1955

Articles from 1955

A’ is for Acting
(People Today Magazine, 1955)

It was called the Universal-International School of Motion Picture Drama and it was established in 1948 (the year of it’s closing is not so easy to find). The school’s young students were all Universal contract players who had been chosen by legendary casting agent Robert Palmer; a few illustrious names from the alumni list include Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Shelley Winters, Jeff Chandler and Piper Laurie.


Although he is not listed as a student in that program, Clint Eastwood can clearly be seen in the center of the attached class photo.

Building the Suburban Dream
(Pic Magazine, 1955)

The author Thomas Hine pointed out in his 1986 tour-de-force, Populuxestyle=border:none, that by the time the Eisenhower years rolled around, suburban houses were growing in size, as is typified in the attached article that was created to sell the plans for a 1,290 square foot piece of suburban splendorstyle=border:none. Gone were the days of the little boxes that dotted the countryside throughout the late Forties and early Fifties; these newer and larger domiciles were built in the shapes of U or L and the most popular models were built in the Ranch House style with attached garages (gasp!).

He Posed for Auguste Rodin
(People Today Magazine, 1955)

Sixty years before this article was published, Libero Nardonne, who posed for the Rodin’s celebrated sculpture, The Kiss (1885), enjoyed a life as one of the most popular artist’s model in all of Paris – at a time when the greatest artist’s in the world were residences of that famous burg. Jump forward to 1955 and you would find him a broke and broken man who lived on the streets – nonetheless, he showed the American photographers through the art museums to point out all the masterpieces he had played a part in creating.

Marlon Brando
(Photoplay Magazine, 1955)

This is a three page PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE profile of method actor Marlon Brando (1924 – 2004) regarding the first eight years of his fame. Much of the column space is devoted to Brando’s friendship with Harry Belafonte and all the boyish pranks and general carousing that the two enjoyed during their (thankfully) brief salad days.

Stalin’s Successor, Georgi Malenkov, Forced to Resign
(Collier’s Magazine, 1955)

Crocodile tears were shed for Georgi Malenkov (1902 – 1988), a buddy of Stalin’s who was forced to resign as Soviet premier a few weeks earlier on the grounds that he had failed to produce any memorable reforms in agriculture (Nikita Khrushchev had drawn up a laundry list of additional Malenkov failings as well). The author sweetly pointed out that the Premiere was not to blame; after all,the entire system of government had been schemed by a dreamer who intended his utopia to be built in Germany or Britain.


Click here to read about Stalin’s Five Year Plan.


Read an article explaining how the Soviets used early radio…

The Dial Diet of 1955

Within the cozy confines of the attached PDF file rest in honored glory the digital reproduction of seven (7) tried-and-true diets from 1955:


• The Liquid Diet


• The Spring Cleaning Diet


• The du Pont Diet

• The Basic Seven Diet


• The Famous Clinic Diet


• The Hard and Fast Diet


• The Daily Dozen Diet


They were all the necessary diet choices required for the (so-called) Pageant Diet Selector Dial, which is a part of the download. Seeing that there is not a single diet that is right for everyone, there is attached herein a paper dial that can be referred to daily – one for women and the other for men:

Looka at the outside band of the wheel for your age and activity group (whether you lead an active or a sedentary life). Then, select the number of pounds you want to loose.


– finally select the diet or combination of diets, indicated by the number on the inner wheel and follow the directions.


From Amazon:


The Doctor’s Diet: Dr. Travis Stork’s STAT Program to Help You Lose Weight & Restore Your Healthstyle=border:none

Modigliani in Paris
(Gentry Magazine, 1955)

Modigliani came to Paris from Italy in the propitious year of 1906, start of a decade of art in which every contemporary movement germinated…When he became acquainted with Romanian sculptor Brancusi in 1909, the impact of the meeting gave his work a new direction…

The Post-War Miracle that was Volkswagen
(Pic Magazine, 1955)

Out of the smoldering ruins of Japan came the Honda factories; while Germany amazed their old enemies by rapidly beating their crematoriums into Volkswagens. Confidently managed by a fellow who only a short while before was serving as a lowly private in Hitler’s retreating army, Volkswagen quickly retooled, making the vital improvements that were necessary to compete in the global markets.


Ludwig Erhard (1897 – 1977), West Germany’s Minister of Economics between the years 1949 and 1963, once remarked that Germany was able to launch its Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) by implementing the principles of a market economy and laissez-fair capitalism within the framework of a semi-socialist state.

The Witnesses
(People Today Magazine, 1955)

This is a report on the UFO and extraterrestrial experiences recalled by numerous men and women who attended the Second Annual Spacecraft Convention at the Giant Rock Airport near Palm Springs, California in 1955.

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