Young Rowan Atkinson Becoming to Mr. Bean During an Interview in 1981

During an early TV appearance in 1981, a 26-year-old Rowan Atkinson transformed into Mr. Bean by shifting from a well-spoken, polite actor into the iconic character using only his facial expressions and awkward posture.

The footage originates from BBC One’s classic talk show Parkinson, hosted by Sir Michael Parkinson. At the time, Atkinson was an established sketch performer on Not the Nine O’Clock News. The broadcast took place nearly a decade before the official Mr. Bean television series premiered in 1990.

Dressed in a gray suit and patterned tie, an eloquent Atkinson calmly explains his structural approach to physical comedy to host Michael Parkinson. He outlines a comedic scenario about an “ordinary,” completely inoffensive passenger sitting opposite someone on a train.

Deciding to show rather than tell, Atkinson stands up briefly to physically act out the passenger’s stiff, hunched posture. As he sits back down, his entire demeanor shifts instantly. His posture stiffens, his eyes bulge open into a mischievous stare, he crosses his arms uncomfortably, and his face contorts into silent, awkward giggles. Without speaking a single word, the prototype for Mr. Bean is instantly recognizable to the studio audience.

Atkinson revealed that he and his screenwriter friend, whom he met while studying at Oxford University, had already experimented with visual, wordless sketches during their student days. He had discovered early on that he could fully express complex comedic situations entirely through facial control and body language. This early masterclass in physical comedy highlights why Mr. Bean later became a massive global phenomenon. Because the character relies almost entirely on physical expressions rather than dialogue, the humor translated effortlessly across international markets without needing translation or subtitles.

Del Womacks Getting His Trained Horse to “Play Dead” While Amused Children Look On, ca. 1900

Del Womack’s horse may not have been a tradition house pet, but it knew tricks like “play dead.” Womacks, an animal trainer and regional performer, trained his horse to collapse gently and lie perfectly still on the ground while still hitched to the cart.

(Photo: Missouri State Archives)

The secret to triggering the trick was dropping a hat on the ground. If you look closely near the horse’s flank, a black hat can be seen lying on the ground, which served as the cue for the horse to perform.

While the sight of a collapsed carriage horse would normally cause panic, the lighthearted expressions of Womacks and the smiling boy standing next to the cart reveal the performance nature of the scene. Such animal acts were highly popular at local fairs and exhibitions during this era.

30 Color Snapshots Show What Halloween Looked Like in the 1960s and 1970s

During the 1960s and 1970s, Halloween was a highly community-centric, uncommercialized neighborhood event characterized by freedom, simple DIY touches, and iconic (though notoriously uncomfortable) pop culture aesthetics.

Store-bought costumes during this era were dominated by two names: Ben Cooper and Collegeville. Sold in simple cardboard boxes at local drugstores, these outfits consisted of a flimsy plastic mask secured with a fragile rubber band and a matching flame-retardant vinyl smock emblazoned with the character’s name or face.

The character trends sharply tracked the pop-culture shifts of each decade. In the 1960s, classic monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein), fairytale princesses, and early TV/comic heroes like Batman, Yogi Bear, and Casper the Friendly Ghost dominated shelves. In the 1970s, costumes pivoted toward mainstream media, including Star Wars characters, the Sesame Street crew, superheroes, NASA astronauts, and music icons like KISS.

Trick-or-treating in the 1960s and 1970s was incredibly active, with neighborhoods packed with large groups of unsupervised children roaming freely after dark. Instead of custom plastic buckets, kids collected treats in classic brown paper grocery bags or standard pillowcases. It was common to receive homemade treats like popcorn balls, caramel apples, and homemade cookies. For candy, popular handouts included full-sized candy bars, Pixy Stix, Necco Wafers, Wax Bottles, and individual boxes of raisins.

Decorations were far simpler than the large-scale animatronics seen today. Neighborhood homes were typically decorated with cardboard window cutouts, tissue paper honeycomb pumpkins, and glowing plastic blow molds on front porches. Carved jack-o’-lanterns illuminated by real candles sat on stoops. School celebrations were massive events featuring costume parades, apple bobbing, and classroom parties.

