Yesteryear

Elissa Landi: Hollywood’s Most Regal Star

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Elissa Landi (1904–1948), born Elisabeth Marie Christine von Kühnelt in Venice, was an Austrian-Italian actress renowned for her refined beauty and aristocratic presence in Hollywood films of the 1930s.

Raised in Austria and educated in England, Landi began on the London stage before achieving success in American cinema. She appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Sign of the Cross (1932) and starred opposite Robert Donat in the box-office hit The Count of Monte Cristo (1934). With her elegant bearing and intelligent screen persona, she stood out as one of the most regal figures of the era.

After retiring from acting in the early 1940s, Landi devoted herself to writing novels and poetry until her early death at the age of 43. These elegant photos capture the poise, beauty, and distinctive regal presence of Elissa Landi, one of Hollywood’s most refined stars of the 1930s.

Rarely Seen Photos of Sir Roger Moore as a Child From the 1920s and 1930s

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Sir Roger Moore’s childhood was marked by severe health struggles, the hardships of World War II, and a strong passion for the arts. Growing up as an only child in South London, his early years blended modest family security with the terrifying reality of the Blitz.

Born on October 14, 1927, in Stockwell, London, Moore was the only child of George Alfred Moore, a London Metropolitan Police officer, and Lillian “Lily” Pope, a homemaker. Because his father had a steady job during the Great Depression, the family enjoyed a level of modest financial security that many of their neighbors lacked. Moore often spoke warmly of his parents, noting that they fully supported his early endeavors.

Moore was a famously sickly child. He once joked that he had contracted “every childhood disease known to man,” battling severe illnesses that included double pneumonia, jaundice and mumps. Because he spent so much of his youth in and out of hospitals, his parents became highly protective of him. Lacking the physical strength to defend himself against neighborhood bullies, Moore developed a sharp, witty personality to defuse dangerous situations with humor, a trait that would later define his acting style.

His teenage years were heavily disrupted by World War II. During the Blitz, when Nazi forces heavily bombed London, Moore and his family took cover in an Anderson shelter built in their garden. He recalled the terrifying environment of serving as a wartime bomb spotter, once becoming so frightened by an oncoming V1 buzz bomb that he dropped his warning whistle. To escape the danger, he and his mother were eventually evacuated from London to Devon, leading him to attend multiple schools, including Battersea Grammar School and Launceston College.

Though he excelled academically and was a keen swimmer, Moore’s true childhood passion was art. Encouraged by his mother, he loved drawing and painting and initially aspired to be a professional artist. This passion led him to drop out of high school at age 15 to take an apprenticeship as a tracer and animator at a local animation house producing films for the war effort. However, his animation career was short-lived; he was fired after making a mistake with some animation cels, which inadvertently steered him toward extra work and his eventual legendary acting career.

When the Rolling Stones Performed on a Flatbed Truck in New York City in 1975

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On May 1, 1975, The Rolling Stones staged one of the most legendary guerrilla marketing stunts in rock history by performing live on a moving flatbed truck rolling down Fifth Avenue in New York City. Instead of attending their scheduled, traditional press conference inside the Fifth Avenue Hotel to announce their upcoming Tour of the Americas ‘75, the band completely bypassed the media. They left journalists waiting inside the hotel while they blasted an extended version of their hit song “Brown Sugar” directly on the rain-slicked streets outside.

The truck loaded up its backline equipment, amps, and instruments at 12th Street and barreled down Lower Fifth Avenue toward Washington Square Park, bringing Manhattan traffic to a sudden standstill. The idea came from drummer Charlie Watts, who was inspired by historical New Orleans jazz musicians who traditionally used flatbed trucks to promote their upcoming gigs.

The casual, chaotic performance served as the official live public debut of guitarist Ronnie Wood, who had just joined the band to replace Mick Taylor. Mick Jagger, sporting a flashy yellow blazer and carrying a parasol, strutted across the tiny moving stage alongside Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and keyboardist Billy Preston, while hundreds of ecstatic fans and blindsided reporters chased the truck down the street.

1909 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges: The Origin of “The Best Car in the World”

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The 1909 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges represents the early flowering of a legend. Powered by an exceptionally quiet 7.0-liter inline-six engine, the Silver Ghost quickly earned its reputation for unmatched refinement, reliability, and engineering excellence.

The elegant Roi des Belges open touring body, a style originally associated with the King of Belgium, added grace and presence to the already outstanding chassis. It was cars like this that led contemporary observers to declare the Silver Ghost “the best car in the world”, a title that has remained inseparable from Rolls-Royce ever since.

More than a century later, the 1909 Silver Ghost Roi des Belges still stands as a defining masterpiece of Edwardian motoring. These photos capture the pioneering elegance and enduring legacy of the 1909 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges, the car that helped establish the phrase “the best car in the world.”

