TONY CURTIS & JANET LEIGH, 1960 “They were products of the latter part of the studio era,” says film critic and historian Leonard Martin. “The studio invented their names. He was Bernard Schwartz, and her name was…. Scandinavian. When you start out by being rechristened, I guess that indicates some degree of control. They were such a photogenic couple, prime candidates for publicity photos.” The newlyweds, pictured here, were headed for Honolulu on the Lurline cruise ship. (Eve Johnson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Long before the perfect “candids” of Instagram, decades reigned where stars’ images were managed as tightly as Shirley Temple’s curls, as studios (and their related PR machines) gave birth to the notion of Hollywood fame. The late 1920s-1960s produced some of the most iconic stars in the world — whose names would become known around the globe — aided by images meticulously created on red carpets, in magazine shoots and, yes, on staged vacation photos. Actresses were curated as girls-next-door or sexy bombshells; positive snaps of couples together conveyed happy, glamorous marriages. Yet as the traditional studio system disintegrated and disaggregated, so too did control of its talent. By the 1960s, says film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, talent began taking agency over their careers and their image, and more “relaxed” images were released while on vacation, whether from the growing number of paparazzi or photog friends who tagged along. Regardless, says Mary Mallory, an author and photo historian, it was all about selling stardom: “The posed vacation candids were all about the art of looking beautiful.”
Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland, 1965
COASTAL ELITES Sellers, who would become known worldwide as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies, posed for pictures with his wife Ekland in the village Sant-Angelo, Ischia, Italy. They were on a break from filming Caccia all Volpe. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
BOYS OF SUMMER Sinatra with friend and fellow triple threat Martin (middle) arrived dressed to the nines at London’s Heathrow Airport in August. (Daily Herald/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
EN FRANÇAISE Dandridge in the French Riviera stopped for a photo opp before heading to the Cannes Film Festival. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
Joan Crawford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., 1929
HONEYMOONERS Newlyweds Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur) and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., son of cinema icon Douglas Fairbanks Sr., were both studio contract players. This photo shows them posing under an umbrella with their dog on Catalina. (George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images)
The studios right through the 1960s controlled every aspect of their contract players’ lives. They would fix them up with dates or chaperones for premieres. They chose their wardrobe for personal appearances. They coached them on manners, deportment, skills and attributes that they might not have achieved on their own or been exposed to before. - Leonard Maltin
Debbie Reynolds and her children Carrie and Todd, 1961
BIRTH OF A DYNASTY The family on a two-week vacation in Montego Bay, Jamaica, two years after husband Eddie Fisher had left her for Elizabeth Taylor. (Bettman Archive/Getty Images)
GOLDEN GIRLS Davis, left and Blondell were both under contract with Warner Bros. The friends posed on the beach in Southern California on a break from filming Three on a Match. (John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)
Film studios thought up every type of subject they could think of that might be illustrated in magazines or newspapers and created images that could be run in them. - Mary Mallory
Cary Grant, 1935
BALLER At the time, Grant shared a house in Santa Monica with actor Randolph Scott. (John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)
MICK & THE MRS. The newlyweds in Venice, Italy. After dating nine months, they wed in St. Tropez in front of Paul McCartney, Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim. Though the guests were only told about the wedding the day before, paparazzi descended on the nuptials and then the Venice honeymoon. (Archive Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty Images)
INGENUE-INTO-ADULT West Side Story star Wood on the beach in Saint-Tropez. (Keystone/HultonArchive/Getty Images)
The studios created personas for these actors and they were expected to live up to that, to those often unrealistic images. - Leonard Maltin
David Niven and Merle Oberon, 1935
RUMOR MILL The happy couple, on Santa Monica Beach were rumored to be engaged. Many photos were staged to look candid and sent to magazines quid pro quo. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
SHIPWRECKED ROMANCE Recently married Monroe and DiMaggio looked at boats on their August honeymoon in Japan. She would file for divorce less than a year later. (Pictorial Parade/Getty Images)
BOMBSHELL The sex symbol in Brazil, where a photographer friend shot The Contempt and French new wave actress spending a couple of months at a beach village. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
BON VOYAGE Brando (right) and fellow actor Redfield sat on their luggage as they watched the Ile de France sail off without them due to Brando’s passport being stolen out of Redfield’s car. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
SEE JANE GO Fonda with her director-husband Vadim met on the set of his film La Ronde. The couple that year enjoyed a boat ride in Saint Tropez. (Reporters Associes/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)
SURF RIDER The actress and sex symbol of the 40s and 50s in the waves in France. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher, 1960
TUMULT & PASSION “Taylor was a survivor of the studio system but she became a bigger star after the demise of the old studios,” says Martin. “She was the first actress be paid a million dollars for a single picture, which was Cleopatra.” Married, Taylor and Fisher were pictured on Burano Island in Venice, Italy. (Keystone/Getty Images)
🎧 Martini Shot: A Foolish GambleRob Long survived UPN, and other bygone showbiz brands. Now he begs our overlords struggling with streaming to just say 'sorry' (transcript here)
