42 Photos That Best Capture The Groovy Era

Talk about this triple-threat. You got Chachi, Jan Brady, and Bodhi from Point Break....ALL IN THE SAME MOVIE! Why didn't Skatetown U.S.A win an Academy Award - or top Star Wars for box office records? This 1979 movie has a classic plot:

"One evening at a Los Angeles roller disco called Skatetown, U.S.A., a rivalry between two skaters culminates in a contest, the winning prize for which is $1000 and a moped. After a game of chicken played on motorized roller skates, the two rivals become friends."

What more would you want from your cinematic experience. Imagine the crazy high plot tension when $1000 and a moped are on the line for the winner of a roller disco contest? Who won the moped? No spoiler alerts here - I'm not saying...

How groovy is this pair. Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams were the epitome of 70s hip. Here they are from their Brady Bunch days. Though on the show they played stepbrother and stepsister - the actually hooked up in real life.

Maureen McCormick wrote in her memoir: "It was our first kiss. It was wonderful, too, though a part of me — a tiny part, admittedly — said to myself, 'Oh my God! I'm kissing my brother. What am I doing?'"

Barry Williams also had a crush on Florence Henderson who played his TV mom.  He once took her out on a date when he was 15 and she was 36. It didn't go well.

Among many other things, Barbie Benton is known for being Hugh Hefner's girlfriend; not currently, but in the 60s. Once Hefner fell for her - her role elevated to co-host on a well-known TV show.

Benton also recorded several successful albums in the 70s. 

There's nothing cooler than Lemmy from Motorhead. So how did these two become friends?

At the time Samantha Fox was not yet regarded as an 80s pop star - she was more known for going topless on Page 3 of the British tabloid, The Sun. Lemmy met Fox when she was 17-years old. She told him how much she loved Motorhead, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Kiss. Lemmy was surprised at her musical tastes and said they should do a song together. They wrote a song called, Beauty and the Beast - which never ended up getting released.

The unlikely duo stayed friends over the years - and the rest is rock history.  

First of all, pretty great cast for this movie that I knew very little about: Bill Paxton, Liam Neeson and Patrick Swayze, as well as Ben Stiller and Helen Hunt in smaller roles. Simple movie fish-out-of-water premise: A Chicago cop, originally from some hillbilly town sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, his other hillbilly brothers decides to find the killer himself. Action ensues.

Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Ray Liotta, John Malkovich, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Ron Perlman, and Tim Robbins were considered for roles in this forgettable movie. .

Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, first pitched the iconic TV show to Desilu Productions in early 1964. He compared it to the Western, Wagon Train...but to the stars. The show later got picked up by NBC - who commissioned the pilot episode, The Cage. The first regular Star Trek episode, The Man Trap, premiered on Thursday, September 8, 1966.  Still, the ratings for Star Trek at the end of the first season was to 52nd out of 94 programs.

NBC was set to cancel the show - but fans thought otherwise, instigated a letter-writing campaign, and petitioning the network to keep Star Trek on the air. And the rest is Captain Kirk history. Here is a photo of the leader of the Starship Enterprise going where no man has boldly gone before - taking along his questionable favorite play-thing for the ride.

In 1958, actress Jayne Mansfield married bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. Mansfield was the blonde bombshell actress that became big in the 50s, and was said to be a Marilyn Monroe knockoff. She is best remembered for being Playboy`s Playmate of the Month in February 1955 and from her appearance in the 1956 movie, The Girl Can't Help It. 

Meanwhile, her husband, Mickey Hargitay, was born in Budapest, Hungary and was Mr. Universe in 1955. The couple had three children together - and were later divorced on 26th Aug 1964. Oh well, love doesn't last forever for a blonde bombshell and a Hungarian bodybuilder.

Hell yes, The Blues Brothers is one the all-time great comedy classics - with the movie tagline: "They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God." 

Here's Dan Aykroyd getting down with it in his portrayal of Elwood Blues. The movie was directed by John Landis, costarred John Belushi (as Jake Blues), and was released in 1980. The film was based on a music act devised for Saturday Night Live - and had cameos from some of the top blues musicians on the planet - including Aretha Franklin.

On a lesser note, Aykroyd reprised his role of Elwood Blues in the horrific sequel, Blues Brothers 2000 - which came out in 1998 and costarred John Goodman.

Elizabeth Montgomery was the star of the popular TV show, Bewitched. She played a witch who was a suburban housewife and  could get away with anything by simply wiggling her witch nose. She was also the daughter of actor Robert Montgomery and began her acting career in the 1950s with a role on her father's television series - which was conveniently named: Robert Montgomery Presents.

