Pirate Jean Lafitte, The Terror of the Gulf of Mexico, made prizes of several men, and eventually became wealthy and powerful enough to found a colony. But why was he so feared?
Vintage celebrities & famous people
Star Trek: The Next Generation, set in the 24th century, the updated USS Enterprise boldly went where no one had gone before – and enthralled millions.
In 1967, a flash fire killed the prime crew of the Apollo 1/Saturn 204 mission. Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee lost their lives.
Kill John Dillinger at Chicago Desperado, wounded by three slugs, broke line of fire; Died in alley U.S. Justice Department Agents and East Chicago Police
George Eastman: The man behind Kodak (1854-1932) George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, and often called “the father of photography” was many things — a
Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen headlined the 1973 movie Papillon, a period prison escape drama, got mixed reviews at the time.
As new Navy torpedo boats were launched during WWII, Walt Disney was asked to design an insignia. He did – then did created dozens more.
Nikola Tesla filed a US Patent for his improvements on Ben Franklin’s almost 200-year-old lightning rod design.
Jack Swigert, the emergency substitute member of the Apollo 13 crew, is a swinging bachelor with a playboy-type pad — but he would rather fly than play.
From Liverpool lad to Beatle & enduring icon – revisit the life of John Lennon. His legacy is more than songs; it’s a committed pursuit of peace & love.
The popular Benson TV show, a sitcom offshoot of Soap, starred Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, director of household affairs for a widowed state governor.
Take a jump back in time to hear from Hall & Oates in their prime – the ’70s & ’80s, when the duo had a string of #1 singles and sold millions of albums.
Radium earned Marie Curie worldwide fame, and changed the face of medicine. Here, she describes how this historic scientific discovery was made.
In the years after Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island, questions, investigations, doubts and rumors dogged the career of Edward Kennedy. Here’s a look back.
The great loss of the Titanic: It is now practically certain that 1,492 human beings went to their death in the sinking of the giant ship on the ice banks of Newfoundland.
Frederick Douglass, who was born a slave in Talbot county, Maryland, in 1817, was the one conspicuous anti-slavery agitator who spoke of the wrongs and cruelty of slavery from personal experience.
Talk show host Johnny Carson created a line of suits in the seventies – mostly all polyester, and they came in dozens of different colors and styles.
During the 1978 Saturn Awards ceremony, William Shatner, as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, performed what can most accurately be described as a bizarre spoken-word rendition of ‘Rocket Man.’
Elvis Presley army photos from 1958: See the King’s shocking induction, infamous haircut & early days in uniform.
The founder of Kodak built the George Eastman House, a 50-room Colonial Revival mansion in upstate New York. Now a museum, here’s what it looks like.
With his memorable voice and pro patter, DJ Jocko Henderson entertained the ears of millions – and advanced American culture at the same time.
Actress Betty White never gives up – and that’s the secret to her success. Here’s why, in the words of none other than her mother.
Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly started out as a child model. Here’s a look back to those days in the early ’80s when she was just getting her career off the ground!
Shields & Yarnell, the talented and dynamic husband-and-wife mimes, entertained audiences all across America courtesy of the television. Take a look back!
Richard Nixon’s final presidential crisis truly began with the ruling that he could no longer withhold 64 disputed White House tapes from the Watergate prosecutors. Here is the story of the last days before Nixon’s resignation.
Take a look at young ‘Leave it to Beaver’ actors Jerry Mathers & Tony Dow — and then see what the two men looks like as adults!
Betty Grable’s legs: They have now achieved the stature of a major Hollywood landmark LIFE – June 7, 1943 No one since Paavo Nurmi has
M*A*S*H actress Loretta Swit snagged the role of the haughty, by-the-book chief nurse, Major Margaret (Hot Lips) Houlihan for the TV series, and made it all her own.
Larry Hagman has a juicy, lip-smacking role, and he plays it to campy perfection. His J.R. Ewing on Dallas is rotten to the core. If he had a redeeming feature, he’d probably swap it for cash.
In 1976, Bruce Jenner won the Olympic gold medal and the wildest cheers of the track-and-field competition. And his wife Chrystie was right there.
Critics panned it and CBS dropped it, yet Gilligan’s Island never left TV. Sing along with the theme and meet the castaways behind the famous shipwreck.
Here’s what voters thought of Ford vs Carter in the presidential election of 1976, based on things like who would handle certain problems better, and who debated the best.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Nobel Peace Prize winner who made nonviolence his chief weapon in the fight for civil rights, was shot to death in 1968. His assassination triggered violence across the nation. Find out more here.
