Category Archives: Photography

Classic Hollywood #173 – River Phoenix & Marlee Matlin

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River Phoenix With Marlee Matlin At Ed Debevic’s Restaurant – 1988

River Phoenix and his date Marlee Matlin at Ed Debevic’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills for their first birthday party and a sixth anniversary bash in honor of The Starlight Foundation.  September 22, 1988. Photo: John Paschal Celebrity Photo

A few weeks ago when my daughter and her college age friends were searching for a movie to watch I asked if they had ever seen Stand By Me (1986)? The answer was a resounding no. And when describing the film I asked a silly question: if they had ever heard of River Phoenix? Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #176 – Park Row 1890

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Looking South Along Park Row / Newspaper Row -1890

This Albertype Company photograph was taken from the German language Staats-Zeitung newspaper building at the confluence of Centre Stret and Park Row.

We’re looking south along Park Row at the New York terminus of the Brooklyn Bridge. This busy district was Continue reading →

Roger Maris Displays His 60th Home Run Ball

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Roger Maris Ties Babe Ruth’s Home Run Record, But Not “Officially”  – 1961

Yankee Stadium, N.Y.: Yankee slugger Roger Maris holds up the baseball that he hit for home run number 60 in the third inning of the game with the Baltimore orioles, Sept. 26. Maris hit his 60th homer of the season off pitcher Jack Fisher to tie Babe Ruth in home runs hit in a baseball season. But Maris’ 60th came in game number 158 and therefore doesn’t qualify to tie the record according to baseball commissioner Ford Frick’s ruling. credit: UPI 9/26/61

What the photo slug does not say is how Maris got the baseball back.

Unlike Maris’s 61st home run on October 1, which would set off a melee in the right field stands for the baseball, the retrieval of the 60th was relatively simple. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #172 – Humphrey Bogart Lauren Bacall & Son Stevie

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Lauren Bacall & Son Stevie Visit Humphrey Bogart On The Set – 1951

Bogy, Baby & Boy
Humphrey Bogart’s wife, Lauren Bacall, known to the public as “Baby”, and their son Stevie, pay Bogart a visit on the set at 20th Century-Fox where he is starring in the newspaper story, “Deadline U.S.A.” Little Stevie takes an active interest in movie production, since he plans to be a movie star like his daddy when he grows up. credit: 20th Century-Fox December 27, 1951

When Humphrey Bogart made Deadline U.S.A. for 20th Century-Fox he was on loan from Warner Bros. to Fox. Maybe that is why the Fox publicity department did not care if they spelled Bogart’s nickname, “Bogey” correctly or not. In September of 1953 Bogart finally ended his long association with Warner Bros. having previously formed his own production company, Santana Productions to make independent productions including six films with Columbia Pictures between 1949 – 1951.

Steohen Humphrey Bogart (born January 6, 1949) did not follow in his father’s footsteps. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #171 – Charlie Chaplin

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Official Portrait Of Charlie Chaplin 1919

Charlie Chaplin photo: United Artists

This 1919 portrait of Charlie Chaplin taken at the height of his success shows that behind the make-up and little mustache was a handsome man.

Chaplin, as one of the co-founders of United Artists in 1919 with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith, had many official publicity photographs taken like the one above and below to promote the founding of the company.

The historic moment taken when the papers of incorporation were signed creating United Artists Corporation on April 17, 1919. Left to right in the foreground are the founders. D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.. In the background are their attorneys, Albert Banzhaf and Dennis O’Brien. photo: United Artists

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Old New York In Photos #175 – Fifth Avenue From 57th Street

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Fifth Avenue Looking North From 57th Street c. 1914

From the Detroit Publishing Company comes this lightly trafficked view of Fifth Avenue. By 1915 horses were being phased out of daily street life and a large portion of the vehicular traffic is motorized. Continue reading →

The Winner Of The Male Bathing Beauty Contest 1929

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A Different Sort Of Swimsuit Contest – 1929

We tend to think of bathing beauty contests as being ogling-fests for men.

But not always.

Sometimes the ladies would be judging the men.

As the roaring twenties drew to a conclusion, this role reversal contest was held in Venice, California on May 20, 1929.

The news slug reads: Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #170 – Marilyn Monroe Prepares For Monkey Business

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Marilyn Monroe “Neighborhood Champion” Laces Up Roller Skates For Monkey Business

Hollywood press hoopla at work here.

This is the improbable news slug originally accompanying this publicity photograph: Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #174 – Times Square 1961

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Times Square Movie Ads, The Automat and Other Signs Of the Time

A frozen moment on a sunny winter day in Times Square.

We are looking north from 46th Street to the west side of Broadway. Before looking at the surroundings, check out the tail fins on the passing 1960 Plymouth Savoy automobile heading east.

You may notice the human scale of what Times Square once was. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #169 – Charlie Chaplin & Paulette Goddard

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Charlie Chaplin & Paulette Goddard Attend The Premiere Of Gone With The Wind 1939

Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard At “Gone With The Wind” Premiere
Hollywood, Calif. – The long-awaited Hollywood premiere of “Gone With The Wind” brought out many film celebrities and socialites, among those present were Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard (above). This is one of the very few times in months that Chaplin has been photographed at a premiere. photo: International News 12/28/1939

The news slug here implies that Charlie Chaplin had not been attending movie premieres in 1939. But maybe he just wasn’t photographed at them. Continue reading →