Bewitched hit the air in 1964 and ran until 1972. The show had two different actors playing the Darin role. Off-screen the blonde beauty made her way through four tumultuous marriages and had romantic interludes with such Hollywood heavies as Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Gary Cooper.

Before she was the "Queen of Pop" - Madonna Louise Ciccone was once a 16-year old living in Bay City, Michigan. She was born to Catholic parents and her dad worked as an engineer designer for Chrysler and General Motors. Since she had the same name as her mother - family members affectionately called her "Little Nonni." 

In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and moved to New York City with $35 in her pocket. While pursuing her dream, she worked at Dunkin' Donuts and took classes at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  She formed her first band in 1979  - which was called The Breakfast Club. Before becoming the international superstar that she is today, Madonna also auditioned for a role in the TV version of Fame

So what did the future Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler do this time? Here is the rock icon as a young kid posing for a mug shot on March 1967 after being arrested in Yonkers, New York. Back then, Tyler was going by his given name Steven Tallarico. The police busted the 18-year old for possession of pot.

In a 1997 interview, Tyler couldn't even remember the arrest - though he did recall an undercover narcotics officer in his high school ceramics class. Tyler's life changed when in 1969, he attended a rock show in Sunapee, New Hampshire. That's where he first saw future bandmates Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton, who were playing in a band, with the unfortunate name, The Jam Band.

How cool is this, you got young Elvis with a cigarette in his mouth, playing the bongos at a party. In the recording studio, Elvis Presley's drummer D.J. Fontana set the beat for the rock 'n' roll king. Fontana started collaborating with Elvis in the mid-1950s and played on such legendary hits as Jailhouse Rock, All Shook Up, and Viva Las Vegas.

Elvis began attracting attention with his music in 1954, when he was just 19.  In 1956, he scored his first number one hit with Heartbreak Hotel - and became a international sensation. In 1957, Elvis received a draft notice, serving as a GI in the U.S. military until 1960. Now that's something to bongo about.

The day was June 30, 1975. Cher tied the knot with rock star Gregg Allman - who was famous for co-founding the Allman Brothers Band. All this took place less than one week after Cher's divorce from Sonny Bono became final.

When Cher's divorce became final, on a whim, the two boarded a Learjet from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and were married in a hotel suite belonging to Cher’s manager. But love didn't last that long. Cher filed divorce from Allman just nine days later. Apparently, Allman abandoning Cher on their honeymoon and went on a drinking and drug binge. In a press statement Cher said: “I’ve always believed it best to admit one’s mistakes as quickly as possible.”

Still, it looked like they had a real fun wedding. Marriage doesn't last forever  - but photos live on...

Hank Williams was the epitome of the hard-drinking, hard-living country musician - who ended up dying tragically at the age of 29. He wrote one of his most iconic songs, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, on some seedy hotel stationary with a shaky hand on the pen.

His son, Hank Williams Jr. also went on to become the epitome of the hard-drinking, hard-living country musician. He was born in 1948 and began his career covering his father's songs and imitating his style. He first appeared on TV in 1964 on an episode of The Jimmy Dean Show when he was fourteen.  Later that year, appeared on ABC's Shindig!

Being the son of such a legend is a hard act to follow. By the 70s - he changed his appearance and branched out into his own musical style. Here's a photo of Jr. with his dad  - as the plot doing a double act.

Ann-Margret went from being considered the "female Elvis" to being a mainstream Hollywood movie star. In fact, her movie career was even a little better than Elvis' - if you look at the quality of films she appeared in. She starred in Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge in 1971, and played the girlfriend of Jack Nicholson. Her performance netted Margret an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination.

One performance that's unforgettable, in 1963 she was the voice of Ann-Margrock on the animated TV show, The Flintstones - and sang the tender balled, "The Littlest Lamb." Years later, she sang a version of Viva Las Vegas for the live-action film version of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas.

Joanne Woodward is best known for being Paul Newman's wife and an actress whose career has span over six decades. Woodward is best known for her role in the 1957, The Three Faces of Eve, which earned her both an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award. Well done Joanne Woodward!

Here she is lounging on a Austin-Healey. The British sports car came onto the scene in 1952 - and was a joint venture between the British Motor Corporation and the Donald Healey Motor Company.  Plus, the sleek vehicle looked really smart when mingling with one of Hollywood's sexy elite. 

