His name was Wladziu (or Vładziu) Valentino Liberace, but we knew him best by just his last name and flamboyance. He was born on this day, May 16, in 1919, which means he would have been 93 if he were still alive. Liberace died in 1987, but his career spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements…. During the 1950s–1970s he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world and embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off the stage [Wikipedia] View high resolution

His name was Wladziu (or Vładziu) Valentino Liberace, but we knew him best by just his last name and flamboyance. He was born on this day, May 16, in 1919, which means he would have been 93 if he were still alive.

Liberace died in 1987, but his career

spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements…. During the 1950s–1970s he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world and embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off the stage [Wikipedia]

How do you let the world’s oldest teenager rest in peace? When Dick Clark, long-time host of American Bandstand and one of our longest-running on-the-air TV personalities passed away this week at the age of 82, Americans took to the interwebs to laugh, cry, share and snark in a collective show of mass online grief. Photos seem to be the preferred way to remember a man who spent almost 60 years on our TV screens. Photo tributes are being posted on major online news outlets and blogs no one has ever heard of (like this one!). We are getting to see some wonderfully candid “from the archives” shots of America’s oldest teenager. This photo belongs to Life magazine, although it is unclear if it was ever published. Dick Clark is to the right. The photo was taken in 1977 at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton (left) has just presented Johnny Cash with a trophy for outstanding contributions to musical entertainment. Cash’s wife June Carter Cash looks on. Their son John Carter Cash holds the award. View high resolution

How do you let the world’s oldest teenager rest in peace? When Dick Clark, long-time host of American Bandstand and one of our longest-running on-the-air TV personalities passed away this week at the age of 82, Americans took to the interwebs to laugh, cry, share and snark in a collective show of mass online grief.

Photos seem to be the preferred way to remember a man who spent almost 60 years on our TV screens. Photo tributes are being posted on major online news outlets and blogs no one has ever heard of (like this one!).

We are getting to see some wonderfully candid “from the archives” shots of America’s oldest teenager. This photo belongs to Life magazine, although it is unclear if it was ever published. Dick Clark is to the right.

The photo was taken in 1977 at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton (left) has just presented Johnny Cash with a trophy for outstanding contributions to musical entertainment. Cash’s wife June Carter Cash looks on. Their son John Carter Cash holds the award.

America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark, passed away today at the age of 82 in Santa Monica. The cause was an apparent heart attack. Clark continued to ring in the New Year in Times Square as part of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve even after he suffered a stroke 8 years ago. Just about every American has rung in one New Year with Clark. Others of us grew up watching American Bandstand, the TV show he hosted from 1956 to 1989. This photo, making the interwebs today as we scramble to offer our online condolences to a man we never met, probably best captures the forever youthfulness of the TV personality we knew. It was taken in 1952 by photographer Phillippe Halsman and appears in his famous “Jump Book” which shows famous people from Brigid Bardot to Richard Nixon jumping. Yes, jumping in the air, which even for Nixon, is typically an act of joy.  Read more about Halsam and the Jump book here.

America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark, passed away today at the age of 82 in Santa Monica. The cause was an apparent heart attack.

Clark continued to ring in the New Year in Times Square as part of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve even after he suffered a stroke 8 years ago.

Just about every American has rung in one New Year with Clark. Others of us grew up watching American Bandstand, the TV show he hosted from 1956 to 1989.

This photo, making the interwebs today as we scramble to offer our online condolences to a man we never met, probably best captures the forever youthfulness of the TV personality we knew.

It was taken in 1952 by photographer Phillippe Halsman and appears in his famous “Jump Book” which shows famous people from Brigid Bardot to Richard Nixon jumping. Yes, jumping in the air, which even for Nixon, is typically an act of joy. 

Read more about Halsam and the Jump book here.

