Feast Your Eyes: Vintage Images Expose A Wilder Side To The Past

The faces of the groovy era you will see in this collection of photographs are nostalgic, inspiring, and intriguing. Behind their very public lives were real people with lives that were filled with excitement, heartache, highs, and lows. As you scroll through these slides and learn about the actors, singers, models, and other celebrities of the 1950s. 1960s. 1970s, and beyond, you will appreciate the achievements and contributions they made to our pop culture. 

Sharon Tate and Tony Curtis on the set of Don’t Make Waves in 1967.

The 1967 comedy, Don’t Make Waves, was based on the Ira Wallach novel, Muscle Beach, that was published in 1959. It starred Tony Curtis, Sharon Tate, Claudia Cardinale, and Dave Draper in roles that were over-sexualized and stereotyped. The film tried to shine spotlights on all the different subgroups of Southern California at the time and weave them all together in a love triangle romance. Filmed at Venice Beach, Don’t Make Waves featured bodybuilders, surfers, beach babes, real estate gurus, and spiritual psychic.   

That’s a lot of talent in one photograph. You know it is a great party when Keith Richards, Tina Turner, and David Bowie all show up. Here’s an interesting question. If there was karaoke at this party, do you think this trio would sing The Rolling Stone’s hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”, or David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”? There's enough Jack Daniel's there that who knows what song they would pick. 

In the 1970s, it seems, folks didn’t raise much of an eyebrow to underage relationships. Singer Rick Springfield was a 25-year-old struggling musician in the seventies when he did a show at the Whiskey A Go Go. Afterward, Linda Blair, one of the hottest young Hollywood actresses of the time thanks to her recent role in The Exorcist, approached Springfield and asked him if he would like to join her at the club down the street for a drink. She noted that her sister, Debbie, would buy him a drink. He soon learned why. Blair was only 15 years old. That didn’t stop him from accepting the invitation. The couple enjoyed their drink, then went back to Springfield’s apartment to enjoy other things. Blair and Springfield kept their relationship quiet, but the press caught wind of it. As you can imagine, Springfield faced some scrutiny about his underaged lover.   

Considered to be one of the "most beautiful women in the world," Brigitte Bardot was just a teenager when she rose to fame. Making her appearance in 1952, she got Hollywood's attention, being a dark-haired French girl at the time. Later, in 1956, she decided to become a blonde -- bleaching her hair to become a blonde bombshell! Do blondes really have more fun? 

Remember Adam Ant? The English singer was a leader of the new wave genre in the early to mid-1980s. With his funky style and unique voice, he and his group, Adam and the Ants, were chart toppers in the UK with three back-to-back number one hits. A forerunner of the second wave of the British Invasion, Adam Ant parlayed his musical popularity into an acting career. In this photo, Adam Ant is posing with singer Rick James whose musical styles were quite different than his. Rick James was known for his bend of rock and funk. 

Australian songbird, Olivia Newton-John formed her first band when she was just 14, but the all-girl group, Sol Four, regularly performed in a local coffee house before Newton-John joined the cast of a TV variety show, The Happy Show, where she performed as Lovely Livvy. Her first solo album was released in 1971 and found success with the single “All Things Must Pass.” She shot to stardom with her 1973 single, “Let Me Be There” and its follow-ups, “Waterloo,” “Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy,” “Hands Across the Sea,” and her signature hit, “I Honestly Love You.” All this before she appeared in Grease.    

Gene Simmons of the band Kiss was known for his freakishly long tongue, vomiting fake blood on stage, and adopting a demon-like persona when he was playing his bass guitar. In this pic, we see Simmons and Cher as guest stars on The Mike Douglas Show. Did you know that Simmons and Cher dated in the late 1970s and even lived together? During the time they were in a relationship, however, Simmons fell in love with singer Diana Ross, who he later lived with as well. These two weren’t the only girls in Simmons’ life. He has claimed to have slept with a many as 5,000 women in his lifetime.   

