“Laugh? I Thought I’d Die!!”: Richard Yates’s Unpublished Letters
“Here’s this month’s alimony, with all my love.”
Lucille Ball and Young Accomplices Sitting With Legs Crossed in Los Angeles, 1933
Before becoming television’s most famous redhead on I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball was a brunette working model and aspiring chorus girl in New York. She found overnight fame when a portrait of her was sold to Chesterfield cigarettes, splashing her face across giant commercial billboards nationwide. That sudden high-profile modeling success caught the eye of legendary Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn. He recruited Ball and a select group of prominent advertising models, collectively known as The Goldwyn Girls, to move out West.
This specific picture was taken on July 19, 1933, right as the young women stepped off the train. To drum up publicity, the studio had them pose with their legs crossed on a railway station luggage cart. The women in the photograph were all famous faces from major national print ad campaigns. From left to right, they are:Katherine Mauk (representing Wrigley chewing gum), Rosalie Fromson (representing Pond’s face cream), Mary Lange (representing Camel cigarettes), Vivian Keefer, Barbara Pepper (who became a lifelong close friend of Lucille Ball and later played Doris Ziffel on Green Acres), Theo Phane, and Lucille Ball (representing Chesterfield cigarettes).
The group traveled to Hollywood specifically to appear in the pre-Code musical comedy film Roman Scandals (1933), starring Eddie Cantor. While many of the women transitioned into standard studio chorus work, this trip marked the official launch of Lucille Ball’s legendary Hollywood career, paving her path from a struggling B-movie contract player to a historic comedy icon and the first female head of a major television studio.
30 Beautiful On-Set Portraits of Brigitte Bardot From “The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful” (1956)
These beautiful on-set portraits capture Brigitte Bardot at a pivotal moment in her early career during the filming of the 1956 comedy The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful. Shot between takes and in promotional sessions, the photos showcase her natural charm, youthful beauty, and emerging screen presence.
With her signature blonde hair, expressive eyes, and effortless sensuality, Bardot already radiates the magnetic allure that would soon make her an international icon. These images offer a charming and intimate glimpse into her work and style in the mid-1950s.
26 Photos of Salma Hayek as Carolina on the Set of “Desperado” (1995)
On the set of the 1995 action film Desperado, Salma Hayek’s experience playing Carolina was both a grueling, emotionally intense journey and the ultimate breakout milestone for her Hollywood career. While the role established her as a major star, behind the scenes she faced immense pressure, casting hurdles, and a highly challenging filming process.
Before filming even began, Hayek had to fight hard for the role of Carolina. Columbia Pictures originally pushed to cast bigger, non-Latina names like Cameron Diaz. Studio executives hesitated to hire Hayek, reportedly fearing her name sounded “too Mexican” for American audiences. Director Robert Rodriguez fiercely advocated for her, making her audition repeatedly until she secured the part.
Hayek has openly shared that shooting the iconic love scene with co-star Antonio Banderas was one of her most difficult moments on set. The intimate scene was not in the original script and was only added after production began. Because Rodriguez was a close friend and his wife was her best friend, Hayek agreed to film on a strictly closed set of just four people. However, when it came time to shoot, she became overwhelmed by fear and began to sob.
Hayek recalled being unable to let go of her towel and crying repeatedly. She praised Banderas and Rodriguez for being absolute gentlemen who tried to make her laugh and never pressured her. To accommodate her discomfort, the final scene had to be heavily chopped up in editing because she could not stay in character for long stretches.
Despite the grueling nature of the shoot, the environment fostered an iconic cinematic partnership. The tranquil, romantic scenes between Carolina and El Mariachi provided emotional grounding against the movie’s explosive action. Hayek’s fierce energy and charisma on set cemented a lifelong creative partnership with Rodriguez, leading directly to her legendary appearance in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and reprising her role as Carolina in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003).
Young Keanu Reeves Photographed by Ken Nahoum, 1990
The iconic 1990 photo session of a young Keanu Reeves, captured by celebrity photographer Ken Nahoum, showcases the actor just as he was rising to global fame. Taken shortly after his breakout role in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), the photoshoot captures his signature laid-back, early ‘90s grunge aesthetic.
The shoot features Reeves styled in relaxed, oversized button-down shirts, standard denim, a distinct black fedora hat, and rugged boots. Ken Nahoum utilized a minimalist studio setup, heavily featuring a single metal grid chair that Reeves interacts with playfully—leaning over it, sitting backward, and posing dynamically.
The images lean into a raw, candid energy, contrasting soft studio lighting with Reeves’s naturally expressive and brooding features right before Point Break (1991) cemented him as a Hollywood heartthrob.