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Newly Unveiled Playful Photo Strip of Dolly Parton and Carl Dean Goofing Around in a Photobooth, ca 1960s

This candid, playful photo strip shows country music icon Dolly Parton and her late husband, Carl Dean, goofing around in a photobooth during the early days of their relationship in the 1960s.

For decades, these intimate photos were completely hidden from the public eye. They were only discovered when archivists opened Carl Dean’s personal trunk, which the family referred to as a “time capsule.”

The photo strip was so buried that even Dolly Parton herself had not laid eyes on it since the day it was taken decades prior. When the team uncovered it, Dolly was reportedly completely “floored” by the discovery. The images were officially made public in late September 2026 as part of the grand opening of Dolly’s new Life of Many Colors Museum, located inside the SongTeller Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

What makes this photo strip exceptionally special to fans is how rare it is to see casual, personal documentation of the couple together. Dolly and Carl met on her very first day in Nashville in 1964, outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat when she was just 18 years old. They wed in a tiny ceremony in 1966 and remained deeply devoted to one another for nearly 59 years until Carl’s passing in 2025.

While Dolly became one of the most recognizable and beloved superstars on the planet, Carl fiercely protected his privacy, choosing to live a quiet life running an asphalt-paving business and completely avoiding red carpets, award shows, and cameras. Because he spent a lifetime avoiding the public eye, this newly unveiled photobooth strip serves as a beautiful, rare testament to the goofy, lighthearted, and deeply private love they shared long before the world came calling.

Beautiful Maid of Malmo: Portraits of Anita Ekberg Taken by Lisa Larsen for LIFE Magazine, 1951

In October 1951, renowned LIFE magazine photographer Lisa Larsen captured a famous series of portraits of a 20-year-old Anita Ekberg. Freshly crowned Miss Sweden, Ekberg had arrived in the United States to compete in the Miss America event as a guest of honor and to further her modeling career. The resulting LIFE magazine feature, headline-styled “Beautiful Maid of Malmo,” introduced the future cinematic icon to American audiences long before her legendary role in La Dolce Vita.

Larsen captured Ekberg playfully making animated faces and expressive pouts for the camera, highlighting her lively personality alongside her classic blonde features. Several of the iconic images show Ekberg trying on dramatic fashions of the era, including a heavy, dark-veiled hat designed by Mr. John.

At the urging of her mother, 19-year-old Ekberg entered and won the Miss Sweden competition in 1950. In 1951, she traveled to the United States to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. Although she did not win the crown, she placed as one of the six finalists. Her striking blonde, statuesque physique, and natural charisma immediately caught the eye of Hollywood talent scouts and high-profile figures like Howard Hughes.

Following the pageant, she signed a contract with Universal Studios. Because she spoke very little English at the time, the studio system placed her into intensive training. She received lessons in drama, elocution, dancing, horseback riding, and fencing. Ekberg famously admitted later in life that she was spoiled by the system and preferred playing over working. She skipped many of her drama lessons to go horseback riding in the Hollywood Hills, leading Universal to drop her contract after six months.

Plan of Work for a Small Servantless House, ca. 1930s

This chart, titled “Plan of Work for a Small Servantless House (3 or 4 in family),” comes from Mrs. Beeton’s Everyday Cookery (specifically 1930s to 1950s British editions, updated from Isabella Beeton’s famous 19th-century household management guides).

For decades, middle-class British households relied on live-in domestic staff (cooks, maids, scullery workers). However, following World War I and accelerating into the 1930s and post-WWII eras, economic shifts, rising wages, and new industrial job opportunities drastically reduced the availability of domestic servants. Housewives were suddenly required to manage entire homes single-handedly.

To aid housewives adapting to this new reality, domestic manuals, most famously Mrs. Beeton’s, re-imagined domestic work as a regimented, scientific schedule. Tasks were broken down into strict 10-minute blocks running from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM or later, treating home management almost like factory or office work.

Before central heating was widespread, mornings began at 7:00 AM with manual labor, stoking coal/coke boilers for hot water and lighting living-room fires. Tasks covered everything from vacuuming, mopping, airing beds, sweeping stairs, looking over the larder, to preparing three distinct meals a day.

