An unemployed Budapest bank clerk, sadly in need of funds, hit upon the idea of using his head for advertising purposes in 1939. Shaving the back of his head bare, he rented the space for ads.
April 3, 2022
30 Beautiful Photos of Ava Gardner During the Filming of ‘55 Days at Peking’ (1963)
55 Days at Peking is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations’ compounds in Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion, which took place in China from 1899 to 1901. It was produced by Samuel Bronston for Allied Artists, with a screenplay by Philip Yordan and Bernard Gordon with uncredited contributions from Robert Hamer, Julian Halevy, and Ben Barzman. Noel Gerson wrote a screenplay novelization, under the pseudonym Samuel Edwards, in 1963.
The film was directed primarily by Nicholas Ray, although Guy Green and Andrew Marton took over in the latter stages of filming after Ray had fallen ill. Both men were uncredited. It stars Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven, with supporting roles by Flora Robson, John Ireland, Leo Genn, Robert Helpmann, Harry Andrews, and Kurt Kasznar. It also contains the first known screen appearance of future martial arts film star Yuen Siu Tien. Japanese film director Juzo Itami, credited in the film as “Ichizo Itami”, appears as Col. Goro Shiba.
55 Days at Peking was released by Allied Artists on May 29, 1963 and received mixed reviews, mainly for its historical inaccuracies and lack of character development. However, the film was praised for its acting, direction, music, action sequences, and production design. In addition to its mixed critical reviews, the film grossed only $10 million at the box office against a budget of $10 million. Despite this, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards. It was director Ray’s last film until Lightning Over Water (1980).
These beautiful photos captured portraits of Ava Gardner during the filming 55 Days at Peking in 1963.
April 2, 2022
Rare Photographs of a Pregnant Marilyn Monroe During the Filming of ‘Some Like It Hot’ in 1958
Marilyn Monroe found out that she was pregnant in late September 1958, whilst filming Some Like It Hot. Arthur Miller announced Billy Wilder that Marilyn was pregnant and asked him to be careful with her and finish her workday at 4.30 PM. Wilder didn’t take it very well.
LOOK magazine assigned Phil Stern to capture what Hollywood tycoon, Sam Goldwyn saw from his window on the Goldwyn Studios lot. Using telephoto lenses from his bird’s eye view up in Goldwyn’s office resulted in interestingly lit and unique shots of an unposed Marilyn. Marilyn had no knowledge of Phil’s presence, and he was able to catch a moment no other photographer ever had; Marilyn Monroe visibly pregnant.
Marilyn wanted to protect her baby but at the same time, she worked long hours and insomnia took its toll, she was very afraid of a miscarriage. Sadly on December 16, she miscarried again. Marilyn was never able to carry her pregnancies to term.
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| Marilyn Monroe clearly visibly pregnant, during the filming of Some Like It Hot, September 1958. |
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| Marilyn Monroe, drama trainer Paula Stasberg and director Billy Wilder at Fox Studios’ Some Like It Hot costume trials, September 1958. |
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| Marry Reis and Marilyn Monroe clearly visibly pregnant, during the filming of Some Like It Hot, at the 20th Century Fox Studio’s, September 1958. |
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| Marilyn Monroe clearly visibly pregnant, during the filming of Some Like It Hot, September 1958. |
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| Marilyn Monroe clearly visibly pregnant, during the filming of Some Like It Hot, September 1958. |
Mattress Doubles as Life Raft, 1939
Taken into the wilds on fishing and boating trips, a new “unsinkable” mattress provides safety as well as comfort, for it can be used as a life raft in case of emergency in 1939.
Made of kapok floss, the mattress will support four people in the water, according to its maker. Its weight of only thirty-seven pounds minimizes the load to be carried. The photograph below shows a striking demonstration of its buoyancy before interested sportsmen at a Sharon, Massachusetts, rod and gun club.
33 Fascinating Black and White Photos of London in the Early 1970s
London-based photographer Norman Craig took these fascinating photos that show street scenes of London in the early 1970s.
“I worked in a lot of different buildings in the City from the 1970s to the 1990s. It’s likely I took some snaps in those years. I’ll look through my old negs from time to time to see if there’s anything worth uploading.”
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| Looking downriver towards Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast, London, March 1972 |
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| Looking upriver towards Tate Modern from the Monument, London, March 1972 |
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| Monument erected after the Great Fire of London. That's Pudding Lane on the right, where the fire started in 1666, March 1972 |
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| Party of Japanese tourists waits for a late coach, London, 1972 |
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| A kiss in the rush hour, London, March 1973 |
30 Portrait Photos of Sid Caesar From Between the 1940s and ’60s
American comic actor and writer Sid Caesar (1922–2014) had a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), which was a 90-minute weekly show watched by 60 million people and its successor, Caesar’s Hour (1954–1957), both of which influenced later generations of comedians. Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954 and tallied two wins. He also acted in movies; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982) and appeared in the films It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Vegas Vacation (1997).
Caesar was considered a “sketch comic” and actor, as opposed to a stand-up comedian. He also relied more on body language, accents, and facial contortions than simply dialogue. Unlike the slapstick comedy which was standard on TV, his style was considered “avant garde” in the 1950s. He conjured up ideas and scene and used writers to flesh out the concept and create the dialogue. Among the writers who wrote for Caesar early in their careers were Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner, Michael Stewart, Mel Tolkin, Selma Diamond, and Woody Allen. “Sid’s was the show to which all comedy writers aspired. It was the place to be,” said Steve Allen.
His TV shows’ subjects included satires of real life events and people, and parodies of popular film genres, theater, television shows, and opera. But unlike other comedy shows at the time, the dialogue was considered sharper, funnier, and more adult-oriented. He was “best known as one of the most intelligent and provocative innovators of television comedy,” who some critics called “television’s Charlie Chaplin” and The New York Times refers to as the “comedian of comedians from TV’s early days.”
Honored in numerous ways over 60 years, he was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, winning twice. He was also a saxophonist and author of several books, including two autobiographies in which he described his career and later struggle to overcome years of alcoholism and addiction to barbiturates.
Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of a young Sid Caesar from between the 1940s and 1960s.
Vintage Postcards of Camping in the U.S. in the 1950s and ’60s
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent or a recreational vehicle. Typically participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natural ones in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or an educational experience. The night (or more) spent outdoors distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other similarly short-term recreational activities.
Camping as a recreational activity became popular among elites in the early 20th century. With time, it grew in popularity among other socioeconomic classes. Modern campers frequent publicly owned natural resources such as national and state parks, wilderness areas, and commercial campgrounds. Camping is a key part of many youth organizations around the world, such as Scouting, which use it to teach both self-reliance and teamwork.
Here is a set of vintage postcards that shows camping in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.
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| A big buck looks on, West Nyack, New York |
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| Agate and Crescent Beaches, Olympic Peninsula, Washington |
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| Camp Nawakwa, Arendtsville, Pennsylvania |
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| Campground at Bennett Spring State Park, Lebanon, Missouri |
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| Camping in State Park, Door County, Wisconsin |