Don't get me wrong, but it would seem like a very hard task to follow to be the song of John Wayne. At least he didn't name him John Wayne Jr. Here is father and son on the set of the 1966 movie, El Dorado. Ethan, as it turned out, followed in the family business and also became an actor. He started his career as a stuntman in 1979. His first feature film role was in The Blues Brothers and he also appeared in the horror movie, Scream.

One of Ethan Wayne's most rcent roles was that of a John Wayne memorabilia expert on History Channel's Pawn Stars. Way to go, Wayne!  

Just when you thought Spock from Star Trek couldn't get any cooler. Here he is with his set of wheels - a 1970 GTO the "Judge." Check out the license plates that read "GR-RRR!' Imagine riding down the L.A. freeway and looking over and seeing Spock behind the wheel of this muscle car.

The GTO was manufactured by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974. The vehicle was selected as the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1968. GTO stands for "Grand Tempest Option" - and is one of the fastest cars ever manufactured by Pontiac. Meanwhile, Mr. Spock was First Officer on the Starship Enterprise. Their mission was to boldly go where no man has gone before - and if a muscle car could get you there, all the better.

It doesn't get anymore Southern good ol' boys - than the Dukes of Hazzard - with their awesome car, The General Lee. And let's not forget Daisy Duke. She's the woman responsible for people sporting the Daisy Duke short-shorts.

The Dukes of Hazzard ran on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985 - spanning seven seasons of Southern action-comedy. But did you knew the series was inspired by the 1975 movie Moonrunners - which featured many identical and similarly named characters? Well it was.

The show follows the adventures of The Duke Boys who live on a family farm in Hazzard County. They would often race around in their customized 1969 Dodge Charger stock car. Spoiler Alert: The Dukes are always under the watchful eye of corrupt county commissioner, Boss Hogg.

As far as pants go, my favorite are of the "hot" variety. Here's a publicity photo of British actress Madeline Smith - who is best known for the 1970 film The Vampire Lovers.

Hot pants emerged on the scene in the swinging 60's. In fact, the swinging fashion staple was created by British fashion designer Mary Quant. In the early 70's Southwest Airlines had their stewardesses decked out not only in hot pants - but also leather boots. The airline's motto was ‘sex sells seats,’ and, in a vastly different era, stewardesses were hired on the eye-pleasing nature of their legs and looks.  In 1971, LIFE Magazine summed up the trend this way: “Hot Pants: A short but happy career.”

Here's the legendary blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe on the set of the 1954 Otto Preminger film, River of No Return. Monroe's costar on the film was the great Robert Mitchum. Though the movie was set in Northwestern  American in 1875 - the script premise was taken heavily from the  1948 Italian film, Bicycle Thieves.

Photographer John Vachon took this shot of Monroe. He worked for many years as a staff photographer for Look Magazine. He first worked as a filing clerk for the Farm Security Administration before being recruited to join a small group of photographers, which included Walker Evans.

Monroe later injured her foot on the set of River of No Return. And Vachon captured shots of her in a swimsuit while on crutches.

"Hello, my name is Michael Caine." Try saying that sentence with your best Michael Caine impression. 60's era Caine was the coolest. He had that cool British swagger and that great East London Accent. My favorite Caine movie of that era was Alfie  - which he played a womanizer who gets gamed by Shelly Winters.

Caine began his acting career when he was 20 - by responding to an ad in for an assistant stage manager who would also perform small walk-on parts for the Westminster Repertory Company. He originally went by the stage name: "Michael White." 

"Hello, my name is Michael White," just doesn't have the same ring.

This is a really great movie - and the first breakout project for George Lucas. The 1973 flick was actually based on Lucas' teen experiences growing in Modesto, California in the 1950s. Ron Howard and Cindy Williams were cast as the leads - and it's not surprising that they both went on to star in sitcoms set in the 1950s. (Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.)

The cast of American Graffiti is a regular who's who of future Hollywood stars. Harrison Ford refused to cut his hair for his role - stating his part was too small. Instead he wore a hat. 

I would give anything to see a young Samuel Jackson deliver the Exekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction - to his prom date. Jackson grew up as an only child in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Though he might be a badass in the movies, in high school he played the French horn, trumpet, flute and piccolo in the school orchestra. In college, he wanted to pursue a degree in marine biology. As a kid Jackson had a stutter. He got into acting to "pretend to be other people who didn't stutter." It worked. You don't hear Jackson stutter at all during the movie, Snakes on a Plane, when he delivers the iconic line: "I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE MOTHERF*CKING SNAKES ON THIS MOTHERF*CKING PLANE!" 