36 Stunning Portraits of a Young and Beautiful Laraine Day in the 1940s

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Laraine Day (born La Raine Johnson, October 13, 1920 – November 10, 2007) was an American actress, radio and television commentator, and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract star. She experienced the peak of her Hollywood career during the 1940s, transitioning from MGM contract star to a versatile freelance leading lady opposite major stars like Cary Grant, John Wayne, and Joel McCrea.

Day started the decade securely under contract at MGM. In 1941, she was even voted Hollywood’s “Number One Star of Tomorrow.” She cemented her early popularity as Nurse Mary Lamont, the prominent love interest opposite Lew Ayres in MGM’s highly successful Dr. Kildare franchise. However, fearing the role was limiting her growth, she requested a change. The studio subsequently killed off her character in Dr. Kildare’s Wedding Day (1941).

Some of her best 1940s work occurred when other studios borrowed her from MGM. She displayed immense dramatic depth in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940) and starred opposite Cary Grant in the romantic comedy-drama Mr. Lucky (1943). Frustrated by a lack of challenging roles at MGM, particularly after losing the lead in Undercurrent (1946) to Katharine Hepburn, Day left the studio in May 1946. She signed a lucrative independent contract with RKO Pictures for $100,000 per film. There, she delivered what she considered her favorite and most memorable performance: a psychologically complex, kleptomaniac protagonist in the film noir The Locket (1946).

Beyond the silver screen, Day expanded her creative horizons during the war years. In 1941, she made her formal stage debut on a national theater tour of Angel Street alongside a young Gregory Peck. She also became a familiar voice across American households, making prominent guest appearances on acclaimed anthology programs like the Lux Radio Theatre and The Screen Guild Theater.

Day’s personal life underwent a massive transformation during this era. She married flight instructor James Ray Hendricks in 1942, adopting three children with him before a messy divorce in 1946. In 1948, she married legendary, fiery baseball manager Leo Durocher. The high-profile union shook up her Hollywood image. She relocated to New York, where she became a fierce supporter of his team, the New York Giants. Her constant presence at the ballpark earned her the official title “The First Lady of Baseball,” and she even wrote a book about her experiences, Day with the Giants.

Paris in 1960 Through Fascinating Photos

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These fascinating photos capture Paris in 1960, a city in the midst of postwar recovery and rapid modernization. The images show everyday life along the boulevards and side streets: elegantly dressed Parisians going about their routines, and the classic architecture of the capital.

Under the early years of the Fifth Republic, the city was cleaning its historic facades, expanding, and adapting to a new era while retaining much of its traditional charm. The photos offer a vivid and nostalgic glimpse of Paris at a moment of quiet transformation more than sixty years ago.

Paris. Arc de Triomphe – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 1960

Paris. Arc de Triomphe, 1960

Paris. Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel, 1960

Paris. Madeleine church, 1960

Brandon Lee Playing a Nintendo Game Boy During the Filming of “The Crow” (1993)

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Just hours before his tragic death on March 31, 1993, Brandon Lee was quietly captured in a candid photograph, seated on set, playing a Nintendo Game Boy. It’s an image both ordinary and deeply haunting: a 28-year-old actor passing time between takes on the set of The Crow, unaware that these would be among his final moments.

While the image looks somber, the reality behind it was lighthearted. The original Game Boy didn’t actually belong to Brandon. It belonged to his 12-year-old co-star, Rochelle Davis, who played the young girl, Sarah. Davis frequently loaned the console to Brandon between takes. The two struck up a friendly, highly competitive rivalry on set, constantly passing the handheld console back and forth to battle for the highest score in Tetris.

As the son of Bruce Lee, Brandon was no stranger to public scrutiny, yet he had carved his own path, determined to be more than just his father’s legacy. The Crow was meant to be his breakout role—a dark, stylish film that would showcase his range and depth as an actor.

That afternoon, Brandon was filming a scene in which his character, Eric Draven, is shot and killed. Due to a devastating oversight, a prop gun contained a fragment of a real bullet, left lodged in the barrel from a previous scene. When the blank round was fired, the bullet fragment was propelled with lethal force, striking Brandon in the abdomen. For a moment, no one realized what had happened, it looked like just another intense take. But as the truth sank in and panic erupted on set, he was rushed to the hospital. After hours of surgery, Brandon succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead, sending shockwaves through Hollywood and his grieving family.

The parallels to Bruce Lee’s own early death in 1973, at just 32 years old, stirred painful memories and fueled speculation about a family curse. Because the film was nearly finished, the director completed The Crow using pioneering CGI techniques to map Brandon’s face onto stunt doubles. Released posthumously in 1994, the movie became a massive cult classic and remains celebrated as Brandon Lee’s defining artistic legacy. That photo of him with a Game Boy remains a reminder of the fragility of life, and of a bright talent taken far too soon.

Louis Anquetin: Pioneer of Cloisonnism and Parisian Modernism

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Louis Anquetin (1861–1932) was a French painter associated with the Post-Impressionist movement and one of the originators of Cloisonnism. Born in Étrépagny, he studied in Paris under Léon Bonnat and Fernand Cormon, where he formed close ties with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Émile Bernard, and Vincent van Gogh.