Below the daily timetable, the “Housewife’s Weekly Duties” section schedules heavy-duty deep cleaning by room (e.g., Tuesday: sitting room; Wednesday: bedrooms; Friday: bathroom and stairs; Saturday: baking and week-end prep). The mention of “carpets with vacuum cleaner” and a “scullery” illustrates the transitional mid-20th-century era, combining traditional scullery work with modern labor-saving devices.

Never Before Seen Photos of Dolly Parton and Dom DeLuise on the Set of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” in 1981

David DeLuise recently opened the family archives to share rare, never-before-seen photos of country legend Dolly Parton alongside his late father, comedy icon Dom DeLuise. The nostalgic snapshots, which David posted to his Instagram account, were captured back in 1981 on the set of the musical comedy film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The movie eventually hit theaters in 1982.

In the film, Parton starred as the outspoken brothel madam Miss Mona, while DeLuise played the colorful, moralizing TV personality Melvin P. Thorpe. The set hosted an incredibly close-knit cast. According to family lore and crew stories, Dolly Parton and Dom DeLuise bonded so deeply during production that they once went trick-or-treating together completely in disguise around the Pacific Palisades on Halloween, and went entirely unrecognized by neighbors.

The newly shared photos offer fans a heartwarming, candid look at the joyful chemistry and genuine off-screen friendship between two of Hollywood and Nashville’s most beloved entertainers.

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Keith Moon of The Who Dressed as Court Jester to Amuse the Children of the Barnardo Day Centre, 1977

Keith Moon, drummer of The Who rock group, pictured in the Daily Mirror studios, dressed in court jester costume and make up to entertain the children of the Barnardo Day Centre at Forest Gate, East London in December 1977.

Known for his chaotic antics, hotel room destruction, and explosive drum solos, Moon also had a soft, playful heart, especially when it came to charity and theatrical dress-up. Organized as a Christmas goodwill visit for Barnardo’s, a prominent UK charity supporting vulnerable children and families. Moon went all-out, donning complete white greasepaint, a pointed cap with jester bells, and a yellow-and-red padded suit.

This event occurred less than a year before Moon’s tragic death in September 1978, making it one of the most memorable candid photos from his final months.

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In 1972, a Man From Dublin Attempted to Drink 20 Pints of Guinness in One Sitting to Enter the Guinness Book of Records

On March 15, 1972, a 42-year-old Dubliner named Jack Lynch set out to immortalize his name in the Guinness Book of Records. He took on the audacious challenge of consuming 20 pints, nearly 11 liters, of the heavy, filling Irish stout in one continuous session.

The event took place at Grainger’s Pub on Great Strand Street in Dublin. A massive, lively crowd packed into the pub to cheer him on, turning the record attempt into a night of incredible “craic” (fun and entertainment). Despite his determined effort and the roaring support of the packed house, Lynch did not officially complete the challenge and failed to secure a spot in the record books.

Because Guinness is notoriously thick and filling, consuming that volume in a single sitting proved to be too grueling of a task. Even though he fell short of the official milestone, the highly publicized event cemented his name in local history. Decades later, his grand attempt is still widely celebrated and shared across social platforms alongside other famous Irish pub myths, such as the legend of “Pintman” Paddy Losty.

Albert Einstein Driving a ‘Flying’ Car With His Wife Elsa (1931)

On February 3, 1931, Albert Einstein and his second wife, Elsa, visited the Warner Bros. First National studio lot in California. This home movie footage captures the famous physicist, who never actually learned to drive, playfully getting behind the wheel of a car on a soundstage while utilizing early rear-projection special effects.

Einstein and Elsa toured the active Warner Bros. lot, where he received demonstrations on sound recording and early cinematic special effects. Footage shows Einstein in the driver’s seat with Elsa as a passenger, pretending to drive past projected backdrops in a practical effects demonstration.

The rare silent film was rediscovered decades later in boxes belonging to a co-inventor of Kodakcolor and premiered publicly 87 years after it was shot.

Architects Dressed as Their Own Famous New York City Skyscraper Creations at the 1931 Beaux-Arts Ball

Held on January 23, 1931, at the Hotel Astor in New York City, the masquerade gala was organized by the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects. The ball’s theme was Fête Moderne: A Fantasie in Flame and Silver. During the height of the Great Depression, and just as Manhattan’s skyline was undergoing a explosive Art Deco transformation, seven of New York’s most prominent architects arrived at the costume gala dressed literally as the iconic skyscrapers they designed.

