CARMEN IN FOUR ACTS

Something special from the classical canon.

We’re still a little fuzzy on exactly when every fashion model suddenly became a supermodel. We gather the term was coined during the 1980s, at which point people started looking at those who had modeled earlier and calling them supermodels too. We’ll go with the concept and label Carmen Dell’Orefice one of the first supermodels. Despite her exotic Italian name she was born in the U.S.—New York City to be exact, which was convenient, since it was ground zero for her chosen industry. She began her career at age fifteen in 1946 and continued—with a short retirement in the middle—until just a few years ago, making her one of the few models to work into her senior years. She also appeared in several movies, including 1966’s The Last of the Secret Agents? and 1996’s Sunchaser, which starred Woody Harrelson. The lovely images above, which were shot by Peter Basch, are usually said to be from around 1947, but that’s an obvious internet replication error. Dell-Orefice is clearly an adult in the shots, so they’re probably from around the early- to mid-1950s.

New York City, The Last of the Secret Agents?, Sunchaser, Carmen Dell'Orefice, Woody Harrelson, Peter Basch, nudity

Hollywoodland

January 21 2012

BARELY NANCY

Confidential gets out its trusty airbrush.

We like this fun blue cover of Confidential from January 1968, but it’s just a bit misleading. The image of Nancy Sinatra is doctored to imply that she’s naked. The original, which you see below, was shot around the time she was filming her 1966 comedy caper The Last of the Secret Agents? In the movie there’s a scene in which her dress gets snagged on something and accidentally torn off. The moment is played for laughs, in a public setting. The ensemble she wore in that scene is exactly what she has on in the photo, which suggests it was probably shot to promote the film.

Nancy in her undies could not save The Last of the Secret Agents? from bad reviews and an underwhelming run, but while the movie was a dud, the undies photo became quite famous and was used on many magazines, including a cover of The National Police Gazette that we showed you a couple of years ago. Leave it to Confidential to suggest that more came off during the filming of Secret Agents than ended up in the final version of the film, but as far as we know, Sinatra never appeared fully nude in any medium until 1995, when she was 54 years old and did a layout for Playboy. Before that she had shot a promo photo in which she appeared to be bare, but with arms and legs arranged to hide the naughty bits. The Playboy spread, by contrast, hid nothing. And Confidential? It hid the truth.

Confidential, Police Gazette, Playboy, The Last of the Secret Agents?, Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra, Jonathan Frid, tabloid

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 7

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).

October 6

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

October 5

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

October 4

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

October 4

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.