Steve McQueen, New York, c.1953 or 54

After five years in the US Marines, McQueen used the GI Bill to go to New York in 1952 in order to study acting. He studied and worked, mostly off-Broadway, until 1955 when he made his Broadway debut in Hatful of Rain (Ben Gazzara was the star). After that taste of success he headed to Hollywood, where once again he kicked around for years, playing small roles in films and on television, before he was offered the starring role in a TV series called Wanted: Dead or Alive, which played on his outlaw image. It was a huge hit and made his name known across the country.

Le Amiche I The Girlfriends  (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1955)

Ava Gardner, 1950

“I dealt with men who had tempers, and who could get violent—Lord knows how I had to defend myself against Howard Hughes and Frank Sinatra, and from Artie Shaw’s verbal abuse. But George [C. Scott] was a different category of animal when he got drunk. He’d break into my hotel room, which he did in Italy, London and at the Beverly Hills Hotel, attack me to where I was frightened for my life, and scream, ‘Why won’t you marry me?’ Well, I would never marry a man who couldn’t control his liquor. Me, I’m a happy drunk. I laugh, I dance. I certainly don’t break bottles and threaten to kill.”

Dovima models a Dior gown in a photo by Richard Avedon, Paris, 1950

Joan Crawford in Reunion in France  (Jules Dassin, 1942), one of her last films at MGM

A fashion photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 1942

Vivien Leigh, c.1936

“People think that if you look fairly reasonable, you can’t possibly act, and as I only care about acting, I think beauty can be a great handicap.”

Ginger Rogers, 1934

Irene Dunne in a publicity photo for Roberta, 1935, the story of a fashion designer and her American friends (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Randolph Scott). The glorious costumes are by Bernard Newman. Roberta is one of my favorite films.

The film includes the songs “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, “Lovely to Look At” and “I Won’t Dance” in its score.

Mitzi Gaynor, 1953. She was a new hot property for 20th Century Fox, having shared top billing in three hit movies in 1952. 

Mitzi, best known now for starring in South Pacific, is still with us, keeping up a lively Facebook page. She is, at 87, as positive, energetic and friendly as ever.