The name of the Swedish pop group ABBA was taken from the first letter of each band member’s first names … Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Frida. Oops. To make the ABBA name work, the singers used Frida’s birth name, Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA consisted of two married couples, Lyngstad and Benny Andersson and Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus. They formed ABBA in 1972 and had success with such hits as “Waterloo,” “Fernando”, “Mamma Mia,” “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me”, and “Knowing Me, Knowing You.”

Beautiful, slim Cher attended the 1973 Academy Awards Presentation where she watched The Sting win in the Best Picture category, Jack Lemmon win the Best Actor Oscar for Save the Tiger, and young Tatum O’Neil will the Best Supporting Actress honors for Paper Moon. At this time, Cher was wasn’t nominated for any awards, yet she stole the show in her gold and jewel two piece gown with a Scheherazade vibe that showed off her abs.   

During her 40-year career in the music industry, fun and quirky Cyndi Lauper made a splash. Her 1983 She’s So Unusual album marked the first time a debut album by a female artist had four Top Five hit singles on the Billboard charts. They were, of course, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “She Bop,” “Time After Time,” “and “All Through the Night.” Perhaps her biggest hit was “True Colors” off her second album of the same name. She was also featured on the soundtrack for the action movie, The Goonies. 

Although Valley of the Dolls, the 1967 drama movie based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann, had some worthy stars – Sharon Tate, Patty Duke, Lee Grant, Barbara Parkins, and Susan Hayward, to name a few – the film was generally panned by critics. At the box office, it was a success, but film critics called it “trashy and campy”. Others labeled it “melodramatic”. It was named one of the Fifty Worst Films of All Time and received a BOMB rating by critic Leonard Maltin. Despite the negative reviews, Valley of the Dolls still has a loyal cult following.   

Farrah Fawcett was invited to present the Oscar for Best Film Editing at the 1978 Academy Awards Presentation. She came dressed to impress in a loose, slinky tank dress with a fluid look to it. Designed by Stephen Burrows, the gold chainmail gown had thin spaghetti straps, a plunging neckline, and an open back that left Farrah at risk of exposing too much side book. Her dress perfectly captured the disco vibe that, thanks to Studio 54, was so popular at the time. 

This ranks up there as one of the strangest crossovers in television history. In 1980, Mr. Rogers left the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to go on a field trip to the set of the TV show, The Incredible Hulk. There, he met with actors Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno and gave his audience a behind-the-scenes look at how Ferrigno was transformed in to the frightening green Hulk. There was a reason for this bizarre visit. Ratings showed that kids weren’t watching The Incredible Hulk because they were scared of the Hulk. By having the totally non-scary Mr. Rogers show kids that it was all make believe, it was hoped that rating would rise.  

Star Wars was much more successful than anyone could have imagined, which, of course, resulted in a sequel or two. But there was a notable difference in how Princess Leia dressed in the first movie and in the second, The Empire Strikes Back. Since the sci-fi action films’ biggest target market was teenage boys and young adult males, and Princess Leia was the only female lead character in the movie, the easiest way to appeal to the target audience was for Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, to have a complete wardrobe upgrade. For some scenes in The Empire Strikes Back, her floor-length Imperial gown was replaced with this golden bikini.   

Stevie Wonder and Elton John have been friends for decades. Both are giants in the music industry and have inspired the next generations of musicians. Yet, it took them until 2021 to finally collaborate on a project. The two iconic singers teamed up for the song “Finish Line”, a sweet and nostalgic tune, that appeared on Stevie Wonder’s most recent album, Lockdown Sessions. In fact, the music video for “Finish Line” commemorates there more than fifty year friendship.   

Did you know that sexy Tina Louise is now the last surviving cast member of TV’s Gilligan’s Island? Tina never fully embraced her role as movie star-turn-castaway Ginger Grant on the hit 1960s sitcom. She left a successful run on Broadway to accept the role of Ginger, but regretted it. She felt as though she was typecast on the show and, after the series ended in 1967, she had trouble landing other roles. Although she was able to maintain a steady career, she said several times that she believes her appearance on Gilligan’s Island ruined her career.   

