50 Unedited Vintage Photos And The Intriguing Stories Behind Them

Before either of them were stars, they were both ballerinas. Caron was a ballerina in Ballets des Champs-Elysees, as was Brigitte Bardot. Canon was discovered by Gene Kelly, and was cast in her first film, An American in Paris (1951). Bardot, who had become friends with Canon while they were both ballerinas, first became a model, where she was discovered and cast in her first film, Crazy for Love (1952). Although the friends got their starts on similar paths, they soon diverged, with Bardot’s acting career ending in 1973.

Kris Jenner wasn’t always a wealthy matriarch and reality television star. She got her start working as a teenager in a donut shop, where she cleaned the donut makers and removed the glaze from the floor. She went on to work as a flight attendant for American Airlines, a job that taught her important people skills as well as responsibility. At the time, she was dating professional photographer Alfred M. Garcia, who shot modeling photos of her. She married Robert Kardashian in 1978.

Sarandon attended Catholic University in Washington D.C. from 1964 to 1968, graduating with a BA in Drama. Her career started soon after she graduated, as she went to a casting call with her then-husband Chris. He didn’t get a role in the film, but she was cast in a major role in Joe (1970). She played a teen who gets lost in the seedy underworld. Then, between 1970 and 1972, she was in the soap operas, A World Apart and Search for Tomorrow.

The Forum, which is now known as the Kia Forum, was once one of the best-known indoor sports venues in the U.S. In addition to basketball, it hosted tennis and boxing matches, political events, and, of course, major music concerts. Jackson and Mercury first met when Jackson went to the Forum to see Queen perform. After the meeting, they became friends and recorded several duets together in Michael Jackson’s home studio. It’s not clear what album they were recording the duets for as only one ever saw the light of day.

Sonny and Cher met in 1963 when she was just 16. He was 27 and married, although he and his wife were separated. However, their relationship just began as friendship. She moved in with him and it was more of a paternal relationship. It did become romantic, and in 1965, they recorded “I Got You Babe.” They officially married in 1969. Cher let him take the lead, and has admitted to having “hero worship” of him, but their relationship wouldn’t last.

Of course before they became Friends living in Manhattan apartments and hanging out at the Central Perk, they had to endure high school. From the looks of it, they didn’t have to suffer through the awkward years at that point (although David Schwimmer’s hair looks like he had aspirations of finding fame as a rock star). If you look closely, you can see who they would become once they were stars. But they definitely look really young.

George Harrison was fascinated by cars. In fact, he was so fascinated that he followed the Formula One World Championship around the world for the better part of a year. He got the first car that was registered to his name three days after he turned 21. This car, the Jaguar E-Type, was followed the next year by his first extravagant car, his 1964 Aston Martin DB5. The car was sold at auction in 2011. This would not be his last extravagant car however, as he bought Porsches and Mercedes, and the priciest, his McLaren F1.

Clint Eastwood has made more than enough money to satisfy his habit of collecting cars. This Ferrari was originally sold in Italy, but then it was imported to America in 1977, when Eastwood added it to his collection. He, however, made some changes to the car. Specifically, he didn’t like the roof, so he had it removed. He kept the car until 1985, when he sold it. It ended up in Japan eventually, but finally made it back the U.S. in 2011. 

The 1950s saw the development of a number of iconic Vegas hotels, including the Sands, the Showboat and the Tropicana. The booming metropolis attracted tremendous population growth, and saw some of the biggest performers of the decade, including Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. When people weren’t in the casinos, they were relaxing pool side, or possibly soaring through the air to take a refreshing dip. While the pool in this picture may not match today’s standards, it’s definitely glamorous in a mid-century way.

In September 1971, the stars of the Brady Bunch were part of a promo video, Brady Bunch Visits ABC. In the video, Mike and Carol Brady drop their kids off at the studio, where they had a tour of the studio. During the tour, which was a promo for the Saturday morning cartoon line-up that fall, they learned about the shows that were starting, and they met creatures from Sid and Marty Krofft, as well as the Jackson 5, who were there promoting their new cartoon. 

Michael Jordan attended the University of North Carolina, where he was named ACC Freshman of the Year. In the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, he made the game-winning jump shot. He left college the year before he would have graduated to enter the NBA draft, but returned to complete his BA in geography in 1986. His dorm room definitely reflects his passion, though we’re not sure what that umbrella is all about.