Happy 50th Birthday, Mets! This week marks the 50th anniversary of the inaugural New York Mets season. The Mets played their first major league game on April 11, 1962, which makes them officially a 50-year-old franchise. When I was growing up in southern Connecticut, which was kind of an honorary extension of New York City, the Mets were newbies not to be taken seriously. They were a team made up of has-beens and peculiar draft choices to fill a National League void left in America’s biggest city by the departure of the Dodgers and Giants to the West Coast. They weren’t going to convert any Yankee fans. Their first couple of seasons, as anyone with a working knowledge of baseball knows, were disastrous. The 1962 Mets still hold the record for the most losses in a season - 120! They probably could have added two more losses to that column, but those rained out games were never made up. The Mets had a few things going for them, though. They were managed by the now-doddering Casey Stengel, who a decade earlier had been the genius manager of the Yankees and their 5 consecutive World Series titles (1949-1953), followed by two more in 1956 and 1958. Revered as the Yankee skipper, by 1962 he was “washed up” in Yankee-land, but took his job with the Mets in stride. He talked all-things “Metsie”, even when he was confusing his players names and being misquoted as saying “Can’t anybody here play this game!?” The Mets were owned by Mrs. Joan Payson - the first woman to ever purchase a baseball franchise with her own money. Gil Hodges, a huge star with the Brooklyn Dodgers in his prime, was brought back from the West Coast to play first base. And, the Mets, in addition to their flashy orange and blue colors, had the best theme song (still do). Sportswriters, gamblers and champions of the underdog (many of whom seemed to live in the newly minted suburbs of Long Island and southern Connecticut) loved the Mets. They made a good story. When they won, they won big. They were proof that not everyone in the New York metro area wants a “sure thing” all the time (the Yankees). In 1969, after years of “cellar dwelling” and never finishing better than second to last place, a miracle occurred. The Mets won their division, the league championship and the World Series in 5 games over the Baltimore Orioles! They were the Miracle Mets, yes indeed! My father went to one of the World Series games that year. He’s a St. Louis Cardinals fan, but at World Series time, if the Cards aren’t in it, he roots for the National League team. This meant that he was pulling for the Mets. Whenever I see this photo, I think of my Dad’s good luck at scoring a ticket to this historic World Series, even though it was Game 4 he went to, not the miraculous Game 5. As a lifelong Met fan, this has always been one of my favorite photos of the team. No doubt taken by a professional photographer just moments after the Mets win the World Series, it looks like it was snapped with someone’s Instamatic. It perfectly captures what I remember about all of the Mets’ big games at Shea Stadium. Hotdog wrappers on the field, a crazed fan (or two) caught up in the pandemonium (note the one in the rust-colored pants coming in from the outfield), the sheer unbelievability of it all. Guess what, guys? To be a real winner, you have to know what it’s like to lose. Note: If you know the real source of this photo, please let me know. I’d like to give credit to the photographer and maybe find out more about their experience of taking such an amazing shot.

Happy 50th Birthday, Mets!

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the inaugural New York Mets season. The Mets played their first major league game on April 11, 1962, which makes them officially a 50-year-old franchise.

When I was growing up in southern Connecticut, which was kind of an honorary extension of New York City, the Mets were newbies not to be taken seriously. They were a team made up of has-beens and peculiar draft choices to fill a National League void left in America’s biggest city by the departure of the Dodgers and Giants to the West Coast. They weren’t going to convert any Yankee fans.

Their first couple of seasons, as anyone with a working knowledge of baseball knows, were disastrous. The 1962 Mets still hold the record for the most losses in a season - 120! They probably could have added two more losses to that column, but those rained out games were never made up.

The Mets had a few things going for them, though. They were managed by the now-doddering Casey Stengel, who a decade earlier had been the genius manager of the Yankees and their 5 consecutive World Series titles (1949-1953), followed by two more in 1956 and 1958. Revered as the Yankee skipper, by 1962 he was “washed up” in Yankee-land, but took his job with the Mets in stride. He talked all-things “Metsie”, even when he was confusing his players names and being misquoted as saying “Can’t anybody here play this game!?”

The Mets were owned by Mrs. Joan Payson - the first woman to ever purchase a baseball franchise with her own money.

Gil Hodges, a huge star with the Brooklyn Dodgers in his prime, was brought back from the West Coast to play first base.

And, the Mets, in addition to their flashy orange and blue colors, had the best theme song (still do).

Sportswriters, gamblers and champions of the underdog (many of whom seemed to live in the newly minted suburbs of Long Island and southern Connecticut) loved the Mets. They made a good story. When they won, they won big. They were proof that not everyone in the New York metro area wants a “sure thing” all the time (the Yankees).

In 1969, after years of “cellar dwelling” and never finishing better than second to last place, a miracle occurred. The Mets won their division, the league championship and the World Series in 5 games over the Baltimore Orioles! They were the Miracle Mets, yes indeed!

My father went to one of the World Series games that year. He’s a St. Louis Cardinals fan, but at World Series time, if the Cards aren’t in it, he roots for the National League team. This meant that he was pulling for the Mets.

Whenever I see this photo, I think of my Dad’s good luck at scoring a ticket to this historic World Series, even though it was Game 4 he went to, not the miraculous Game 5.

As a lifelong Met fan, this has always been one of my favorite photos of the team. No doubt taken by a professional photographer just moments after the Mets win the World Series, it looks like it was snapped with someone’s Instamatic. It perfectly captures what I remember about all of the Mets’ big games at Shea Stadium. Hotdog wrappers on the field, a crazed fan (or two) caught up in the pandemonium (note the one in the rust-colored pants coming in from the outfield), the sheer unbelievability of it all. Guess what, guys? To be a real winner, you have to know what it’s like to lose.

Note: If you know the real source of this photo, please let me know. I’d like to give credit to the photographer and maybe find out more about their experience of taking such an amazing shot.