Tom Petty was one of the coolest cats around. He and his band, The Heartbreakers, traversed the musical spectrum of both Southern and indie rock. His band came onto the scene with gigs in Gainsville, Florida in 1976. Before The Heartbreakers, Petty's early bands Petty's were The Sundowners, The Epics, and Mudcrutch.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers first achieved big success in the U.K. before hitting big on these shores. Recalling an early 1976 gig, Petty said "The audience just jumped up and charged the stage and were boogieing their brains out. It was such a rush. Wow, we had never seen anything like that, man."

The year was 1992, and supermodel Cindy Crawford filmed a Pepsi commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. The premise was simple: Crawford sipped a Pepsi at a gas station - while wearing a white tank top and jeans. That's all you needed back in 1992 to create Super Bowl advertising excitement.

In 2018, 26 years after the original commercial aired, Crawford recreated her Pepsi role - but this time she sported a denim shirt.  Crawford's 18-year-old son, Presley Walker Gerber appeared in the ad as well. The updated ad also featured of Michael Jackson's Pepsi commercial from 1984.

Marlon Brando's role in the 1953 movie, The Wild One, inspired leather daddies everywhere.  The film was directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer - and was considered to be the original outlaw biker film - a genre which later flourished with such films as Easy Rider.

The screenplay was based on a short story in Harper's Magazine called "The Cyclists' Raid." It's based on a 1947 4th of July weekend in Hollister, California that ended with a motorcycle gang riot. The Triumph motorcycle that Marlon Brando rode in the movie was actually his personal bike.

The deal with Gremlins is, you're not supposed to feed them after dark. So what do they do in the movie? They feed them after dark. And then all hell breaks loose. Why didn't you kids listen?!? Phoebe Cates was hot off her appearance in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and looks hot here as well.

Gremlins was set in the fictional town of Kingston Falls. If you look closely, many of the locales are similar to the ones used in Back to the Future. Both movies were filmed in the Universal Studios backlot. The theater that blows up in Gremlins was also smashed into by Marty McFly.

Gremlins was released in 1984 on the same day as Ghostbusters. Scary.

With Airwolf, not only do you have Jan Michael Vincent but also Ernest Borgnine in the leads. Yes, Vincent and Borgnine - as you never seen them before. What you got with that formula is a renegade pilot who goes on missions in a hyper-advanced battle helicopter - as he looks for his missing brother.

During production - the crew needed special permission from the FAA to let Airwolf fly. Even though the helicopter weapons were props - they still could freak people out. When the series ended - Airwolf was sold to a  German company and was used as an air ambulance. Sadly Airwolf saw it's last real-life mission in 1992 when it crashed during a thunderstorm.

Holy Moses, I love drive-ins. And what could be more epic than sitting in your car and watching Charlton Heston in the lead role of The Ten Commandments - getting all biblical? And an epic movie, indeed. At least 14,000 extras and 15,000 animals were used in the filming of The Ten Commandments. Just under 5% of the film was actually filmed in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the first drive-in movie theater opened its gates in 1933 and was located on Crescent Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey. The concept was the baby of Richard Hollingshead, who not only loved movies but was a sales manager at his father’s company, Whiz Auto Products, in Camden. And the rest is drive-in history

No way! This was the awesome ride of "The Man in Black"? Not only does this Cadillac look like a piece of art - but check out the words 'One Piece At A Time' on the roof. You certainly knew that Johnny Cash was in town when you saw this psychobilly Cadillac rolling down the street. The words come from a country novelty song written by Wayne Kemp. Cash recorded the tune with the Tennessee Three back in 1976 - and it reached number one on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.

Cash's producer phoned him up in April of 1976 and said he thought "One Piece at a Time" was going to be a hit. So the idea was to build a car for publicity shots.  And the rest is cool automotive history.

Hell ya! Carlin hosting the very first episode of Saturday Night Live on Oct 11th, 1975. And what a crazy great lineup they had. Not only was Paul Simon the musical guest, but there was Albert Brooks doing a short film - and comedy genius Andy Kaufman on the bill. Plus George Carlin as the host!

Richard Pryor was one of the original choices to host the first show, but he was a little erratic back in those days due to drug use - so they went with Carlin for the hosting duties. The show went on to launch the careers over almost every great iconic comedy performers - and a few duds such. Rob Schneider - we're talking to you.