Perhaps the most successful brother-sister act of all time, Donny and Marie Osmond were 18 and 16 years old respectively when they started this hit television variety show in 1976. Donny Osmond had already logged plenty of TV time as a member of the Osmond Brothers singing group, but sister Marie, the only daughter of the Osmond’s nine children, wanted to show off her singing chops too. The variety show launched Donny and Marie to teen idol status. And, as you can see here, they inspired Barbie to make special Donny and Marie dolls. 

Did you know that Yvonne De Carlo was the first American movie star to visit Israel? Although she is not Jewish, she traveled there in 1951 and was treated like royalty by the people of the state of Israel. During her time there, she gave a number of performances, singing and dancing various scenes from the many movies she had starred in. She toured Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem, and Haifa and spoke highly of the gracious and kind people she met. She was pleased to learn that her movies were big hits in Israel. He enjoyed Turkish coffee with the mayor of Jerusalem and met with the prime minister, all the time aware that her visit was being used as a propaganda tool.

Debbie Harry spent much of the 1970s living in New York City, hanging out with Andy Warhol and other notable figures of the time, making music, and making memories. Living in the city was exhilarating, but also fraught with dangers. In her recently released autobiography, Harry talks about being robbed, raped at knifepoint, and accepting a ride from a man at 2 a.m. who she now thinks was Ted Bundy. Still, she said the 1970s were an exciting and romantic to be a New Yorker. The music and art scenes were thriving, cutting-edge, and eclectic.

The 1933 film, King Kong, had long been a classic monster movie with, for the time, state-of-the-art special effects, but n 1974, ABC executive Michael Eisner thought it was time to bring the giant ape back to the big screen. He proposed the idea for a King Kong remake to two different Hollywood studios, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Paramount’s Dino De Laurentis snatched up the rights to the film and set his script writers to work. The 1976 version of King Kong, starring Jessica Lange,  was a hit at the box office and received a Special Achievement Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Visual Effects.   

Marilyn Monroe was a tragic figure from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Beautiful and sexy, she had the potential to be an even bigger star than she was, but she turned out to be her own worst enemy. She struggled with depression, anxiety, and insecurity issues. She developed a drug dependency. And she earned a reputation in Hollywood as unreliable and unstable And, arguably, she made poor decisions regarding the men in her life. Eventually, her demons caught up to the blonde bombshell sex symbol. She died from acute barbiturate poisoning on August 4, 1962. 

Throughout the second half of the 1970s, beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer had guest appearances in several television shows, but her one starring film role, in Grease II, was a dismal flop. The 1980s were much better to her. After earning accolades for her breakout role in the 1983 gangster movie, Scarface, Pfeiffer starred in a string of successful films, including The Witches of Eastwick, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Fabulous Baker Boys.   

Did you know that Jacqueline Bisset’s real first name in Winifred? Jacqueline is actually her middle name. She dropped her first name when she launched her acting career in 1965. By 1968, she had three great films to her credit – The Detective, Bullitt, and The Sweet Ride – and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. She earned a second Golden Globe nomination a decade later for Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? During the 1970s, she also appeared in Airport, Murder on the Orient Express, The Deep, and The Greek Tycoon. 

Who can forget Midnight Movies with The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Audience members dressed in costumes to look like the movie’s characters -- either Tim Curry’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Barry Bostwick’s Brad, or Susan Sarandon’s Janet – sing along to the songs, dance in aisles, throw toast at the screen, and talk back to the characters. What started as a kitschy thing to do at New York City’s Waverly Theater in 1976 turned into a nationwide phenomenon, thus turning a critically panned musical comedy flop into a cult classic.   

In the late 1970s, Stevie Nicks often wore black outfits when she was performing. She said it was because black is slimming, and she felt better wearing that color. But a bunch of craze fans began accusing her of being a witch and dabbling in Satanism. Nicks tried to assure people that she was not a witch, but the accusations kept coming. These people were so threatening and intimidated that, out of fear, Nicks stopped wearing black on stage. But she later said she never felt pretty in the seafoam greens and peach outfits that she wore. Finally, in 1983, she went back to dressing the way she wanted to while performing and she learned to turn a blind eye to the rumors spread about her. 