This photo was taken during McEnroe’s first year on the pro circuit, which was when the two met for the first time. McEnroe was only 19 at the time, and he and Borg became friends. Although the two had very different personalities on the court, they had a lot in common when they weren’t playing tennis. They had similar ways of looking at the world and similar senses of humor. In 1981, at the Wimbledon final, McEnroe beat Borg, who would then retire a few years later. The two remained friends.

After Superman III, Christopher Reeves had little interest in reprising his role, and the creators wanted to milk a little more money out of the franchise, so they decided to make Supergirl. The role was Helen Slater’s film debut, and she played alongside Faye Dunaway and Peter O’Toole. While the film did well for its first weekend, it was considered a box office bomb, and critics were equally unimpressed. Slater may not have reprised this role, but she did find a modicum of success in Hollywood.

Marlon Brando’s makeup for the role of Don Corleone was not too complex, honestly. Once he got the role, he had to get his hair cut, dyed, and slicked back. Yes, Corleone had a heavy jowled look that Brando accomplished for the audition by stuffing tissue, a look that had to be created as they were filming the movie, although not with tissue. The main part of Brando’s daily prep for the shoot was to get his face to look like a man who had see a lot. And this is a look that can’t be accomplished with makeup.

The film, which was set in the 1920s, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and five Golden Globes. It was a spoof of the 1920s, and it stands out as one of the best musicals of the 1960s. At the time it was made, Julie Andrews was one of the top box office stars, and her performance garnered good reviews. In the film, Mary Tyler Moore’s character is an actress in New York, who is taken under the wing of Millie, played by Andrews.

Jagger and Hall reportedly met while both were involved with other people. When Jagger got divorced in 1978, his relationship with Hall started. They quickly became one of the most talked about couples in the entertainment industry. Their relationship was tumultuous, to say the least, as they had their first breakup in 1982, three years after this picture was taken. They got back together shortly after that first breakup and had their daughter in 1984. However, this reunion wasn’t going to last either.

While it’s not clear which beauty contest they had participated in, it is clear that Al Rose, the Trailor King was taking advantage of the attention their beauty would get; they provided a great visual for his advertisement on wheels as it passed the crowds of spectators. For their part, the pageant participants look fabulous perched in the back of the pick-up truck. Wonder how many campling trailer sales he made after this? He did seem to make a name for himself though distributing the Crown trailer.

McCartney and Lennon first met on a church hall stage in Liverpool in 1957 when McCartney was 15 and Lennon was a little bit older. In 1960, they formed the Beatles. They had their first live performance at the Litherland Town Hall, and their second, at St. John’s Hall in Bootle came the next day. For their third, they performed at the Aintree Institute and would return on 31 occasions from 1961 to 1962.

The Sweet got their start in London as The Sweetshop in 1968. The British glam rock band rose to prominence in the 1970s, starting with their first hit, “Funny Funny.” From 1971 to 1972, their music ranged from the bubblegum style of their first hit to a sound that was influenced by the Who and stood out because of their use of high-pitched backing vocals. By 1974, their music became more hard rock. With “Love is Like Oxygen,” they had their final international success in 1978.

While Henson did not collect cars, he did enjoy driving and he did like sports cars. He bought a white Thunderbird with his early earnings from Sam and Friends, a five-minute show which had an early version of Kermit, although Kermit was not yet a frog. In the midst of the The Muppet Show era, he bought a Lotus Éclat to drive around London in. Henson ended up not only painting the car green like his famous frog, but also detailed the headlights so that they looked like Kermit’s eyes.

Blackie Dammett, whose real name was John Kiedis, was an actor, who had small parts, (although he did appear in three episodes of Starsky and Hutch). He was a bit unconventional, raising wolves and wolf hybrids, and allegedly dealt drugs part time. His son, Anthony Kiedis, was raised by Dammett’s ex-wife in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but when Kiedis was almost12, he moved to Los Angeles to live with his father. Kiedis, of course, would grow up to found the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

John F. Kennedy Jr. was born in 1960, two weeks after his father was elected, and eight weeks before he took office. On his third birthday, he attended his father’s funeral. From the time he was born until his untimely death in 1999, he was rarely far away from media scrutiny. The public was fascinated by the young boy who spent the first few years of his life in the White House.

