62 Vintage Photos In History

By | September 17, 2018

Farrah Fawcett getting soaked for a photo shoot. Photo by Bruce McBroom, 1976. 

The bold, the talented, the beautiful and, alas, the doomed -- their photos intrigue and haunt us. Discovering a shot of a star we'd never seen before is like hearing a new secret from an old friend. We know the iconic photos -- the magazine covers and movie posters and publicity stills that go everywhere. But we're fascinated by the stolen moments, undocumented episodes and revealing outtakes. The time when the rock star grew a beard or wore cutoff shorts that were a little too short. The sex kittens and he-men of cinema before they were household names. The odd couples and unexpected couplings. They're all entrancing and enchanting -- taking us back while showing us something new.

test article image
Source: Reddit

Here's another shot from the photo session with Bruce McBroom that yielded Farrah Fawcett's red swimsuit poster -- the best-selling poster of all time, according to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. There's an odd thing about this shoot, though -- why did Fawcett wear a bikini? Charlie's Angels wasn't even on TV yet, and the poster company wanted to sell posters -- and Farrah is wearing a one-piece? McBroom would recall years later that the poster company had of course asked for a bikini shot, but Fawcett didn't own a bikini. McBroom snapped her in numerous poses with various outfits she owned, but wasn't feeling he'd nailed it yet. He sent her back into her closet one last time, to find something she felt sexy and comfortable in, and she emerged in the soon-to-be famous red swimsuit.

Raquel Welch vamping with her Ferrari 275 GTS in 1967. 

test article image
Source: Pinterest

It's a fact of life: Pretty people get stuff for free. Raquel Welch drove a rare 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS in the movie Fathom (1967), and she liked it a lot. Hey, it's a Ferrari convertible, who wouldn't like driving it? Director Leslie H. Martinson noted Welch's affection for the car, and gave it to her for keeps after filming was complete. Only 200 of this model, also called a 275 GTS Pininfarina Spyder, were made during a production run that began in 1964 and ended in 1966. According to meticulous Ferrari-trackers, Welch sold hers in 1975 to -- no joke -- a lady in Peoria, Illinois.