Standing side by side in elaborate cardboard-and-fabric costumes, the lineup includes: Leonard Schultze as the Waldorf-Astoria; William Van Alen as the Chrysler Building, his costume featured detailed patent leather and a cape made to mimic the building's sunburst spire; Ely Jacques Khan as the Squibb Building; Ralph Walker as the Wall Street Building; Arthur J. Arwine as a low pressure heating boiler, A. Stewart as the Fuller Building; and Joseph Freelander as the Museum of the City of New York.

The ball took place during the Great Depression. Tickets cost $15, a small fortune at the time. Despite the economic hardship outside, the party served as a spectacular, eccentric celebration of human ambition and the rapid vertical rise of the modern American metropolis. It remains a definitive cultural symbol of the Jazz Age and early American modernism.

George Michael Wearing a Captain’s Jacket on the Set of Wham!’s 1983 “Club Tropicana” Music Video in Ibiza

These candid photographs show George Michael on set during the filming of Wham!’s iconic “Club Tropicana” music video in the summer of 1983.

The music video was filmed on location at the famous Pikes Hotel in Ibiza, Spain. The hotel served as the perfect sunny, luxurious backdrop for the song's satirical take on package holidays and the glamorous jet-set lifestyle.

In this particular behind-the-scenes moment, Michael was playfully posing in a formal captain’s uniform jacket, complete with gold rank stripes on the sleeves, but paired with absolutely no pants, sporting just ultra-short shorts and white tube socks.

In the storyline of the “Club Tropicana” music video, he and his bandmate Andrew Ridgeley play two airline pilots on vacation. At the very end of the video, their holiday fantasy wraps up as they are shown dressing back into their pilot uniforms to head back to work.

This humorous, pantsless behind-the-scenes shot perfectly encapsulates the campy, lighthearted, and sex-positive aesthetic that defined Wham! in the early 1980s. It has since become a beloved piece of pop history and a testament to George Michael’s early status as a fearless, boundary-pushing style icon.

Rare Behind the Scenes Photographs From the Making of Queen’s “I Want To Break Free” (1984)

These photographs come from the private archive of Peter Hince, taken during the filming of Queen’s I Want To Break Free music video in 1984 at Limehouse Studios in London’s Docklands and a second studio in Battersea.

As Peter Hince recalled:

“The video for I Want To Break Free was done over two days, a brave tongue-in-cheek move by the band, well received... except in America, where it marked the beginning of the end for their popularity. The second day was the dressing-up in drag day. Fred revelled in it, and the others got into the spirit surprisingly well. John was happy as a grumpy old grandmother but refused currants and sultanas for warts. Brian, though convincing, was unlikely to change careers, and Roger was just a bit too convincing as he shaved his legs for his schoolgirl role. The atmosphere was very good and everyone appreciated that rock stars could make fun of themselves.

“The following morning, I flew to Japan with John, Roger and his assistant Crystal for a three-week promotional tour of the Far East, Australia and Los Angeles for The Works. The other single from The Works was ‘It’s a Hard Life,’ a grand pompous affair the band hated, done at Arri studios in Munich. Fred’s deep-pink, shiny outfit made him look like an overcooked tandoori king prawn.”

The images offer a rare behind the scenes look at that moment, not just the performance, but the atmosphere around it.

Peter Hince began his career in the music business in 1973 as an eighteen-year-old roadie working with David Bowie. Later that year, while touring with Mott the Hoople, he first encountered the then-unknown band Queen, who were supporting the group on their UK tour. During this period, Hince also worked on tours for artists including Lou Reed, Mick Ronson, Supertramp and Roxy Music, among others prominent in the 1970s music scene.

In the summer of 1975, as Queen recorded A Night at the Opera, Hince joined the band full-time. He served primarily as roadie to Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon, later becoming head of the band’s road crew. During his more than a decade with Queen, Hince developed a passion for photography. Trusted by the band, he was frequently able to capture set-up and candid moments in the studio, during rehearsals, on video shoots and behind the scenes on tour. Many of these photographs were subsequently used internationally on album sleeves, single covers, posters and other promotional material.