The year before her death from a heroin overdose, Janis Joplin had just left Big Brother and the Holding Company to strike out on her own. She formed a new backup group, the Kozmic Blues Band. Her new group would release an album in September 1969, despite Joplin’s serious heroin problem (she was reportedly shooting $200 worth a day in early 1969). In this photo, she is in front of the Chelsea Hotel, where she had an affair with Leonard Cohen that year. 

Chevrolet debuted the Impala moniker in 1956, and in 1958, it appeared on the Bel Air Impala Sport Coupe and Convertible. During the second year of production, they decided to expand their design portfolio, and the Impala unseated the Bel Airs as Chevrolet’s premium series. This is the year that they introduced the four-door hardtop and the four-door sedan, which was in addition to their two-door hardtop or convertible. Chevrolet may not have intended the Impala to be anything more than a family sedan, but this pink model seems to be geared towards a slightly different demographic.

Before Betty White became a star, she wanted to be a forest ranger, but she couldn’t because she was a woman. By 1952, she had her own talk/variety show, The Betty White Show. She had full creative control over her show, and she hired a female director. Her show was the first variety show to feature an African American as a regular, Arthur Duncan, a tap dancer. When she faced criticism and the show faced boycott, she responded “I’m sorry. Live with it.” Then she gave Duncan more airtime.

The Soap Box Derby got its start in the Great Depression and continues to this day. To make a qualifying Soap Box Derby car, the competitors have to design it to be less than a specific weight which is calculated by the weight of the car and the driver. The reason for this? Soap Box Derby cars are propelled by gravity, not by a motor. The cars are carefully designed and balanced as they race at speeds that can exceed 30 miles per hour as gravity pulls them downhill.

Alex Trebek worked in television long before he became the beloved host of Jeopardy. Trebek got start working for the CBC before he finished his undergraduate degree, and in 1963, by the age of 23, he was hosting his first show, Music Hop. The show was basically a Canadian version of American Bandstand. The host (in this case, Trebek), would introduce the visiting musicians, or the songs being played by the house musicians. The house musicians played for crowds of dancing teenagers. This was definitely a far cry from the more intellectual hosting gig he would land in 1984.

In 1956, George Harrison’s sister left Scotland with her husband who was an engineer in the mining business. The couple and their children moved to Canada and Peru before ending up in Benton, Illinois. In 1963, he and his brother took a trip to Benton to visit Louise, the oldest of his siblings. Louise also became one of Harrison’s biggest promoters, contacting anyone who would listen to try to help her brother’s band break into the U.S. market.

In 1975, Lita Ford was recruited to join The Runaways when she was only 16. They released their first album the next year. The band played hard rock-oriented songs, and Ford’s lead guitar playing became an integral part of their sound. The singer and songwriter Paul Rodgers got his start in music in 1968 with the band Free, and when they broke up, The Doors wanted Rodgers to replace Jim Morrison after his death. He had other ideas though and formed Bad Company.

Although Orbison signed with Sun Records in 1956, he didn’t reach his greatest success until he signed with Monument Records. From 1960-1966, 22 of his singles made it to the Billboard Top 40. In 1965, the year this photo was taken, he had reconciled with his wife (they divorced in 1964), so he had something else to be happy about. In addition to his love for music, he also loved all sorts of machines, which apparently was not limited to cars and motorcycles.

Devo, the band that formed in 1973, found its name in the concept of devolution, the idea that man was regressing, not progressing, got their recording contract in 1978 and by 1980, they had broken through to the mainstream. Although they were not performing for the geese, they were wearing the energy dome hats that they became known for. Incidentally, the energy dome hats were not introduced until the year that this picture was taken, and apparently, the geese don’t really care, as long as they’re being fed.

Mikey was the character played by John Gilchrist, who was born in 1968. In the ad itself, in case you don’t remember, three brothers are eating breakfast, and they prod each other to take a taste of the Life cereal in the bowl in front of them. The two older brothers convince Mikey to try it, and much to their surprise, “He likes it!” The commercial won a Clio in 1974 and was ranked the No. 10 commercial of all time in 1999 by TV Guide. A survey conducted in 1999 found that 70% of adults could identify it with only a “brief generic description.”