English model, singer, and actress Jane Birkin is perhaps best remembered for her relationship with Serge Gainsbourg, one of the leading figures in France’s pop music scene in the 1970s. Birkin and Gainsbourg were musical partners and romantically involved. Together they released a debut album, Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg, in 1969. Gainsbourg also directed Birkin in the controversial 1976 movie, Je t’aime moi non plus. Birkin also had roles in the less-controversial Agatha Christie film Death on the Nile in 1978 and Evil Under the Sun in 1982. 

John Travolta’s dance moves in the 1977 film, Saturday Night Fever, helped push disco music into the mainstream and make it popular around the world. In addition to Travolta’s flashy dancing, the film featured music by the Bee Gees and other disco era artists. The combination worked. Saturday Night Fever was a commercial and critical success and helped to shine a light on the disco subculture, which was much more than just music and dancing. It included fashion, sexual promiscuity, and the plight of the working-class.  

The 1970 movie Myra Breckinridge was based on the Gore Vidal novel of the same name that was published in 1968. Called a satire and a comedy, the novel was groundbreaking in that it opened up discussions about gender identity. In fact, it marks the first time that a main character goes through a clinical sex change during the story. It shines a critical light on such concepts as patriarchy, feminism, transgenderism, societal norms and perceived deviant sexual behavior. Raquel Welsh was cast as the title character in the film version and shared the screen with Farrah Fawcett and Rex Reed.   

Fit, toned model Barbara Bach, enjoying her yoga time in this photograph, is perhaps best known for being a Bond girl, Anya Amasova, in The Spy Who Loved Me. Or it could be that she is more known for being the wife of former Beatle Ringo Starr. She met Ringo in 1981 on the set of Caveman and the two began dating. They got married on April 27, 1981, and they are still married today. In the late 1980s, both Ringo and Barbara had issues with drug and alcohol abuse. They checked themselves into rehab together. They have remained sober ever since.  

Elizabeth Taylor had such strikingly beautiful eyes as a child that her mother was often told to get her daughter into show business. It is true. Liz Taylor’s eyes were something special. They were technically blue, but they were an unusual shade of deep blue that looked violet, a rare trait. She also had double sets of eyelashes, thanks to a genetic mutation. The effect was a thick frame of dark ashes surrounding the deep purple eyes. Taylor’s mother finally heeded all the suggestions and allowed her young daughter to audition for movie roles. She started her acting career in 1941 at the age of nine.

Siblings and teen heartthrobs, Donny and Marie Osmond recorded more duets than their iconic, “I’m a Little Bit Country; I’m a Little Bit Rock n Roll”. In 1974, they hit the charts with “I’m Leaving It Up To You” and “Morning Side of the Mountain.” The next year, they found success with “Make the World Go Away” and “Deep Purple”. “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” came in 1976 and 1977, followed by “I Want to Give You My Everything” in 1978. 

Audrey Hepburn’s fashion style can only be described as classic. From the iconic little black dress she famously wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s to her casual Breton look to this crisp, white button-down. A trend setter, Hepburn became famous for her simple yet sophisticated fashion choices, which made her a favorite of designers like Coco Chanel. She was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame and ranked as the American Film Institute’s third-greatest female actresses from Classic Hollywood.   

A true Hollywood love story, English actress Jill Ireland met American actor Charles Bronson on the set of the 1963 film, The Great Escape. They were married in 1968 and appeared together in the 1970 film, Rider on the Rain. The couple had one daughter together and adopted another one. In 1984, Jill Ireland was diagnosed with breast cancer. She bravely fought the disease for six years and even served as a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society. In 1990, she lost her battle with cancer.   

These guys are some sharp-dressed men! The Texas-based rock band ZZ Top has been a fixture of the music industry since 1969 when singer and guitarist, Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and singer and bassist, Dusty Hill, got together. They performed together for 51 years. Don’t be fooled by Frank Beard’s name. He is the one member of ZZ Tops who DOESN’T have a long flowing beard. Sadly, ZZ Top member Dusty Hill passed away in 2021. 