Following Queen’s final tour in 1986, Hince left the music industry and turned his long-standing hobby into a successful career as a photographer. He went on to win awards for his advertising work as well as for his distinctive black-and-white underwater photography. Throughout this period he remained close to Queen, particularly Freddie Mercury, photographing Mercury’s solo projects and attending many of his private events and gatherings.

Based in London and Munich, Peter Hince continues to write, manage his photographic archive, and appear as a corporate and guest speaker on Queen and the music business of the 1970s and 1980s.

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Outtakes of Maria Hanson and Jerry Hall From Vogue’s 1977 Star Wars Shoot by Eisuke Ishimuro

The November 1977 issue of US Vogue featured one of the most delightfully bizarre, high-camp crossovers in fashion history: “The Force of Fur,” photographed by Eisuke Ishimuro and styled by Jade Hobson.

Just months after Star Wars became a global phenomenon, George Lucas agreed to let Lucasfilm characters including Darth Vader, C-3PO, Stormtroopers, Jawas, and Snaggletooth pose alongside rising supermodel Jerry Hall and Maria Hanson to showcase the winter season’s most luxurious, over-the-top fur coats and fine jewelry.

Ishimuro deliberately moved away from traditional, atmospheric editorial lighting to match the graphic, sci-fi origins of the film. As he later reflected on his approach: “Since Star Wars heavily relied on visual effects, we thought the photographs should be simple and direct. I lit them to look two-dimensional and almost comic strip–like.”

The result was an 8-page layout featuring sharp, saturated, high-contrast images where the iconic characters functioned essentially as surreal, otherworldly accessories.

While the published spread featured polished frames of Jerry Hall modeling massive chinchilla and fox furs next to a rigid C-3PO or a towering Darth Vader, the behind-the-scenes outtakes and candid moments reveal a much looser, more playful energy on set.

The shoot took place over several days in Los Angeles. In those days, said Hobson, “editors carried the shoot with them. I don’t know how many trunks were on this shoot, but you can imagine, and my plane was met by some Brink’s people who kept [them] and would deliver them to the studio each day.”

Who was the most high-maintenance member of the crew? It wasn’t the glamorous Hall, whom Hobson describes as someone who “just loved clothes and dressing up and did her best to show the clothes.” Rather, it was that C-3PO. But not because he was throwing ’tude. It took hours to harness him into his costume, which could be worn only for a short time because, Hobson said, “it just got too hot.”

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Learn Roller Disco With Kevin Bacon, 1979

Long before he became an icon for breaking the “no dancing” rule in Footloose, a young Kevin Bacon was putting his rhythm to use on eight wheels in New York City. The year was 1979, and the roller disco craze was sweeping across America. At the time, Bacon was a struggling actor working as a busboy in Manhattan. He had bought a pair of quad skates in 1977 and became an avid street skater.

Because elite, flashy New York roller clubs like The Roxy and Xenon were far too expensive for a busboy’s budget, Bacon took his talents to the pavement, spending hours grooving, spinning, and practicing roller disco out in Central Park.

While skating in the park, an acquaintance who was putting together a project to capitalize on the exploding trend approached him. The pitch was simple: “Hey, I’m writing a book about this roller disco thing. Do you want to be a model?” Desperate for the gig, Bacon agreed. He ended up being featured as an instructional model in the 1979 paperback book titled How to Disco Rollerskate.

“Back when I was working as a busboy, I got a gig to model for a how-to roller disco book,” he recalled. “For reference, this move is called ‘Shoot the Duck.’”

In the book’s black-and-white photo spreads, a young, heavily feathered-haired Kevin Bacon can be seen demonstrating highly technical maneuvers, including a left-hand turn transition and a classic 1970s skate trick called the “Can Opener.”

Years later, Bacon revisited the memory on The Late Late Show, admitting that while he still owns those original 1977 skates, his feet have grown two sizes since his days as a Central Park roller disco model. Still, during the 2020 lockdowns, he famously dusted them off to post “Roller Disco” dance videos from his basement, proving he’s still got the moves.