Joi Lansing outside Chunky Candy Pavilion at World’s Fair (1964)
While not as well-known as other female celebrities of her era, such as Sophia Loren or Marilyn Monroe, Joi Lansing was a great success on the tiny silver screen. Her beauty was legendary, and she was involved in high-profile marriages and romances with people like Frank Sinatra. But, in the latter years of her life before succumbing to breast cancer in her early 40s, Joi met and fell in love with another actress on the set of a film, and the two lived together in secret as “sisters” until Joi’s death.
Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in London (1961)
One of the most popular photographs of these two heartthrobs shows the stylish actors arriving in London all smiles. In their private lives, though, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were thick as thieves, leaders of the informal Rat Pack, and more than best friends—more like brothers, as they liked to describe to themselves. They also had identical emerald-cut diamond friendship rings custom-made by Frank. They were frequently seen in movies, on stage, and traveling together and could seldom be seen without laughing. They were even close with one other’s families since they spent virtually every Christmas together.
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, and Frank Sinatra (1961)
Sammy Davis, Jr. was a key member of the Rat Pack who broke racial barriers back in the day. Sammy’s acceptance into the Rat Pack is one of the finest stories of the era, complete with full circle events that Sammy more than earned. Frank Sinatra was his childhood idol, and he came to Sammy’s gigs twice and asked Sammy to his own. When Sammy failed to appear, Frank confronted him, and Sammy stated he had arrived, but no one would let him in because he was black. Frank was so enraged that he went back to the performance theater that had refused to let Sammy in, tore up his contract with him, and the rest is history, which resulted in a lovely relationship.
Jean Seberg (1958)
Though it was not her only picture, actor Jean Seberg rose to prominence with Godard’s Breathless. But it was the salacious aspects surrounding her personal life that she would be remembered for, rather than her work. Jean was an outspoken supporter of the Black Panther Party, civil rights movements, and anti-fascism. J. Edgar Hoover would wreck Jean’s life by labeling her “the biggest menace to national security in the country.” The FBI would then harass, hound, and plant false reports about the actress, even claiming her pregnant child had doubtful paternity inside the Black Panthers. There are also questions about Jean’s untimely death by “suicide in Paris,” with many assuming the FBI murdered her.