lift doors opened and Kurt came out sweating profusely and looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. He came over to Anton and the managers. They all turned to me and said “OK, what do you want to do?” I mentioned the subway. They all looked at Kurt and he said ”No”. I mentioned 41st and the abandoned cinemas and that got a better reaction. They said “You have to be back here in 1 hour.” It took 3 taxis all in, crawling towards the location. All the time I was aware the maximum shooting time was likely to be 35 minutes. I would have been happy with 15 minutes as long as I got them to that location. 

“Men Don't Protect You Anymore.”

In the days leading up to the shoot I had seen this slogan on a cinema in the middle of the street between 7th and 8th Avenues and thought that If I could get Kurt to see it, he might be alright for me using it as part of the background. He saw it and said 'take my picture in front of that' so I obliged.  

If the band had any idea it was part of a Jenny Holzer installation, they did not mention it. I had no idea either. I have since learned the central nature of her work seems to be all about anonymity, no explanations beyond the words themselves. No handy guide about why it was there, just the face value of the words staged. 10 years earlier, in Amsterdam, I had seen “Abuse Of Power Comes As No Surprise” on a jetty at the water level in the port. Again, no explanations. It stuck with me. I thought it was to do with the spirit of the city and its supposed enlightened viewpoint. The cinemas in New York had the same feeling, strong, immediate slogans.

At the time the article containing this photograph appeared no one mentioned Jenny Holzer, or for a few years following. One day I found a second hand book of hers, and as soon as I saw the cover it all made sense. Now information is easy to find and link, back then there was very little. This photograph can't now be seen without Jenny Holzer’s name being in the same sentence, and I am happy about that. I have looked her up like everyone else and am proud to be associated. 

For a long while I was squeamish (to an extent) about appropriating. These days I look at it as a two way street. Last year Jenny Holzer requested photographs from this shoot to be part of a retrospective she had in Santiago, Chile.”

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Photos of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin During the 27th Cannes Film Festival in 1974

The 27th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 24 May 1974. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to The Conversation by Francis Ford Coppola.

The festival opened with Amarcord, directed by Federico Fellini and closed with S*P*Y*S, directed by Irvin Kershner.

These photo captured beautiful moments of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin during the International Film Festival in Cannes in May 1974.

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Crazy Car Stunts From the 1920s

A horse racing a car, a car jumping a building and a boat crashing through a brick wall: these video clips  from the 1920s will amaze you!

40 Amazing Kodachrome Snaps Show What Life Looked Like in the Late 1950s

In the aftermath of WWII’s significant instability came the 1950s, suburbia, and the dream of a “picture-perfect” family.

The 1950s were boomer years. The economy boomed, and everywhere individuals were feeling the need for family and security after arduous years of the war. So, in 1950s family life, there was also a marriage boom, birth rate boom, and housing boom.

These amazing Kodachrome slides from George Broff that show what life looked like in the late 1950s.

Couple at the beach

Air show

Barbeque

Bathing suit girl

Beach couple

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The Story of Samantha Reed Smith, America’s Youngest Ambassador

In late 1982, Samantha Reed Smith, a fifth grader from Manchester, Maine, wrote a plaintive letter to Soviet leader Andropov. She said that she was “worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to have a war or not?”

A few months later, Smith’s letter was reprinted in Russia and it was announced that Andropov was writing a response. Smith received his letter in April 1983. Andropov assured Smith that he did not want a nuclear war with the United States or any other country. Calling Smith a “courageous and honest” little girl, Andropov closed the letter with an invitation for her to visit the Soviet Union.

In July, accompanied by her parents, Smith embarked on a two-week trip. She was a hit in the Soviet Union, and although she did not get to meet with Andropov, she traveled widely and spoke to numerous groups and people.

Smith pursued her role as a media celebrity when in 1984, billed as a “Special Correspondent,” she hosted a children’s special for the Disney Channel entitled Samantha Smith Goes To Washington: Campaign ’84. The show covered politics, where Smith interviewed several candidates for the 1984 presidential election. In 1985, she played the co-starring role of the elder daughter to Robert Wagner’s character in the television series, Lime Street.

On August 25, 1985, Smith and her father were returning home aboard Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 after filming a segment for Lime Street. While attempting to land at Lewiston-Auburn Regional Airport in Auburn, Maine, the Beechcraft 99 commuter plane struck some trees 4,007 feet (1,221 m) short of the runway and crashed, killing all six passengers and two crew on board. 

Samantha Smith was mourned by about 1,000 people at her funeral in Augusta, Maine, and was eulogized in Moscow as a champion of peace. Attendees included Robert Wagner and Vladimir Kulagin of the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., who read a personal message of condolence from Mikhail Gorbachev.

Samantha Smith with letter from Andropov.

Smith’s mother later said that the trip to the Soviet Union changed her daughter, noting how much maturity she gained in one summer. Samantha Smith later wrote that the most important outcome of her journey was the understanding that people around the world are not strangers, but are neighbors.

Samantha Smith flew to the Crimean Peninsula from Moscow. At the airport in Simferopol, she was met by children from the camp who taught her to sing a number of popular songs.

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Elizabeth Taylor During the Filming of ‘Giant,’ Photographed by Frank Worth in 1955

The summer of 1955 was a hard one for Elizabeth Taylor. She arrived in Marfa, Texas on June 6 after being loaned out by MGM studios to Warner Bros. to star in Giant, the “national movie of Texas.” The actress was suffering from postpartum depression after giving birth to her third child, Christopher, and was recently estranged from husband number two, Michael Wilding. As if that wasn’t enough, the state was in the middle of a hellish seven-year drought, with the thermometer regularly hitting 100 degrees, a period Elmer Kelton called “the time it never rained.”