This does not look like a happy household. Ike and Tina look much happier in the painting they have of themselves on the wall right behind them. The two composed music together and were considered one of the hottest, most durable and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles.

Don't be fooled by this scene of domestic bliss. In her 1986 autobiography, I, Tina, the singer wrote years of domestic abuse by the hands of Ike - who broke her jaw during a bloody fight in a Las Vegas limo. Tina finally left Ike in 1976. The tale of the couple's turmoil relationship was turned into the 1993's What's Love Got to Do With It. 

It's the cast of Taxi! And no, the TV show was not a spinoff of the movie, Taxi Driver. What a crazy great ensemble cast. Almost everyone had a breakout role. Where do you start? Andy Kaufman? Danny DeVito? Tony Danza. Christopher Lloyd!?  Not featured in this photo is Jeff Conaway; fresh off his success in the movie Grease - he originally thought he was going to be the star of the show. He wasn't - and didn't even get featured in this cast photo.

Andy Kaufman, who played Latka Gravas - a rendition of his "Foreign Man' character from his stage show - became bored with filming the show and would later come to set as his crass alter-ego, Tony Clifton. 

Oh, cool-ass bike! This two-wheeler would make any hipster in Williamsburg pop a wheelie. The Schwinn Stingray was manufactured from 1963 to 1981. It was known as "the bike with the sports car look," and featured a short frame, high rise handlebars and long, bucket shaped saddle.  And it captured the imagination of kids across America -  and sold like hotcakes with over 1 million bikes purchased in 1968. And look at all the squares who were behind its inception.

The bike originally sold for $49 - and the design gave riders an exciting combo of features for quick maneuvers, fast starts and short radius turns.

Not to say this man in the ad seems like an alcoholic - but according to the ad's philosophy, "where there's life..there's Bud." So why not just pour yourself two glasses while eating popcorn for dinner in your studio apartment?

In 1957, Budweiser was the #1 beer on the market. The premise of this "breakthrough" ad campaign was to show real people in casual situations - such as drinking two-fisted on their own. This advertisement marked the first time that Budweiser used its nickname "Bud."

Okay, nothing phallic here. Just a woman straddling a long rocket - while looking pleased as punch. The model in the photo is named Carole Wells. She did things other than straddling rockets. Originally from Louisiana, Wells appeared on numerous TV shows, such as  Father Knows Best, Bachelor Father, Maverick, Fury, The Donna Reed Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Wide Country, Laramie, National Velvet, Wagon Train, Leave It to Beaver, Ben Casey, Arrest and Trial, Perry Mason, Pistols 'n' Petticoats, The Virginian, The Sixth Sense,  and The Brian Keith Show.

Slightly off the curve, Wells also partnered with Bemer Group, a manufacturer of devices that boost blood circulation. Well done Carol!

Here's hunky Clinton Eastwood lounging by the pool - back in the days when he was a bit-player on TV shows. Eastwood was born in San Francisco and got his start in 1954 on the TV western, Rawhide.

Eastwood stood tall at 6'4 and was an imposing figure. His initial contract was for a whopping $100 per week. Early on, Eastwood's performance style was criticized for being stiff in manner and delivering his lines through his teeth, - which ironically later became his trademark that he'd make millions off of. Notes on his early acting ability were, "He was quite amateurish. He didn't know which way to turn or which way to go or do anything."

Lemmy, as we know, headed the metal rock band Motorhead - and had some hard living. Gaye Advert was part of the punk band, The Adverts - which she started with vocalist Tim TV Smith. The Adverts came into prominence in 1976 at the celebrated London punk venue the Roxy CluFronted. They toured with the legendary punk group, The Damned, and got a recording contract from Stiff Records. The Adverts were one of the first punk bands to enjoy commercial success and the quartet also boasted the first female punk star in Gaye Advert.

I wonder what Lemmy and Gaye Advert are discussing. My guess is gardening. Or how to make a delicious Chicken Kiev dinner.

Here's the former mayor of Palm Springs with his then-wife, Cher. The musical powerhouse first met at a Los Angeles coffee shop in November 1962 - when Cher was sixteen and Sonny was 27. Nothing weird there. At the time, Bono was working with musical crazy-man Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood.

Sonny and Cher married in 1964 and had a child that we all know as Chasity.  Cher started her career as a session singer and sang backup on several of Spector's recordings, including "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes. In the 1970s, they launched the TV shows, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show. The couple divorced in 1975 - and thus ended their career together.