In the 1960s Walter Matthau played sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison in “The Odd Couple” on both stage and big screen. And, the Mets were Amazin’. nedhepburn: Gpoy

In the 1960s Walter Matthau played sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison in “The Odd Couple” on both stage and big screen. And, the Mets were Amazin’.

nedhepburn:

Gpoy

(Reblogged from nedhepburn)
aconversationoncool: That moment when The Clash met Warhol. View high resolution

aconversationoncool:

That moment when The Clash met Warhol.

(Reblogged from awesomepeoplehangingouttogether)
A little look back at sidewalk surfin’, New York City-style. From the lens of Photographer Bill Eppridge and brought to our attention by Retronaut, 1960s NYC goes skating. You get the feeling that someone just pulled up with a truck full of boards, handed them out and looked on as everyone went a little nuts. We can’t pretend we weren’t pulled in by the amazing garms some of these guys are sporting but these images are just about big fun. Respect to all the perfectly turned out ladies who don’t even bat an eyelid as out of control kids hurtle towards their ankles. Images via Life. View high resolution

A little look back at sidewalk surfin’, New York City-style.

From the lens of Photographer Bill Eppridge and brought to our attention by Retronaut, 1960s NYC goes skating. You get the feeling that someone just pulled up with a truck full of boards, handed them out and looked on as everyone went a little nuts. We can’t pretend we weren’t pulled in by the amazing garms some of these guys are sporting but these images are just about big fun. Respect to all the perfectly turned out ladies who don’t even bat an eyelid as out of control kids hurtle towards their ankles. Images via Life.

life: In 1948 LIFE photographer Martha Holmes captured the most cheerful ‘cult’ you’ll ever see — ‘Who was this Cape Cod Cult?’  You may be wondering… Let us introduce you to the Activationists. Pictured above, Activationists gather at their Provincetown “headquarters” — an enormous piece of driftwood — in 1948. LIFE.com offers a eulogy for and heartfelt celebration of the short-lived, playful, and (evidently) exhilarating phenomenon. (see more photos here) View high resolution

life:

In 1948 LIFE photographer Martha Holmes captured the most cheerful ‘cult’ you’ll ever see — ‘Who was this Cape Cod Cult?’  You may be wondering… Let us introduce you to the Activationists.

Pictured above, Activationists gather at their Provincetown “headquarters” — an enormous piece of driftwood — in 1948.

LIFE.com offers a eulogy for and heartfelt celebration of the short-lived, playful, and (evidently) exhilarating phenomenon. (see more photos here)

(Reblogged from life)
life: He had the requisite looks, charm, and talent — but it wasn’t until 1969 that Robert Redford truly broke out, guns blazing, as a Hollywood stud. That was the year of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and also the year that LIFE photographer John Dominis spent a week with the mustached man’s man, as the star mixed business and pleasure at his homes in Utah and New York. Only a few of the photos Dominis captured made it into the February 1970 LIFE cover story. Here, LIFE presents an entire series of marvelous, unpublished photos of the Hollywood stud. View high resolution

life:

He had the requisite looks, charm, and talent — but it wasn’t until 1969 that Robert Redford truly broke out, guns blazing, as a Hollywood stud.

That was the year of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and also the year that LIFE photographer John Dominis spent a week with the mustached man’s man, as the star mixed business and pleasure at his homes in Utah and New York.

Only a few of the photos Dominis captured made it into the February 1970 LIFE cover story. Here, LIFE presents an entire series of marvelous, unpublished photos of the Hollywood stud.

(Reblogged from life)

Vivian Maier evokes thoughts of Arbus, Weegee as well as other New York City and American city street photographers who flourished and published their photos in their lifetime. Maier might be better known as the “nanny with a camera”, who died just a few years after her massive (100,000 negatives) body of work was discovered in a storage locker.

Late in life, nearly destitute, three children whom she nannied pooled resources to provide her with an apartment and care. They described her as:

…a Socialist, a Feminist, a movie critic, and a tell-it-like-it-is type of person. She learned English by going to theaters, which she loved. She wore a men’s jacket, men’s shoes and a large hat most of the time. She was constantly taking pictures, which she didn’t show anyone…

But that only contributes more to the enigma that is Vivian Maier. Her birthplace and early years have yet to be sorted. Some say she was born in France. Others say she was born in the U.S. - or Austria (the part that is now Hungary). The only thing that seems to be agreed upon is that Maier, born in 1926, traveled between the U.S. and Europe in her early years, and began working as a nanny in New York City around 1951. In 1956 she permanently moved to Chicago, where she continued taking photos throughout the 1990s. She died in 2009.

Read more about the fascinating story of Maier and her photos, and as her story continues to unfold, read about John Maloof, the unlikely street photographer, who unknowingly purchased a first batch of Maier photos and is now her biggest champion.

Photos shown here: A Maier self-portrait (left) coupled with her photo of a glamorous woman out for a night on the town (right).