All photos tell a story, but there are some images that stick with us forever. From snapshots of our favorite actors hanging out on set to rarely seen images of classic rockers, the photos we’ve collected here tell tales that could fill a novel. Even if you didn’t grow up in the glorious time that was the middle of the 20th century there’s something here for you. Even though we’re decades away from when these photos were taken you can always take a look at them and be transported back to a simpler era. Sit back, relax, and take in the sites of these deliciously groovy images.
Cary Grant and Paul Newman
Cary Grant and Paul Newman will always be the leading men from the Golden Era of Hollywood that all others will be compared to, so it makes perfect sense that they’d be buddies. We’re not sure why Cary Grant would be visiting Newman on the set of Winning, but we suspect it had something to do with the amount of cool cars that were being kept around. If you don’t know Winning, it revolves around a race car driver (Newman) who’s so invested in winning the Indy 500 that he throws away the love of his life, it’s also the other film that Newman made in 1969 that wasn’t Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is the film that changed Hollywood forever. Along with The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider proved that small budget indie films about counter cultural figures could bring in big money, and for the next few years Hollywood attempted to cash in on the success of these massively influential films with all manner of biker and road films featuring disaffected Boomers. Even though this film is a massive downer (no spoilers if you’ve somehow missed this iconic picture), it signaled the beginning of a new era of freedom, where only your creativity could hold you back.
Natalie Wood
Even though Natalie Wood was an absolutely stunning actress, it’s rare that she showed so much sexuality on film. That really changed with her role in 1969’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, where she plays Carol Sanders, a groovy southern Californian housewife who decides to open up her marriage after she and her husband visit a communal living retreat. At the time, this was a major departure for Wood, who until then often played demure or flirty, but never overtly sexual. The film itself is a triumph of cinema, where it examines changing attitudes in the middle of the 20th century.
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk was must-see TV before that was a thing. The show revolved around David Banner (we have no idea why the show changed his name from Bruce) as he traveled the country righting wrongs as a mutating, green superhero. While Lou Feriggno will forever be tied to this iconic character, the series almost went another direction entirely. Actor Richard Kiel (Jaws from the Bond films) was initially cast as the Hulk, he was quickly fired after producer and writer Kenneth Johnson’s son pointed out that Kiel hardly looks like a muscle bound, well, hulking figure. So Kiel was out and Ferrigno was in. Kiel later noted that he hated the green paint and was only able to see out of one eye, so he didn’t mind getting his pink sleep.
Donna Summer
In the hot hot summer of 1979, Donna Summer became the first woman to have two singles in the top three of the Billboard Charts, with “Hot Stuff” sitting at Number Two and “Bad Girls” flying high at Number Three. With a slew of hot disco tracks produced by Giorgio Moroder and arranged by Harold Faltermeyer of Axel F. fame, there’s no way that the LP wasn’t going to be a massive hit. Summer’s career throughout the ‘70s led directly to the success of the Bad Girls LP, with her fiery disco tracks heating up Studio 54 and clubs across America.