Charlie Sheen has written and directed over 200 Super-8 films in his 22 years, with pals like Sean and Chris Penn, Rob and Chad Lowe, and older brother Emilio Estevez in the lead roles.
In the popular ’80s sitcom Silver Spoons, a child-like millionaire meets the son he never knew – and that kid (Ricky Schroder) teaches his newfound dad how to be a grown-up.
See some interviews offering insight into the life and mind of actress Vivien Leigh, best known for her starring role in the hugely successful movie, Gone With the Wind.
When a teacher lost the manual to his alien super suit, The Greatest American Hero crash-landed on 80s TV and left behind a No. 2 hit song.
Despite his military expertise, President Eisenhower didn’t know how to dial a phone. Even after being given the 50 millionth telephone, Ike was apparently still befuddled by the new tech.
Back in the ’70s, Broadway couldn’t miss with Annie – especially when starring actress Andrea McArdle, the spunky, talented 13-year-old who played the title role.
Actor James Dean, a young Hollywood idol, was killed on September 30, 1955, in a head-on car crash. Here’s how the story was reported, and then a look back from a year later.
Elvis and Nixon actually met — and Elvis asked to be a federal agent. Read the wild original letter and White House memo.
After ‘That Girl’ proved a comedy success for the actress who played the title role, TV executives suggested the series be called ‘The Marlo Thomas Show.’
For nearly 30 years, Captain Kangaroo said good morning to kids across the country. Here, meet Bob Keeshan, the man behind the beloved character!
The first article here takes a look back at the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 100 years later, from 1905.
‘The Cosby Show’ enters millions of American living rooms precisely because it so well mirrors those living rooms. Sure, the Huxtable family is funnier, wealthier and more idealized than most.
In the ’70s, pro golfer Jack Nicklaus and his wife helped advertise the new microwave ovens made by Magic Chef. Here’s a look.
Find out about the classic TV sitcom Rhoda, and meet the star, Valerie Harper, in two different vintage interviews!
It would be hard to find anyone between the ages of 30 and 50 who didn’t watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid. And there’s a good reason for that.
Henry Ford fit a lot of ambition, drive, innovation and industry into his 84 years! Here’s a look back at his career, his beliefs, and how the famous industrialist changed the world.
Woodstock was supposed to be ‘3 days of peace and music’ – but as these stories from right after the concert describe, it didn’t exactly end up that way.
Tommy Howell – aka C Thomas Howell – the ’80s teen heartthrob, was a veteran of five films at age 17 – E.T., Tank, The Outsiders, Grandview USA & Red Dawn.
Mickey Rooney in the movie, Young Tom Edison (from 1940) METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER has just completed the first of two most important pictures. Together they encompass the
After a long day on the set, actress Linda Evans rushes home to her 15-room haven in Beverly Hills. Here’s a look at her beautiful house from 1982!
This classic lemon pound cake is truly American, luxuriously Texan – with its eight egg yolks and all that butter – and was President Johnson’s favorite.
With a cast headed by Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Dan Aykroyd, the original ‘Ghostbusters’ movie from 1984 had blockbuster written all over it.
Son the crooks and turnings and devious wanderings of Old Boston landmarks and byways would be nothing more than a memory of the past.
Back in 1902 – and despite knowing how painful and unhealthy it was for women – many guys still wanted their wives to have small corseted waists.
Maude was a groundbreaking television series starring Bea Arthur that broke all the molds when it first aired in 1972.
Peter Frampton’s road to superstardom had lots of ups and downs before he finally scored big with the multi-platinum double album ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’
Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to Petticoat Junction – and the Shady Rest Hotel – in this classic TV sitcom from the sixties!
Here’s a look back at the life of Diana, Princess of Wales – including photos of her with young Prince William and Prince Harry!
Houdini’s underwater box escape was one of his most famous tricks – he was was shackled, chained and nailed into a box before being thrown overboard.
Sometimes life is like a movie, like actor Matt Dillon’s life. Nothing much happened to him until age 14, when he was discovered at a New York junior high.
Disney’s magical Mary Poppins arrived in 1964. See classic movie clips, hear some of the songs, plus find out more about the film & its stars!
Maybe she’s no little darling on the set, but then Kristy McNichol never intended to be America’s sweetheart. All she wants is to work hard — and play hard.
By the time A Game of Thrones was published, George R R Martin had written millions of words over thousands of hours. Here, see where his long career began.
If you’re in the mood to get some laughs from a physical comedian with brilliant timing & improv skills, see these videos starring the late, great Tim Conway!