Elizabeth Taylor is stunning in this film, and this outfit shows the opulence not only of the character she plays but of the film itself. Cleopatra is one of the most beautiful films ever shot, and it includes some noteworthy performances. It did well at the box office and won four Academy Awards. However, it went way over budget and at the time it was made, it was the most expensive movie ever made. Because of its cost, it nearly bankrupted the studio, which had to sell off almost 300 acres of its backlot just to stay in business.

On February 5, off the coast of South Carolina, an extratropical cyclone started to mix with an arctic cold front and cold air mass, becoming the catastrophic nor’easter that moved up the coast, wreaking havoc in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the New York metropolitan area, and New England. The snow mainly fell from Monday morning, February 6 through the evening of Tuesday, February 7, ending after 33 hours. In addition to the record-breaking snowfall, because the storm developed during the new moon, the high tide was unusually large, and coastal communities were damaged. It was also accompanied by hurricane force winds. In some parts of New England, the snow changed to ice.

The character of Sabrina Duncan was one of the founding Angels in the Charles Townsend Detective Agency, otherwise known as Charlie's Angels. She had her training at the Los Angeles Police Academy and became the team leader for three years before she resigned when Kate Jackson left the show. Prior to the beginning of the series, she was married to Bill Duncan, but apparently was divorced by the time it started. Once Kate Jackson decided it was time to pursue other acting opportunities, they wrote Sabrina Duncan out of the show by having her get married.

In 1981, Prince suggested that Susan Moonsie form a girl group with her sister Lorreen and Jamie Shoop. Prince envisioned them performing songs about sex, romance, and fantasy while wearing lingerie. Once Prince started a relationship, Loreen and Shoop left the group and Vanity started singing lead. Prince wrote the songs, although the group members were sometimes given writing credits. They released one album, Vanity 6, which was certified gold, and three singles, with their biggest hit possibly being “Nasty Girl.”

Although he had not yet become Hawkeye Pierce, by the time this picture was taken, Alan Alda had been acting for a number of years. He got his start on stage and spent a season with Second City in Chicago (1958-1959). In 1966, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor for his appearance in The Apple Tree in 1966. His first Hollywood appearance came in Gone Are the Days!, which was followed by other film roles. In 1968, he was on What’s My Line! as a panelist several times.

This Western comedy was one of the first shows targeted at women. Robert Brown played Jason Bolt, a logging company boss who travels to New Bedford, Massachusetts to recruit marriageable women to move to Seattle and stay for a year. Once the Bolt brothers recruit the women, they charter a mule-ship to transport them all back to Seattle. Jason Bolt struggles to keep the women there, and eventually convinces them to stay. One of the themes is the importance of family since they stick together and overcome obstacles.

Of these three Angels, Shelley Hack had the shortest run on Charlie's Angels, lasting only one season. She was cast as Tiffany Welles, replacing Kate Jackson. Before landing this role, she had been in two movies, including a bit part in Annie Hall. She made her name though as a model. She was best known as the face of Revlon’s “Charlie” perfume. While Jaclyn Smith was the only Angel to last throughout the shows run, Cheryl Ladd, who came on in the second season, remained until the final season.  

This picture the stunning young Isabella Rossellini was taken before her acting career (or her modelling career for that matter) even began. She got her start as an actress, appearing as a nun in 1976’s A Matter of Time, opposite her mother, Ingrid Bergman. When she was 28, she started modelling, and her first gig was being photographed by Bruce Weber for British Vogue and by Bill King for American Vogue. She has been photographed by renowned photographers throughout her career, including Richard Avedon and Annie Leibovitz.

Inspired by the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night, Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider decided to develop a show about a fictional band called The Monkees. The four actors/musicians were taught improvisational techniques and given character “types” that had things in common with the personalities of the Beatles. The show was a hit at first, and after its first season, it won an Emmy.

Chuck Cunningham was played by three different actors over two seasons of the long running series Happy Days, which apparently was not a big deal, since he was rarely seen and had very few lines. Chuck was Richie’s big brother and a high school jock. When he made his rare appearances, he was accompanied by a basketball. By the third season, Chuck had simply disappeared. Fans believe he may have left for college, but his non-existence was never addressed. It did, however, inspire a new term, Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, which is when a central character is around at the start of a series and then disappears.

