Larry Harnisch of the L.A. Times blog The Daily Mirror sent in some old images from the Times archives that show how photos of stars were touched up to show less skin. Here’s one of Frances Farmer (from Larry’s post about her):
The image comes from the 1940 movie “Flowing Gold.” Apparently it was considered too revealing and the Times had someone draw in a dress above her wrap…with what appears to be a black magic marker.
Charlton Heston was also retroactively covered up. Both of the following images come from The Daily Mirror. This is a still from a 1957 episode of “Shlitz Playhouse.” Someone very obviously, and badly, drew a shirt on him:
Though the photo was touched up by the L.A. Times staff, it’s not clear whether it actually appeared in the paper. This photo most definitely did, however; it accompanied a review of “The Omega Man” from August 27, 1971. They did an even better job with the shirt this time:
It provides some perspective on how ideas of how much uncovered skin is appropriate to run in a mainstream media outlet have changed over the years. It’s also interesting that both men’s and women’s chests were covered. But mostly they just crack me up. The last one is my favorite.
Also check out the post about Sacha Baron Cohen naked on the cover of GQ and spoofing magazine covers that have naked people on them.
Comments 8
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist — August 20, 2009
that's really interesting that BOTH genders were targetted. Sadly, not so much today anymore. How about that ridiculous Bruno nude cover controversy? Apparently, a naked man on the front cover of a men's mag isn't OK, while a naked woman posing seductively, is perfectly fine.
Dennis Vandal — August 20, 2009
Hi there! FYI...the lines from the editor's red grease pencil (that's what those are) indicate what appeared in the paper. Most of them appear to have been used as one column wide head shots of these various actors. The left crop mark of the Charleston Heston shot has been removed for some unknown reason. I would imagine the editors thought bare chested actors in a headshot didn't make sense, so they dressed them up....except for elimination of the top of a horse's head. That makes all the sense in the world. Yup, I've worked in the newspaper biz for a long time. lol
Sophie — August 20, 2009
I watched "Harold and Kumar go to white castle" a while ago, and then watched the included trailer. Unsurprisingly, the "Girl stands up in car topless" scene had had a CGI bra added. But interestingly, the final "Man zips down his overalls" scene had a cgi vest added too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmSvLOLy0gY
So things may not have changed that much :)
Penny — August 20, 2009
This 1910s newspaper photo rather obviously slimmed the waist its subject (Glenna Smith Tinnin, a suffragette and theatre professional):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3120288763/
The Horror Of Pre-Photoshop Editing | Defamer Australia — August 20, 2009
[...] the horror of seeing Charlton Heston bare-chested. Click to enlarge it right this instant. [LAT via Sociological Images] Tagged:charlton hestonjournalismismla [...]
Elena — August 21, 2009
This was also a staple of film magazines under the Francoist regime in Spain, see an example here of an "enhanced" décolletage.
Before there was Photoshop « Digital Directions — August 24, 2009
[...] was a time when newspapers wanted to cover up celebrity skin! Sociological Images has a few old photos from the Los Angeles Times that show what they did when faced with a salacious [...]
ECTOPLASMOSIS! » Charleton Heston: Too Sexy for This Shirt — August 25, 2009
[...] Old L.A. Times Photos: Covering Up Celebrity Chests [Sociological Images] [...]