Legendary beauty Lillie Langtry was a statuesque blonde with blue eyes, a perfect complexion and a ravishing figure. She was acclaimed by the social set, and became the mistress of The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
He’s rich as Croesus, with achievements that are many and brilliant. He has a soft voice, half Southern, half Western, shy eyes and an infectious grin. He’s Howard Hughes. There should be a law against him.
Here’s an interview with Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter from 1980, when she was just about to star in her own CBS special – and just before she started to model for Maybelline makeup.
Take a look back at ABC television’s family-friendly Friday night offerings back in 1970, which included the hit sitcoms Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor & The Partridge Family… and total of 14 kids between the shows.
The early-70s TV sitcom ‘Nanny and the Professor’ starred Juliet Mills, Richard Long, and a very young Kim Richards – best known now for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Albert Einstein’s wife, Elsa, may not have been a scientist – but she understood her husband, at least.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have seemingly boundless energy, and that energy is unharnessed in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ – a startling spectacle, starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.
Twiggy’s big, blue eyes, set in fantastic black lashes, were just one of the things you’d quickly notice about one of the very first supermodels, the often-imitated Twiggy.
After a lengthy crime spree, Bonnie & Clyde were finally caught and killed in 1934: Clyde Barrow, the Southwest’s No. 1 outlaw, and his gunwoman companion, Bonnie Parker, were trapped and shot dead by Texas and Louisiana officers.
The Elvis Presley death in 1977 sent shockwaves through America. See rare original news coverage and tributes from the day the King died.
For six years, the NBC series St Elsewhere literally set the standard for network programming, offering a consistently high level of realistic writing, ensemble acting, narrative experimentation and outrageous humor.
Young Jason Bateman’s life sounds like an 18-year-old’s dream an apartment in Brentwood, a Jeep Cherokee, and a private dressing room with a color TV.
Take a look back at one of America’s favorite comedic couples in this article with Lucy’s byline from April 1950. The focus of her story? Her favorite husband at the time: Desi Arnaz.
The top-rated TV show, I Love Lucy, ran from 1951 to 1957 – around the time these magazines with Lucille Ball on the cover were published.
The Betty White Show was a snappy, well-executed 1970s comedy TV show that was meant to appeal to anyone who likes to laugh at real humor – witty, cerebral humor.
Motown Records wasn’t just a record label – it was a sound. Thanks to their success, we had stars like Michael Jackson, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder & Marvin Gaye.
In a spangled vest and elbow-length gloves, black bikini, black opera hose and steep ankle-strap wedgies, Tim Curry as Dr Frank N Furter, makes his grand entrance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an outrageous camp musical based on the stage hit.
Actor Bob Crane murdered: The star of the TV series Hogan’s Heroes, was found beaten to death in an apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona in June 1978. The case is still unsolved.
The alert Watergate TV addict should have spotted it by now: a catchy word here, a switchable phrase there. Here’s a look at the linguistic splendors of Watergate.
Forever Krystle & Carrington were his and hers fragrances created to capitalize on the popularity of the TV show Dynasty.
Being the heavyweight champion didn’t exclude Muhammad Ali from the draft during the height of the Vietnam War in 1967 – but it didn’t mean he was going to go willingly.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Sandy Koufax reflected on his life and career back in 1963: ‘Even today, it is hard for me to realize that I won the first and fourth games of the Series, along with 25 games during the regular season.’
Find out about the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, get some behind-the-scenes from the actual jewelry store, and hear from Audrey Hepburn herself in this collection of articles from the 1960s.
Anyone who remembers Frankenstein and his monster might think the actors’ favorite recipe would have wolfbane and batwings, but no. Here’s Boris Karloff’s guacamole recipe.
Thomas Edison says people work too hard, but that pleasure is as necessary as food. ‘This is an electric age. The pressure was never heavier, nor the grind harder.’
Here’s a look back from 1984 at the career – and huge success – of Billy Joel, along with some insight into what makes his concerts so memorable.
According to Marilyn Monroe’s first husband, if they had stayed together, by 1976, the star might have ended up a 50-year-old housewife living in Arizona.
Electricity will cure all the ills of the world, predicts Thomas Edison, whose inventive genius is responsible for the widespread application of electricity.
The band Blondie was discovered one night by some wealthy people out slumming after the theatre, and hired to perform at a party in a posh apartment.
You may never drive like golfer Jack Nicklaus off the tee. But you sure can on the road in the 1976 Grand Prix & the 1979 Pontiac Grand LeMans Safari station wagon.
If you haven’t heard of ‘Rocky’ or Sylvester Stallone, welcome back from Mars – about the only place where you could not see or hear about this movie about a boxer, and the rags-to-riches story of the guy who wrote it.