Around 1887, Anquetin and Bernard developed a distinctive style using flat areas of color outlined by bold black contours, inspired by stained glass and Japanese prints. His nocturnal scenes of Paris, such as Avenue de Clichy, captured the energy of modern city life. Later in his career, he turned toward the techniques of the Old Masters, particularly Rubens, producing more traditional and allegorical works.

Though his fame faded after abandoning the avant-garde, Anquetin remains an important figure in late 19th-century French art. These striking works showcase the bold vision and lasting influence of Louis Anquetin, a key innovator of Cloisonnism and modern Parisian painting.

At the Moulin Rouge

At the Circus

At the Races

28 Photographs George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer From the Set of “One Fine Day” (1996)

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The 1996 romantic comedy One Fine Day paired George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer as two stressed, single parents navigating a chaotic day in New York City. While their on-screen dynamic delivered classic screwball chemistry, behind the scenes, production came with a few memorable mishaps.

Clooney admitted in a 2020 reunion interview that he accidentally filmed a key dialogue scene while still intoxicated. Having a rare day off, he stayed up drinking vodkas with his friend Rande Gerber. When called in unexpectedly early at 5:00 AM, he realized he was still drunk. Pfeiffer immediately called him out, noting he “smelled like a distillery,” prompting Clooney to continuously use mouth spray between takes.

Mid-shoot, Clooney played a pickup basketball game with crew members during lunch and took an elbow to the face, breaking his orbital eye socket. To avoid delaying production, director Michael Hoffman shot upcoming scenes by creatively blocking half of Clooney’s face using props or positioning child actors in front of him.

Pfeiffer wasn’t just the co-star; she was also an executive producer on the film through her production company, Via Rosa Productions. She took an active role in shaping the project and casting. At the time, Clooney was transitioning from TV star (ER) to a Hollywood movie lead. He noted that auditioning for Pfeiffer for One Fine Day was the last time in his career he ever had to read for a role. Funnily enough, they had actually met way back in 1982 when Clooney was dating Michelle’s sister, Dedee Pfeiffer.

Filmed across 44 locations in Manhattan, including Central Park, Bethesda Terrace, and the Circle Line, the actors spent months dealing with live NYC crowds and fast-paced street setups. The film’s premiere was pushed up from a planned February release to a rushed Christmas slot. Opening to a disappointing $4 million, it ended up losing its box-office battle to Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. However, both actors noted that it has since grown into a beloved, nostalgic staple of the 90s rom-com genre.

Meet Sylvia Gerrish, the Girl With Poetical Legs

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Sylvia Gerrish (born Lillian M. Rollins; May 1860 – December 8, 1906) was a prominent American musical theatre actress and singer who achieved widespread popularity across New York and London during the 1880s and early 1890s. Widely celebrated for her charm and talent, she was famously dubbed “The Girl with the Poetical Legs.”

Gerrish was born in Big Oak Flat, California, to Holman C. Rollins and Sylvia Gerrish. Her parents originally moved to the West Coast from Maine during the 1849 Gold Rush. After her father left prospecting to work for the railroad, she was raised in West Oakland. She attended Prescott Elementary School and Oakland High School, and early on displayed her musical talents by singing solos at the First Congregational Church. When she began her stage career, she adopted her mother’s maiden name as her stage moniker.

Gerrish rose to fame through a series of successful theatrical runs. She started her professional career in San Francisco theatres in 1880. The following year, she joined Willie Edouin’s touring company, starring in a piece called Dreams, and toured major cities including Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

From between 1844 to 1892, she became a prominent fixture of the New York stage, performing at elite venues like the Bijou Opera House and the Casino Theatre. She commanded a star status comparable to Lillian Russell, taking on notable comic opera and musical comedy roles in Iolanthe, Nadjy, and Erminie.

She made a highly successful London debut in the early 1890s, capturing a large European following. However, shortly after returning to the United States in 1893, she suffered a severe illness that effectively ended her stage career.

In the late 1880s, Gerrish became central to a major high-society scandal when Henry G. Hilton, the son of a wealthy ex-judge who stood to inherit millions from the A. T. Stewart fortune, became infatuated with her. Hilton deserted his wife and family for Gerrish, prompting his father to disinherit him. Though a subsequent legal settlement granted Hilton a small fraction of the family wealth, the couple quickly depleted it.

Following the death of Hilton’s first wife, Gerrish and Hilton officially married in 1901. They lived out their remaining years in escalating poverty within a decaying mansion on Sedgwick Avenue in Brooklyn.

After Hilton died in 1905, Gerrish fell deep into debt and legal isolation. Paralyzed by creditors and foreclosure lawsuits, she retreated from society, barricading herself inside her home and using aggressive guard dogs to keep out process servers. On December 8, 1906, at the age of 46, she died penniless in the very same room where her husband had passed away.