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…
More than most stars of her rare magnitude, Ingrid Bergman was an actress who went her own way. A Hollywood luminary for decades, from the Thirties well into the Seventies, the Swedish-born beauty acted in films that not only entertained millions but that also satisfied her own, personal need to constantly test and broaden the…
LIFE was quite the fan of Austrian actress Senta Berger, at least judging by the coverage it offered when she began making movies in the United States. The magazine introduced her to the American public in a 1965 story headlined “She’s Paulette, Hedy and Ava, All in One.” For those not on a first-name basis…
The following is excerpted from the new LIFE special edition Benjamin Franklin: The Patriot Who Changed the World, available at newsstands and online: On August 27, 1783, a week before he signed the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin and his grandson Temple stood with 50,000 Parisians on the Champ de…