In 1972, when this photo of the stunning Lynda Carter was taken, the future Wonder Woman was crowned Miss World USA. It all began when she entered a beauty pageant in her home state of Arizona and won. The next step was the Miss World USA pageant, which the gorgeous brunette also won. As the representative for the United States, she competed in the international Miss World Pageant that was held in London. Although she only reached the Top 15 at the Miss World competition, she got so much national attention from her reign as Miss World USA that she took acting lessons and got an agent. 

Jamie Farr was having a hard time landing acting jobs, even though he had appeared in The Blackboard Jungle and The Greatest Story Ever Told. When his agent told him he found a one-day acting gig for him on an episode of a new TV show, Farr accepted the job without asking any questions. He later explained that he had rent due and needed the money. On set, he was ushered into wardrobe and was told to put on a Women’s Auxiliary Corps uniform and a pair of high heels. With his hairy legs showing, he walked onto the set for what was supposed to be a one-time part as Corporal Max Klinger, a man looking for a Section 8 discharge. That one-time minor role turned into a regular part on M*A*S*H.   

This photo was taken at a pivotal time in the life of Kim Basinger. In 1976, after a successful yet short New York City modeling career, she relocated to California to try to make it in Hollywood. She quickly found work in made-for-TV movies before making it to the big screen. Her role as a Bond girl in the 1983 film Never Say Never Again helped her reputation as a sex symbol. She appeared in such notable films as The Natural, 9 ½ Weeks, Tim Burton’s Batman, and L.A. Confidential, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.   

When 37-year-old Tiny Tim, famous for his high-pitched ukulele rendition of “Tip Toe Through the Tulips”, and his young, 17-year-old girlfriend, Miss Vicki, appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on December 17, 1969, they announced their engagement. Johnny Carson immediately asked if they would like to get married right then and now, on live TV. Tiny Tim immediately said yes. Before a television audience of 40 million people, they were married in a spontaneous ceremony. They claim the twenty-year age gap wasn’t an issue, but perhaps it really was. Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki divorced about three years later.  

The Time Tunnel was a short-lived television science fiction series that ran for just one season in 1966. One of the most memorable things about the show was the trippy, swirling illusion of the time tunnel shown here. The two main characters, played by James Darren and Robert Colbert, featured in the photo along with castmate Lee Meriwether, are scientists who get sucked into the time tunnel and visit key moments in history, such as Battle of the Alamo and the sinking of the Titanic.  

Talent is in their DNA. Actor Lloyd Bridges was known for his films Sahara, A Walk in the Sun, High Noon, and Little Big Horn, to name a few, as well as his popular television series Sea Hunt. He was married to his wife, Dorothy, who was an actress as well, for 61 years. Together they had four children. Their daughter Lucinda became an artist. Son Garret died in infancy. Their other two sons, Beau and Jeff, followed their parents into show business. Beau starred in The Other Side of the Mountain, Greased Lightning, and Norma Rae. Jeff appeared in The Fisher King, The Big Lebowski, and King Kong. 

Did you know that the 1976 action comedy, Gator, the sequel to White Lightning, was the first movie directed by actor Burt Reynolds? Reynold reprises his role as Gator McKulsky who returned to the Okeefenokee to reunite with his daughter. There, he hooks up with a local TV reporter, played by Lauren Hutton, to expose big time corruption in the small, rural town. It is an action thriller, so audience can expect excitement from scene to scene.   

Hunky actor Harrison Ford appeared in a slew of bit parts in the early 1970s but he wasn’t happy with the progress of his career. He was, however, an excellent carpenter and he used this skill to support himself and his family. Among his clients were writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. Ford and his wife became good friends with the two writers. Through this relationship, Ford became acquainted with a casting director who recommended him to George Lucas who was working on the1973 film American Graffiti. Ford’s role in American Graffiti led to his future roes in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.   

Rodney Dangerfield built his comedy empire on his self-deprecating brand of humor. In addition to being a hilarious stand-up comedian, Dangerfield was an actor, writer, producer, and even a musician. He honed his routine in the 1960s and 1970s, popularizing his catchphrase “I don’t get no respect”, and appeared in live shows in Vegas and New York. He was a sought-after guest on late-night television talk shows. As his popularity soared, he found Hollywood knocking on his door. Who can forget his roles in Caddyshack, Easy Money, and Back to School?   

