Rare Polaroids of Steve Buscemi in Drag on the Set of “Somebody to Love” (1994)

Somebody to Love, directed by Alexandre Rockwell, is a romantic drama that explores the intertwined lives of struggling artists and dreamers in Los Angeles. It is inspired by Federico Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria. The film features a notable ensemble cast, including Rosie Perez, Harvey Keitel, Anthony Quinn, and Stanley Tucci, with Quentin Tarantino making a cameo appearance.

In the 1994 film, Steve Buscemi delivers a memorable performance as Mickey, a transvestite character who works in the same bar as the protagonist, Mercedes, portrayed by Rosie Perez. His portrayal was noted for its authenticity and depth, with critic Roger Ebert commenting that Buscemi did “a surprisingly convincing job” in the role.

For a visual glimpse of Buscemi in character, some behind the scenes Polaroids taken by artist Scott Williams showcases him in full makeup and costume. The images highlighting Buscemi’s striking transformation for the role.

Studio Portraits: Posing With Snow in the Early 20th Century

The tradition of taking studio portraits featuring snow was a popular and charming trend in early 20th-century photography. Since winter weather often made outdoor portrait sessions impractical, photographers ingeniously brought the winter atmosphere indoors.

These portraits typically featured subjects, often children or couples, posed against painted backdrops depicting snowy landscapes or cozy indoor settings with a view outside. The “snow” itself was meticulously arranged using simple props like cotton batting, shredded paper, or scattered white powder around the base of the scene or on small branches. These controlled studio environments allowed for flattering lighting and composition, resulting in photographs that offered a romanticized, often theatrical, vision of winter.

These photos perfectly captured the era’s desire to commemorate holidays and sentimental moments with a touch of artistic fantasy.

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John Lennon and Yoko Ono Waiting for Maid to Make Bed During “Bed-In for Peace” in 1969

In March 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono captured global attention with their famous “Bed-In for Peace” in Amsterdam, a week-long protest against war and violence. The couple, newly married, took residence in a flower-scented Presidential Suite at the Hilton Hotel, planning to remain in bed as a statement of peaceful resistance. Their aim was to use this unusual form of protest to draw attention to the world’s conflicts and advocate for love and nonviolence.

This specific photograph, taken by Charles Ley and published in the Daily Mirror on March 26, 1969, perfectly captures the contrast between their symbolic activism and everyday life. The couple had to momentarily get out of bed so that the hotel maid, Maria de Soledade Alves, could change the sheets. This humorous interruption highlighted the reality of their high-profile protest while staying in a luxury hotel.

The article with the headline “Beatle John and Yoko are forced out of their £20-a-day bed by Maria, the hotel maid.” It reads:

BEDMATES John Lennon and Yoko Ono, like many a visionary and revolutionary before them, discovered yesterday that being out of this world can have its little difficulties.

Suddenly, in their flower-scented £20-a-day Presidential Suite above Amsterdam, they found that high-thinkers occasionally have to compromise with more down-to-earth mortals ... such as hotel maids.

Suddenly, the serenity of Day Two of the Great Lennon Lie-in was interrupted by a rival “happening”: The Changing of The Bed Linen. And Beatle John and his Japanese bride had to get out of bed.

John and Yoko, who married last Thursday, took to their bed “as a protest against war violence in the world.” They planned to stay tucked up for seven days.

But that was before Maria de Soledade Alves, a Portuguese maid at Amsterdam's Hilton Hotel, came on the scene with a pile of new linen. Yoko, in a high-necked, old- fashioned white nightie, fled to a chair.

When Maria moved on to another room, the 28-year-old Beatle and his 34-year-old wife hopped happily back into bed.

To turn their backs on the world and peacefully contemplate the skyline of Amsterdam.

Pictures by CHARLES LEY

She (1965 Film): Hammer’s Immortal Fantasy

She is a lavish 1965 British adventure-fantasy film produced by Hammer Film Productions, based on the classic 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard. The film stars the iconic Ursula Andress (fresh from her breakthrough in Dr. No) as Ayesha, the beautiful and mysterious immortal queen, known as “She Who Must Be Obeyed”, who rules a lost city deep in the remote African interior.

