When we see celebrities onscreen or hear their music it’s like we know them, but really, fans are just getting a piece of someone whenever they experience their work. These photos show the interior lives and moments when stars weren’t trying to be on. Whether it’s a picture of a young Dennis Hopper looking absolutely unhinged, or Carrie Fisher hanging out on set, the stories behind these photos speak to fact that celebrities are never who we think they are. No matter which star of the groovy era you like, there’s something on here that’s going to blow your mind. Read on.
Jack Nicholson was terrified of running into Michelle Phillips’ ex-boyfriend
Before Jack Nicholson was the most recognizable Lakers fan in the world, he was just a character actor doing his best to stay afloat in Los Angeles. Prior to 1969 he mostly appeared in B-movies by Roger Corman, but that year he took a supporting role in Easy Rider that quickly earned him the role that defined his career in Five Easy Pieces. At the time he was seeing Michelle Phillips of the Mama’s and the Papas, and even though the two got on like gangbusters he was so afraid of her ex, Dennis Hopper, that he slept with a hammer under his pillow. It seems that even though the two men worked together on Easy Rider they weren’t good enough friends to date the same person.
Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan smiling (out of the wrestling ring)
The in ring rivalry between André the Giant and Hulk Hogan captivated audiences throughout the ‘80s. From 1980 to 1983 the two wrestled more than 20 times for the WWF and NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling), their feud reignited for Wrestlemania III in 1987. The entire time the two guys were palling around and making a ton of money along the way. However, Hogan was often worried that if he gave too many notes on the matches that he Andre would smush him in the ring. He explained, “I’d been on Andre’s bad side before, and I did not want Andre to know I wrote a bunch of notes about the match because that went against everything Andre believed in. That went against our art form. I wrote it down to give Vince an idea of what we’d do; we argue, he throws a punch, I block it, hit him with two, go for the slam, then he slams me once, slams me twice, stands on my back, and I’m thinking, ‘he’s doing exactly what I wrote down.’ It really caught me off-guard…”
Ann-Margret back in the day, she didn’t let a nasty motorcycle accident stop her
The Swedish born, American temptress is most known for appearing in Viva Las Vegas with Elvis and even an episode of The Flintstones as Ann-Margrock, but her real passion is tearing up the asphalt on her motorcycle. She’s been riding motorcycles since the ‘60s when she first appeared on a motorcycle on screen in The Swinger, but she didn’t just ride in film. Margret continued riding Triumphs and Harleys, she was even asked to leave her bike home while she was touring. As an experienced rider she’s had her fair share of falls. In 2000 she wound up in a motorcycle accident and suffered three broken ribs and a fractured left shoulder.
The one and only Elvis Aaron Presley
Everyone has a favorite Elvis song, but do you have a favorite Elvis karate move? The King started studying karate in 1958 and even though he took his studies very seriously he was always Elvis when he was in the dojo. Master Kang Rhee of Memphis, who trained the King, said that Elvis often wore boots while he practiced, and that he insisted on using practicing with live weapons. He wrote, “When Elvis…practice[d] self-defense demonstrations, he insisted on using real firearms. Most everyone used wooden guns, but not Elvis.” In his book, Elvis’ Karate Legacy, he wrote that Elvis had a crisp technical ability and that the practitioners in Memphis were impressed with the amount of time he put into the art.
Olivia Newton-John looking groovy in the 1970s
In the 1970s, Olivia Newton John was the poster girl for being good. With her classically attractive looks and blonde hair, she was a target for critics who wanted to find something to dislike about her specific brand of ear candy. When Rolling Stone interviewed her in 1978 they read her a quote from Randy Newman where he said, “For the life of me, I can’t understand the vast appeal of a song like ‘I Honestly Love You.’ I mean, it’s boring, even.” After hearing the quote Newton-John didn’t bat an eye before responding, “Well, obviously if I thought there was some truth in that, it would upset me,” she said. “I actually believe ‘I Honestly Love You’ is a great song. Whether he likes the way I sing it or not, that’s his personal taste. It annoys me when people think [that] because it’s commercial, it’s bad. It’s completely opposite: if it’s commercial, people like it, and that’s what it’s all supposed to be about.”