A backstuga (literally “slope cottage” or “freeground cottage”) is a Swedish language judicial term, previously used in Finland and Sweden, for a kind of rural cottage.

The basic criterion is that the small building on someone else’s property, often public land, is a finite right that cannot be sold. Unlike pure squatter slums, there was usually some form of legal contract on a backstuga. A small piece of land, suitable for, for example, a potato field, often belonged to the backstuga.

The term has been known since the beginning of the 17th century, but it was only from the beginning of the 19th century that backstugusittare were reported separately from crofters. The estate statistics of 1805 say just over 28 000 backstugor, while in the middle of the 19th century 45 000, and in 1885 50 000 are reported and 1910 down to 22 658.

Additionally, in architecture, a backstuga is a cottage built into the southern slope of a hill, alternatively with a low floor and its walls stretched halfway down into the ground. Such cottages are also referred to as jordstuga (earth cottage) or stenstuga (stone cottage). They were small, typically about 20 square metres (220 sq ft), and only exceptionally found further north than Gothenburg. In the 20th century, the general poverty was mitigated and this kind of homes became less and less used. They were very close in design to Anglo-Saxon Pit-houses.

Backstugas were often inhabited by old, decrepit people and could, for example, be assigned to exceptions contracts, retired faithful servants, or the parish’s poor boys instead of for the poorhouse. Exceptions contract is a contractual right for the seller to retain for the remainder of his life the usufruct of a small residence or a small area of land that is exempt from the buyer’s right to dispose of the transferred agricultural property.

33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee is a television special starring the Monkees that aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. The musical guests included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Express, Paul Arnold and the Moon Express and We Three. The special was produced by Jack Good, creator of the television series Shindig!.

Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger (with their backing band the Trinity) also played a prominent role. This special is notable as the Monkees’ final performance as a quartet until 1986, as Peter Tork left the group at the end of the special’s production.

As the lead singer of the Ronettes, Ronnie Spector (1943–2022) found fame while fronting one of the most popular groups of the 1960s. Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett was still in high school in New York City when she recruited her older sister and cousin to form a singing trio known initially as Ronnie and the Relatives. After the underage girls bluffed their way into a long-running gig at the Peppermint Lounge in 1961, they christened themselves the Ronettes.

Success proved elusive until 1963, when an audition with producer Phil Spector led to a record contract and their first hit single, “Be My Baby.” In 1965, the Ronettes’ recording of “Walking in the Rain” claimed a Grammy nomination, and, in 1966, they opened for the Beatles during the Fab Four’s final U.S. tour. Ronnie Spector’s singing career skidded to a halt during her marriage (1968–74) to the abusive Phil Spector, resuming only after their divorce.

Born in Montreal, Shearer’s childhood was one of privilege until her father’s business collapsed. Her ambitious mother moved the family to New York, where Shearer pursued an acting career, initially struggling with rejections from people like Florenz Ziegfeld and D.W. Griffith. She eventually found her way to Hollywood and signed a contract with MGM in 1923.

Her career skyrocketed at MGM, where she became a top star in silent films like He Who Gets Slapped (1924) and The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927). In 1927, she married MGM’s head of production, Irving Thalberg, which further cemented her powerful position within the studio.

With the advent of sound, Shearer’s career flourished. Her refined voice and intelligent screen presence made her a sensation. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her daring role in the pre-Code film The Divorcee (1930) and was nominated for five more Oscars throughout her career for films like A Free Soul (1931), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), Romeo and Juliet (1936), and Marie Antoinette (1938). She was famous for portraying strong, often sexually liberated, women who challenged societal norms.

After Thalberg’s death in 1936, Shearer’s career began to slow down. She made a few more notable films, including the classic all-female ensemble The Women (1939), before retiring from acting in 1942. She lived a private life with her second husband, Martin Arrougé, and rarely appeared in public. Norma Shearer passed away in 1983, leaving behind a legacy as one of Hollywood’s most influential and enduring stars.

After a string of roles in the late 1970s, she gained attention in 1981 with Roar, a chaotic film project she made with then-husband Don Johnson’s family and her mother, actress Tippi Hedren. The shoot became infamous for the real lions on set and the injuries cast members sustained.

She appeared in smaller but notable films like Fear City (1984) and Something Wild (1986), the latter showing her edgy, unpredictable screen presence. Her major breakthrough came with Body Double (1984), directed by Brian De Palma. The erotic thriller showcased her in a daring role and cemented her as a Hollywood sex symbol.

Griffith gained more critical respect with Something Wild (1986) and especially Working Girl (1988), where she played Tess McGill, an ambitious Staten Island secretary who climbs the corporate ladder. Working Girl was a huge hit and earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a Golden Globe win.

Griffith was as famous for her personal life as her films. She had a turbulent, on-again/off-again relationship with Don Johnson (married briefly in 1976, remarried in 1989). She was also known for her striking look — platinum blonde hair, distinctive raspy voice, and a style that blended glamour with a touch of rock ‘n’ roll edge.

By the end of the 1980s, Melanie Griffith was firmly in the A-list category, transitioning into the 1990s with high-profile roles and continuing public fascination with her career and relationships.