William Conrad played the part of Cannon, a veteran of the Korean War and former member of the L.A.P.D. Not only was the character street smart, but he also appeared to be highly educated, since he had familiarity with several languages and knowledge of diverse subjects. Since the role was played by an overweight actor, the series frequently mentioned his weight, but that didn’t hold him back from using not just his wits to outsmart the bad guys, since he engaged in fistfights and shoot-outs with them as he tried to solve crimes.

Bob Seger got his start in the Detroit music scene in 1961 as the front man for a band called the Decibels. He then joined the Town Criers followed by Doug Brown & The Omens. After this, he continued fronting bands until The Bob Seger System disbanded, when he became a solo act, releasing his first solo album in 1971. After the album failed, he started to look to become part of a band again. The year this picture was taken, he had left yet another band, but the following year, he put together the Silver Bullet Band.

Jackie DeShannon signed with Liberty Records in 1960. She released two songs before her 1962 single, “Faded Love” became her first US Billboard Top 100 song. She recorded many more songs during her early years, but they didn’t fare well on the charts. Her songwriting, however, kept her in her contract. In 1964, she costarred and sang with Bobby Vinton in the film Surf Party. Also in 1964, she supported the Beatles on their first US tour. Many of her songs were covered successfully by other musicians, and she recorded Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What the World Needs Now is Love” which led to tours and television appearances.

Before she became Kim Novak, she was crowned “Miss Deepfreeze” when she visited Los Angeles, and while there, she was discovered by an agent who signed her to a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures. They suggested she change her name to “Kit Marlowe,” but she wanted to keep her name. Her stage name arose from compromise. Her first role was in Pushover (1954), a role for which she received third billing. That same year, she appeared in the romantic comedy Pfffft. The roles kept coming and she received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her role in Picnic (1955).

John Landis, director of Animal House, found his inspiration for the film while he was working in Yugoslavia. While in the back of a car when they encountered a group of gypsies who seemed to be performing some sort of rituals to prevent a man being buried from rising from the grave. He imagined the story of a man confronting the undead. He based the film’s title on a combination of An American in Paris and Werewolf of London. People were nervous to provide him with funding because it didn’t fall neatly into either the horror or the comedy category.

Born on September 6, 1971 in Ballybricken, County Limerick, O’Riordan sang before she could talk. At the age of five, the principal of her school sat her on the desk of the sixth-grade teacher and told her to sing. She became a liturgical soloist in a local church choir, and when she was 10, her uncles took her to pubs, where she also sang. Throughout high school, she won local and national singing competitions. She left home at 18 because she wanted to sing, and by 1990, she had joined the Cranberries.

Known as Geddy Lee, he joined Rush in September 1968, after his childhood friend, Alex Lifeson, asked him to replace the original bassist and frontman, Jeff Jones. He was only 15 at the time, and the next year, Rush began playing professionally. By 1971, they were playing original songs, and by 1972, they were playing full concerts. In 1977, the year before this picture was taken, the band added synthesizers which Lee could play simultaneously with his bass, as they had a foot pedal. Pretty impressive!

Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, road trips were the way to travel. You packed everything you needed for your time on the road, and, if you wanted, hitched up the camper and went. While the cars at that time were bigger, the campers did seem to be a bit smaller. And what better way to hit the road in style? This was the boom time for road trips, since airline tickets were prohibitively expensive, and fast food was becoming easy to find. Of course, with a camper, you had the luxury of using a rudimentary kitchen.

Randy Poffo’s father Angelo had a 42-year career in wrestling, and from a young age, Randy had a passion for baseball. He played on his high school team, and broke state records. He hoped to be drafted, but the scouts overlooked him. Then, he turned down a scholarship offer to play ball for Arizona State. Instead, he was drafted in the minors during an open-agent tryout. After two injuries, he taught himself to throw left-handed. As it became clear that he wasn’t going to make it to the majors, he started a secret wrestling career. Once he was cut from the minors, he pursued this new career path that led him to the top of the food chain in the WWF.

Phil Everly first met Buddy Holly in 1957 in the Montreal Canadiens’ locker room during the Fats Domino Tour. This was a big package tour, and all the performers were in the locker room which was their wardrobe. Everly was 18 at the time, and they traveled on the buses together from city to city. Apparently, Buddy Holly and the Crickets were impressed with the Everly Brothers’ clothing, although the camaraderie didn’t end there. Their friendship lasted until Holly’s death on February 3, 1959.