Showing posts with label Picture Perfect Special. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Picture Perfect Special. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Lucille Ball is here to show you how a proper lady celebrates this glorious day!

Lucille Ball dressed up for St. Patrick's Day

Not everyone necessarily thinks this holiday should be celebrated, nor that St. Patrick should be honored. In the interest of fairness, we're giving those people equal time and space this year.

St Patrick's Day protesters by Hannes Bok


Saturday, March 2, 2024

March is underway

... and here's a look at how they used to advertise booze in 1908. This drawing by Georg Hanel was featured in "Jugend" Magazine.

March Kupperberg Gold ad

(And if we were put in charge of marketing adult beverages today, we'd follow the lead of ad executives of yore and rely on fantasy elements, too!)

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Happy birthday to Jennifer Aniston!


American actress Jennifer Aniston turns 55 years old today.

Aniston fell in love with acting at the age of 11, and her career began in earnest during the early 1990s with a leading role on the very short-lived sit-com "Molloy" (1992) and a starring role in the horror film "Leprechaun" (1993). In 1994, she cast as Rachel in the sit-com "Friends" and she played that role until 2004. The show is still broadcast in re-runs around the world, and it is the part for which she remains best known.

Aniston has kept a busy acting schedule for three decades now, and she shows no sign of wanting to rest on her laurels yet. We now celebrate her time in front of cameras with a few pictures. Enjoy!

Jennifer Aniston reclining
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston

 

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Welcome to February!

 If I was going to sell booze to old-school fantasy roleplaying game players, I'd use art like this ad that originally appeared in Jugend (1908).


Monday, January 15, 2024

It's National Hat Day!




We once again observe National Hat Day with pictures of some friends of Shades of Gray in hats.

Diana Rigg in "The Avengers: Man-Eater" (1963)

 

Jamie Lee Curtis in a black dress and hat



Ann Reiking
Milla Jovovich in goofy hat
Brigitte Bardot in a hat

 




















And finally, Claire Dodd wasn't sure whether it was National Hat Day or International Nude Day, so she came prepared for both!

Claire Dodd with a big hat



Sunday, December 24, 2023

The Spirit of Christmas...

... is roaming the land, spreading light in the darkness.

Christmas Angel by Rockwell Kent

We wish that all visitors to Shades of Gray have a joyous Christmas!


Thursday, December 14, 2023

Happy Birthday, Vanessa Hudgens!


Vanessa Hudgens

Singer and actress Vanessa Hudgens turns 35 years old today. She began performing in musical theater at the age of 8, and by the time she was in her mid-teens, she'd gained worldwide fame for her role in the "High School Musical" film series and a number of other projects for the Walt Disney Company.

At 18, her career took a minor hit when nude photos of her were stolen and leaked online, but she soon recovered and her fame has only grown as the years have gone by. Today, we celebrate her birthday with a small gallery of photos.

Vanessa Hudgens 

Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Hudgens

 
 
Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens

 



 
Vanessa Hudgens


Christmas is Coming...

 ... and Vera-Ellen is here to let you know that the Big Day will be here before you know it!

Vera-Ellen, Santa's Helper


Monday, November 27, 2023

What's up with Upton?

Kate Upton

Model and actress Kate Upton recently caused offense and outrage (OUTRAGE!) by wearing a t-shirt with a corporate logo on it. She has taken steps to cure this crime against humanity, so we here at Shades of Gray want to lend a hand in her efforts to atone for that great and terrible sin.

Here are a couple photos of her wearing no top at all. We hope they will help everyone out there get over their spiritual pain over seeing her all covered up.

Kate Upton nude

 



















We were saving these for the next International Nude Day, but it seems like they can be put to better use in facilitating an end the emotional suffering that's going on out there.


Monday, November 20, 2023

Happy birthday, Mie Hama


Japanese actress, writer, and radio talk show host Mie Hama turns 80 years old today. She is best known internationally for her roles in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1963), "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" (1966), and "You Only Live Twice" (1967), but she appeared in over 80 films and television series before retiring from the screen in the late 1960s to start a family and enjoy what she describes as a "normal life".

Today, we celebrate Hama and her milestone birthday with some publicity photos from her time in front of the cameras!

Mie Hama in a bikini
Mie Hama in a bikini
Mie Hama in a bathing suit, pool-side
Mie Hama
Mie Hama in kimono
Mie Hama

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Picture Perfect Special: Mary Astor

Portrait of Mary Astor

Mary Astor's screen acting career stretched from the silent era (landing her first film role at age 16, in 1921) through the advent of sound, the rise of television, and the coming of hippies in the 1960s (when she retired from acting in 1964, after playing a supporting role in the start-studded thriller "Hush Sweet Scarlet"). Her stoic, regal aura, coupled with a powerful screen presence and ability to convey a wide range of shifting emotions with only body language and facial expresssions, carried her through changing technologies, public tastes, and cultural fads until she had appeared 123 movies. Although she stated that her heart was never fully in acting (she was following her father's dream for his beautiful daughter), she was a stand-out part of every film she appeared, whether she was playing a bit part or the starring role.

Today, we offer a small gallery of publicity stills and portraits of Astor from the first two decades of her career. 
 
Portrait of teenaged Mary Astor

Portrait of teenaged Mary Astor

Portrait of teenaged Mary Astor

Portrait of teenaged Mary Astor

Portrait of teenaged Mary Astor

Portrait of teenaged Mary Astor

Mary Astor

Mary Astor

Mary Astor

Mary Astor, Bathing Beauty

Mary Astor






















To see Mary Astor's skill in front of a camera, check out "Behind Office Doors" via the Shades of Gray Screening Room over at YouTube!