The plot follows three English adventurers who stumble upon the queen’s domain and become entangled in her ancient quest for a lost lover’s reincarnation. Characterized by its stunning Technicolor cinematography, exotic locations, and elaborate costume design, She successfully blended adventure, romance, and supernatural themes. It remains a memorable entry in Hammer’s non-horror repertoire and solidified Andress’s status as a screen siren of the 1960s.

Take a look at these beautiful photos to see portraits of Ursula Andress during the filming of She in 1965.

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A Gallery of 51 Wonderful Christmas Covers of The New Yorker Magazine During the 1920s and 1930s

The New Yorker is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for The New York Times. Since the magazine’s founding, its holiday covers have evolved alongside societal changes while maintaining their distinctive artistic integrity.

In the 1920s and 1930s, their Christmas covers primarily featured traditional, often whimsical, illustrations that captured classic holiday scenes and the bustle of New York City life. The style of the era, including elements of Art Deco, was prominent, and artists like Rea Irvin, Helen E. Hokinson, and Ilonka Karasz were frequent contributors. 

The covers during this period balanced the charm of holiday traditions with observations on modern urban life. Santa was a frequent subject, depicted not just in the North Pole, but engaging in typical New Yorker activities. He was shown in various everyday scenarios, such as terrorizing a sleeping father (Rea Irvin, 1931) or even punching a time clock for a long shift (Constantin Alajalov, 1937).

Many covers illustrated the rituals of the season, including home-made Christmas wreaths, carolers in the streets, and the rush of shoppers in department stores. Especially in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, the covers sometimes featured more restrained, classic, and elegant designs, perhaps offering readers stability through traditional forms and ideas (as with a cover from December 1930).

The covers often reflected the shift from Christmas to New Year’s, featuring Father Time as a common character, sometimes in a dreamy or elegant depiction.

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Rare Photos of Frank Sinatra as a Kid From the 1910s and 1920s

Frank Sinatra was born into a working-class, Italian-American family in Hoboken, New Jersey, and his childhood was marked by a difficult birth, a resilient mother, and an early passion for music that led him to drop out of high school to pursue a singing career.

Born on December 12, 1915, Sinatra was an overdue, 13.5-pound (6.1 kg) baby delivered with forceps, which caused permanent scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, as well as a punctured eardrum. He was initially thought to be stillborn until his grandmother resuscitated him. He was an only child, often thin and small, which he later joked about.

His father, Marty Sinatra, was a former bantamweight boxer who worked as a firefighter. His mother, Dolly Sinatra, was a strong-willed midwife and local political figure who doted on her son but could also be physically abusive. The family was able to afford Sinatra expensive clothes and gave him his own bedroom, leading some neighbors to call him the “best-dressed kid on the block.”

Sinatra showed little interest in academics and was known for being rowdy. He dropped out of A. J. Demarest High School after just 47 days, reportedly expelled for general misbehavior. He briefly attended business school to please his mother but left to pursue his true ambition: singing.

His passion for music was ignited by listening to big band and jazz radio broadcasts, especially idolizing Bing Crosby. His maternal uncle gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings and on street corners for spare change.

To support his dreams, his mother helped him secure early jobs, including as a newspaper delivery boy and a shipyard riveter. He began performing in local social clubs and eventually joined a group called the Hoboken Four, which won a spot on the national radio show Major Bowes Amateur Hour in 1935, a pivotal moment that launched his career.

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Nastassja Kinski: A European Icon with Hollywood Reach

Nastassja Kinski is a German actress and former model who achieved international prominence in the late 1970s and ’80s. Born in 1961, she began her career as a model before making her film debut at a young age with German New Wave director Wim Wenders in The Wrong Move (1975). Her worldwide breakthrough came with her starring role in Roman Polanski’s Tess (1979), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award.

Kinski swiftly became a fixture in both European and American cinema, known for her ethereal on-screen presence and versatility. Her other notable films include Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart (1981), the fantasy horror Cat People (1982), and her acclaimed reunion with Wim Wenders in the road movie classic, Paris, Texas (1984).

Kinski’s striking beauty and intense performances solidified her status as one of the most recognizable actresses of her generation.

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