Funny Vintage Photos of Famous People in Cross-Dressing

Dressing as a member of the opposite sex has a long and varied history. In the past, men and women cross-dressed to assume new roles, to enable them to do things they otherwise couldn’t, or because they just plain wanted to. Here are some celebrities who for whatever reason (for mischief, or for plays or films) decided to adopt the clothing of the opposite sex:

Two of Andy Warhol’s famous self-portraits in drag, 1981.

Marcel Duchamp’s alter ego Rrose Sélavy, photographed by Man Ray, 1921.

Keith Richards, in an outtake from the photo shoot for the cover of Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?. Photo by Jerrold Schatzberg, 1966.

Frida Kahlo in drag, with sisters Adriana and Christina and cousins Carmen and Carlos Verasa, photographed by Guillermo Kahlo, 1926.

Two shots of F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1916, the leftmost of which was published in The New York Times as a publicity photo for Princeton’s Triangle Club musical, “The Evil Eye!.” The Times called Fitz “the most beautiful” show girl in the whole production.

See more»

Photos of the Quarrymen From the Late 1950s

The Quarrymen were a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which eventually evolved into The Beatles in 1960.

Originally consisting of Lennon and several schoolfriends, the Quarrymen took their name from a line in the school song of Quarry Bank High School, which they attended. Lennon’s mother, Julia Lennon, taught her son to play the banjo and then showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars in a similar way to the banjo, and taught them simple chords and songs.

Below are old photos of the Quarrymen from 1957-59.

See more»

Vintage Photos of Marilyn Monroe on the Set of ‘The Misfits’ (1960)

The Misfits is a 1961 American drama film with a screenplay by Arthur Miller which was directed by John Huston. It stars Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, and Eli Wallach. It was the final film appearance for both Gable and Monroe, and the third-to-last for Clift.

The plot centers on a recently-divorced woman (Monroe) and her time spent with a cowboy (Gable) and his friend (Clift) in the Western Nevada desert in the 1960s. The movie was not a commercial success at the time of its release but received positive critical comments for its script and performances.

Below are some photos of Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits taken by John Huston in Nevada, 1960.

(Photos © Inge Morath / Magnum Photos)

Instructions on How to Use a Telephone From 1917

When the telephone was first introduced to households and offices, many of the procedures and courtesies that we take for granted weren't intuitive. In fact, a lot of newbie phone users experienced stage fright upon picking up the receiver.

In order to help people adjust to this radical new technology, the 1917 Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company publication "How to Use the Telephone, 1917" is a clear, sensible guide to managing your "delicately adjusted instrument," including useful tips like finishing your calls with "good-bye" so that the other party doesn't suppose that the operator has cut them off.

See more»

Vintage Photographs From Inside Famous Libraries

Here collection of vintage photographs from inside 10 famous libraries both at home and abroad. Often more subdued than modern libraries, they seem to hum with wisdom through that black and white film.

The New York Public Library [via NYPL]

London Library post-Blitz, c. 1940. [via]

The Long Room in the Trinity College Library, from Ireland in Pictures, 1898. [via Villanova University Digital Library]

A stereogram of the great hall in the Vatican Library by William Herman Rau. [via Wikipedia]

The Brooklyn Public Library’s children’s room, 1941. [via]

See more»

New York Light Paintings by Eric Staller in 1970s

Light artist Eric Staller could be called the father of light painting in its present day form. Staller was born in 1947 in New York. He studied architecture at the University of Michigan and graduated with a bachelors degree in 1971. Towards the end of his time at UOM Eric started to create sculpture and pieces of performance art.

From 1976 to 1980 Staller roamed the dark streets of New York City creating light painting photographs. Eric’s Light Drawing series could be the very first Light Art Performance Photographs ever created. It could be argued that Man Ray’s “Space Writing” series were the first light art performance pieces but there is no doubt that Staller’s images such as Light Tubes, Happy Street, and Technicolor Torsos all envoke elements of performance art.

In the late 1970s staller set up his camera, open the shutter, and moved throughout the frame creating some amazing light painting photographs. Eric’s Light Drawings series is one of the most influential series on light painters today.

See more»

30 Fascinating Photos of a Young and Beautiful Alyssa Milano in the 1980s and ‘90s

Alyssa Milano was born in 1972, into an Italian-American family in Brooklyn, New York. She pursued acting from a young age, unexpectedly breaking into the industry when her babysitter took her to an audition for a touring production of the musical Annie, without the knowledge of Milano's parents. When Milano was offered a role as one of the orphans, her parents were wary of giving their permission. Only seven years old at the time, Milano simply wouldn't back down. She spent the next 18 months on the road with the show. From there, she knew what she wanted to do: “I heard the applause, and right then it was all over ... I knew to myself, this is it, forever.”

She continued to pursue acting, and, in 1984, landed a role on the hit sitcom, Who's the Boss?. Milano played Samantha Micelli, the outspoken daughter of Tony Danza's starring character. The show ran for eight successful seasons, turning Alyssa Milano into one of the leading teen icons of 1980s American pop culture.

Soon, a grown up Milano came upon her next big big break, landing a starring role as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed, playing one of three sisters who discover they are modern-day witches. The hit show ran for eight seasons, from 1998 to 2006, winning Milano a new generation of fans. Behind the scenes, though, not all was well; costar Shannen Doherty's early departure from the show, after just three seasons, was reportedly the result of backstage clashes with Milano.

Over the decade-spanning course of her Hollywood career, Alyssa Milano has, for the most part, avoided negative celebrity exposure, actively avoiding paparazzi-saturated areas and steering clear of many of the troubles that other former child actors have dealt with in a very public way. She attributes much of her ability to stay grounded to her family life; growing up, she ate dinner with her family every night.

See more»