As you can see in this photo from 1963, Jerry Garcia was skilled at playing multiple instruments, including the banjo. Just two years after this photo was taken, Garcia and others founded the Grateful Dead, one of the most iconic rock bands of the counterculture revolution. Did you know that Jerry Garcia has ranked in the 13th spot on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time? During live concert performances, Garcia often did improvise guitar solos. He preferred to improvise because he wanted to feed off the energy of the audience and the moment instead of performing a pre-rehearsed set.   

Who remembers the bouffant hairdo of the 1960s? The look was made popular by Jackie Kennedy but it really got its roots back in the late 18th century. It has been said the Marie Antoinette had her thin hair teased and piled high on her head to give the illusion that she had thick, luxurious hair. British hairdresser Raymond Bessone, who was nicknamed Mr. Teasy-Weasy, is often credited with igniting the mod 1960s bouffant craze. 

Was Bruce Lee and his family the victims of a curse? Since both Bruce and his son Brandon, shown here, died young, many people claim that there is a curse on the family. Bruce Lee was only 32 years old when he died of an apparent cerebral edema, possibly the result of an allergic reaction to a painkiller. His son Brandon Lee was 28 years old when he was killed during the filming of The Crow. A prop gun was loaded with the wrong kind of dummy rounds. During filming of the scene, another actor shot Brandon, but the discharge killed him.   

Filming of the scenes of the frozen planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back took place in a frozen place on Earth … Norway. The crew and actors of The Empire Strikes Back, including Carrie Fisher shown here, traveled to Finse, a train station about 4000 feet above sea level on the main railroad between Oslo and Bergen. In fact, it is the highest stop in all of Norway’s rail system. Its remoteness makes it rather otherworldly … perfect for ice planet Hoth but maybe not the best place for a nap.  

Some of the products of the past really make us scratch our heads. Case in point, Scotch Hair Set Tape, which pretty Cheryl Tiegs so beautifully modeled. Yes, this was tape for hair. According to the Scotch company, there were several ways the hair tape could be used. In this advertisement, the tape is used to hold pin curls in place and, according to the ad, it was much more comfortable to sleep with tape in your hair instead of bobby pins or curlers. The tape could also be used to hold hair in place until the gel or hairspray dried. You could all tape your hair down before you went to bed so you wouldn’t wake up with bedhead. Genius.

Here are English actresses Diana Riggs and Helen Mirren relaxing between takes of the 1986 film, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Based on the classic William Shakespeare play of the same name, the movie followed the exploits of young lovers, a band of roving actors, and magical fairies when they all converge in a moonlit forest. In the film, Riggs played the role of Helena and Mirren portrayed Hermia. Other actors in the movie included Derek Godfrey, Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Paul Rogers, and Barbara Jefford.   

When Phil and Don Everly formed a rock duo, the blended elements of pop, country, and rock to create a new sound, country rock. In 1957 and 1958, the Everly Brothers toured with singer Buddy Holly. In fact, according to music legend, it was the Everly Brothers who convinced Buddy Holly and his band to ditch their blue jeans and t-shirts and wear trim suits on stage. Naturally, the Everly Brothers were devastated when Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash in 1959. Phil Everly served as a pall bearer for his funeral, but Don Everly was too heartbroken. He didn’t leave his bed for weeks. 

In 1970, John Hartman and Skip Spence teamed up with singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Johnson to form a band. They soon added others to the group and began to book gigs around the San Jose area. There was just one problem. They didn’t have a band name. They batted around a few ideas but none of them felt right. Then Keith ‘Dyno’ Rosen, a friend and neighbor of the band, said to them, “Why don’t you call yourself the Doobie Brothers because you’re always smoking pot?” The brand decided to use the name for their next few shows, then change it when they came up with a better name. They never did. 

