In the 1980s and 1990s, Madonna was such a big star that people started comparing her to Marilyn Monroe. Madonna had the hit songs, of course—such as Like a Prayer and Vogue, to name a couple. But as the reigning sex symbol of the MTV generation, she had a a cultural influence that went beyond…
The greater the athlete, the tougher it is to leave the arena. It was certainly the case for Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle. A tremendous natural talent, Mantle became a dominant force on the diamond almost as soon as he joined the Yankees in 1951. He would go on to win three MVP awards and…
By 1964 Sophia Loren had been a longtime favorite of LIFE readers, and Marcello Mastroianni was having his moment too. In its Jan. 18, 1963 issue the magazine had introduced the star of Fellini films such as La Dolce Vita to readers with a breathless seven-page story headlined, “A Symbol of Something For All the…
In 1968 LIFE magazine summed up the appeal of French philosopher and author Albert Camus with a single sentence: “Camus looked directly into the darkness as saw sun—the human spirit.” The line came from a review of Camus’ book “Lyrical and Critical Essays.” And the fact that LIFE was reviewing such books at all is…
Evelyn Floret’s most outstanding trait as a photographer may well have been her ability to put her subjects at ease. She shot portraits for PEOPLE magazine from 1976 to ’96, and Floret says that the magazine often chose her for an assignment when they thought the subject might need a photographer with a gentle touch….
Ella Fitzgerald has been described as “perhaps the quintessential jazz singer.” This live performance of “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)” is one of the countless examples of Ella Fitzgerald thrilling an audience with her talents. In 1955 LIFE’s Eliot Elisofon photographed Fitzgerald for a story on the top jazz stars of the day,…
In its 50 years Saturday Night Live has been the launching pad for a great many stars of movies and television. The list includes Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Adam Sander, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Chevy Chase, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, and many, many more (John Belushi, Dan Aykoryd, Kate McKinnon, David Spade, Chris…
The following is excerpted from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time, available at newsstands and here online. When it dropped in the mid-’90s, the 30-second spot felt like just another quick and clever Nike ad, though if you go back now and watch “The Hundred-Foot Hoop,” it seems to speak…