This thread may die quickly but I thought I’d give it a shot. Define ‘Old’ anyway you would like- Silent Era to ‘before Coppola’. What are some of your favorite publicity stills of various stars? (And I’m flexible on what constitutes a ‘still’- it can be a candid shot or a paparazzi or whatever, so long as it’s a clear picture of the star or stars.)
This and this and this, all shots of Mae West and Charlie McCarthy, are among the most disturbing. I can only assume it’s from the comedy short I’ve Got Wood.
Carmen Miranda looking insane in a leopard-print bikini:
I cannot find an online copy, but there is a *wonderful *1924 photo of John Gilbert at home, sitting on a doghouse, with his arms full of puppies and kittens, which I want to use on the back cover of my next book. What’s cuter than John Gilbert? John Gilbert with puppies and kittens!
If we ever go to avatars I make the humble request that this be your’s. It’s how I intend to always think of you, though I’ll let you name the ostrich.
Here’s an interesting shot of Brigitte Helm on the set of Metropolis.
Olive Thomas was one of the most beautiful actresses in history, gone now for nearly a century, forgotten by all (aside from Eve).
And there are too many good photos of Louise Brooks to pick any favorites. Damn was she photogenic. I’d link to a google image search but it returns a few NSFW pics.
I used to stumbleupon a lot and there was a russian livejournal community that often showed up called everyday_I_show and it was full of collections of old photos from around the world. Sometimes it was focused on celebrities, though and there I found many photos I love like this one of Fred Astaire with his sister or this one of Elizabeth Taylor or this one of Bette Davis.
My favorite is this one, though because I am incurably shallow. (I was accused of being entirely too young when I first saw it for not recognizing Paul Newman. I recognize him now, of course.)
