Vivien Leigh taking a cigarette break during the filming of ‘Gone With The Wind’ (1939)
Back in the 1930s, everyone smoked, including fresh-faced beauties like Vivien Leigh. It’s almost odd to see her in this vintage shot, almost childishly smiling with a cigarette clenched in her palm as she took a break between playing one of cinema’s most famous, tenacious heroines. Gone With The Wind would make Vivien a celebrity and become one of the highest-grossing pictures of all time. Vivien’s southern accent outperformed even the finest of them, even though she was British.
Frank Sinatra & Grace Kelly on the set of High Society (1956)
Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly had a unique and long-lasting Hollywood connection that took everyone by surprise, much like our beloved Kate and Leo’s bond now. This photograph was taken on the set of High Society.
Rock Hudson (1957)
Though it is now universally accepted and not even remotely taboo, homosexuality was not embraced by Hollywood or much of the world in the 1950s. Rock Hudson was a major Hollywood darling. While most people in the industry knew he was homosexual, his handlers tried to compel him to hide it, even pressuring him to marry his secretary. While Rock once disputed that the union was a sham, we now know what it was.
Ann-Margret on the set of “Viva Las Vegas” (1964)
If Rita Hayworth reigned in the 1930s and 1940s, Ann-Margret did the same in the 1960s. She was a wonderful dancer, singer, and actress who could play the role of a sly seductress like no other. “Tell Ann to dance on my coffin, and if I don’t come up, you’ll know I’m dead,” John Wayne famously said. The odd aspect is that John died just three weeks after starting this, and it turned out that he was one of Ann’s favorite people and closest friends in Hollywood.