John Wayne and Gary Cooper Acapulco (1953)
John Wayne and Gary Cooper were not just friends, but the vacationing seen in this shot is entirely on John’s account. John Wayne co-owned the Los Flamingos Hotel and even built a private club for him and his guests to use whenever they wanted. Perhaps the finest aspect of this shot isn’t the luxury of the resort, but the attire itself, which is completely typical of the time and, in some cases, unlike anything we see now.
Gene Tierney (1943)
Gene Tierney was frequently acclaimed as the most sought-after, most beautiful young actor of her day. Unfortunately, while everything looked to be in place for her to achieve tremendous success, Gene had a major mental illness, eventually preventing her from finding happiness in her profession. Gene had terrible anxiety and body dysmorphia and was advised to undergo a trendy treatment at the time, severe shock therapy. Unfortunately, Gene’s brain was so damaged after 27 treatments that her frazzled mental condition would preclude her from working in Hollywood.
Italian starlet Claudia Cardinale – Taormina, Sicily (1960)
One of Italy’s most beautiful and gifted actresses never intended to be a celebrity in the first place. Claudia Cardinale’s life’s bad events—a rape when she was a teenager—sent her in the path of the performing industry by chance. When Claudia became pregnant after the tragedy, she negotiated a deal with a French producer, concealing her pregnancy and working for 7 months. Claudia’s son was taught to believe she was his sister even after he was born.
Charles Bronson (1972)
Charles Bronson received a surprise when one of his biggest admirers, Audrey Knauer, died and bequeathed all her money to him in one of the strangest intimate celebrity expos from a superfan herself. She was insistent that no one in her family receives any of her wealth, and she suggested that if star Charles didn’t want it, he should donate it to her neighborhood library. Naturally, the library believed they’d get everything from Charles, but they were shocked when they didn’t get a dime.