In 1965, photographer Henry Grossman took a series of photos of John Lennon messing around on a skateboard during the filming of the Beatles’ movie Help. It has been claimed that these images of Lennon riding a skateboard helped to elevate the popularity of the sport, which was in its infancy at the time. Lennon, who was known for embracing the latest fads, enjoyed skateboarding. In fact, he passed his love of skateboarding on to his sons, Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon.

Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore have reasons to smile at the 1966 Emmy Awards presentation. Their television sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show, won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series, beating out Batman, Bewitched, Hogan’s Heroes, and Get Smart. In addition, Van Dyke on the Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series award and Moore won the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series award. It was nearly a sweep, as Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam were both nominated in their respective categories for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Roles in Comedy Series, but neither one of them won their categories.   

Did you know that Mickey Rourke was a boxer? He only took up acting after a concussion sidelined him from boxing. He discovered that he like acting as much as he liked boxing. Throughout the 1970s, he appeared in minor TV roles. His breakout role came in the 1981 film, Body Heat, which led to acclaimed roles in Diner, Rumblefish, and The Pope of Greenwich Village. Now a leading man and a Hollywood sex symbol, Rourke starred in 9 ½ Weeks and Angel Heart. Trying his hand at something different, Rourke performed with his buddy, David Bowie on the Never Let Me Down album in the late 1980s.   

Bill Murray and Gilda Radner were more than just castmates on Saturday Night Live. The two also dated in the 1970s. During their time on SNL, they often appeared together in “The Nerd” sketches, Radner as Lisa Loopner and Murray as Todd DiLaMuca. After dancing away a few nights at Studio 54, Murray and Radner eventually split up, but remained friend. After Radner’s death in 1989 after a battle with cancer, Murray credited her with showing him how to feel confident.   

As a 1970s rock band, Styx was pretty progressive and pretty successful. They had eight singles that reached the Top Ten and 16 that hit the Billboard Top 40. They had some power ballads, like “Lady” and “Babe”, some techno-ish hits, like “Come Sail Away”, and some super hits like “Too Much Time on My Hands,” “Renegade”, and “Blue Collar Man”. Styx was cutting edge and not afraid to experiment, as evident with their 1983 Kilroy Was Here album with spawned the hit single “Mr. Roboto.”   

Pretty Doris Day and a nervous-looking Jerry Lee shared an awkward dance in the 1950s. The Pillow Talk actress was paired with many of the hottest leading men from the Golden Age of Hollywood, including Rock Hudson, James Garner, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, James Cagney, and Rod Taylor. A product of the 1940s and 1950s, Doris Day’s films were filled with sexual innuendos but were otherwise quite tame. When the 1960s and the sexual revolution came around, Doris was left behind as the press dubbed her “the world’s oldest virgin”. She turned down a role in The Graduate because she thought the premise of the film was immoral and the script was “too vulgar”. That role went to Anne Bancroft.   

Gordon Lightfoot has been called the greatest songwriter in Canada. A folk-rock and country singer of the 1960s and 1970s, his songs were universally appealing and dealt with timeless topics. Among his greatest hits were “Early Morning Rain,” “Sundown,” “Rainy Day People”, and “If You Could Read My Mind”. In 1976, his ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” memorialized the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a bulk carrier that sank on Lake Superior the previous year, in 1975.   

The 1979 action comedy movie, Hot Stuff was the one and only film directed by actor Dom DeLuise, who also starred in the film. Based on a best-selling crime novel by author Donald E. Westlake, Hot Stuff also featured Suzanne Pleshette, Jerry Reed, and Ossie Davis. Central to the plot of the crime movie was a state-of-the-art technology called videotaping. Three Miami detectives use this brand-new technology in a pawn shop sting operation. Today, it is common to have video cameras set up in every story to record every transaction, but in 1979, it was revolutionary.   

In 1969, the English heavy metal band form and began their long-running musical journey. This journey has culminated with the 2022 induction of Judas Priest into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band has remained a constant fixture in the heavy metal scene, even though the individual members came and went. They have sold more than 50 million albums and are considered pioneers in the heavy metal genre. Judas Priest’s 1982 album, Screaming for Vengeance, is their most successful album.