It was a tough time for Taylor both physically and emotionally, but Marfans only recall her generosity and graciousness. When director George Stevens, who filmed Giant on an open set, yelled “cut!” fans would walk right up to Taylor, who happily agreed to take photos, sign autographs, and even star in several impromptu home movies, including a short 8mm film shot on the set of the Reata by Bill Christopher, the owner of the local department store.

Caterer Wally Cech, who served her in the lunch line, admired the 24-year-old starlet’s good looks and noted that though Taylor was strikingly beautiful, she didn’t seem to have a huge ego. She was, by all accounts, sweet and mannerly and even kept a bowl of dimes by her front door to dispense ten-cent tips, a handsome gratuity sixty years ago.

Suzan Ball: Beautiful Actress But Tragic Life

Born 1934 as Suzanne Ball in Jamestown, New York, American actress Suzan Ball was a second cousin of fellow actress Lucille Ball. She married Richard Long on April 4, 1954, at El Montecito Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara. Many celebrities attended, including Jeff Chandler, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, and David Janssen.

In 1953, doctors diagnosed Ball with cancer when she developed tumors on her legs, forcing her to use crutches. Because of the cancer, doctors amputated one of her legs in 1954. She died in 1955 at the age of 21 at the City of Hope Hospital, after a two-year battle.

Take a look at these beautiful photos to see portraits of a very young Suzan Ball in the last years of her life.

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Portlander Lives Frozen in Ice Block for Thirty Minutes, 1931

A scientific experiment that bewildered thousands was performed when A. Moro, of Portland, Ore., allowed himself to be frozen up in a solid cake of ice for thirty minutes at an annual newspapermen’s midnight frolic held in Portland, in 1931. At the end of the half hour of imprisonment, the ice block was chopped open and Mr. Moro emerged bright and healthy, a little chilled, perhaps, but otherwise unaffected.

Mr. Moro is enabled to accomplish this remarkable feat because of his ability to get along with a minimum supply of oxygen for an unusual length of time. In performing the stunt, he crawls into the cavity formed in two blocks of ice as shown at right. Ice is then melted around him to inclose his body in the cavity.

Photos of 1930 Morgan Super Aero

The Morgan Super Aero is a rear wheel drive road car, with its motor mounted in the front, and a roadster bodyshell. The power is produced by a naturally aspirated engine of 1.1 litre capacity. This unit features overhead valve valve gear, 2 cylinder layout, and 2 valves per cylinder. It has an output of 45 bhp (45.6 PS/33.6 kW) of power.

A 2 speed manual gearbox supplies the power to the driven wheels. Its claimed kerb weight is 406 kg. Its maximum speed claimed is 120 km/h (75 mph). Here below is a photo collection of 1930 Morgan Super Aero.

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Photographs of Cher With Much Younger “Bagel Boy” Rob Camilletti in the 1980s

Cher – the “original cougar” – was out with friends celebrating her 40th birthday when she met Rob “Bagel Boy” Camilletti in May 1986. Camilletti was an aspiring actor, but his day job was working at a bagel shop. The pair began dating. The age gap: 18 years.

“You know, he was making bagels at the time. And I thought, ‘What will my friends say if I go out with him?’ But the more I got to know Robert, the less I cared what anybody thought. He may have talked like one of the Lords of Flatbush, but he had so many great qualities, I couldn’t believe it,” Cher revealed to New Woman magazine in 1988.

After they began dating, Camilletti benefited from a bit of favoritism, starring in Cher’s music video for I Found Someone. With her encouragement, Camilletti landed plum roles in Carnosaur 3: Primal Species, Roseanne, and NYPD Blue. Meanwhile, Cher had been lying low in her own career. But 1987 would see the release of The Witches of Eastwick, Suspect, and Moonstruck.

When 1986 rolled into ’87, Camilletti moved into Cher’s home. He accompanied her to the Oscars where she took home Best Actress for Moonstruck. The tabloids took aim. Camilletti'’s real name was hardly mentioned in reports about Cher, instead he was referred to simply as “Bagel Boy,” despite having left his job.

The seams on their relationship finally unraveled when Bagel Boy had a run-in with photographer Peter Brandt of Star magazine. Rumor had it that he and Cher were about to get married in a top-secret ceremony, and that Cher was pregnant. Brandt was camped outside of Cher’s home in July 1988, and Camilletti crashed into the photographer’s Honda, smashing his car and breaking his camera. Camilletti was arrested and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon. (Cher posted $2,000 in bail.)

The couple dated from 1986 to 1989. The two broke up due to intense media scrutiny. “They were so mean with Robert – you know, ‘the bagel boy,’” Cher said in a 2010 Parade interview. Still, when the question of who her “one true love” was came up at a 2013 event, she responded, “Robert Camilletti.”

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Weird Advertising for a Weird Car: Balloon-Wheeled Citroen DS, 1959

In the October 1959 catalog devoted to the ID - Citroen’s communication department wanted to highlight a fundamental advantage of the ID and DS compared to any other car: the hydropneumatic suspension.

Made of four spheres and combining the action of a gas and a fluid, its flexibility and softness are second to any other. Perched on four balloons and resting in the middle of a lake, this promotional Citroen plays on the allegory of comfort by combining two elements that distinguish it from other land vehicles: air and water. The balloon sculpture, both ID and DS, take on the color “Blonde Ecaille” of the ID #176 of Paul Coltelloni, victorious at the 1959 Monte Carlo rally.

These photographs show how they did it. Note the stilts, carefully airbrushed in the final product. Balloons and undercarriages marked most of the DS’s advertising, as this uptight German family notes -- appropriate for a car that resembled a UFO.