Oh, To Be Young and in Aspen

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In 1971 LIFE reported from Aspen, where young people in search of adventure were moving to the Colorado resort town. What’s more, there was a demographic wrinkle—a majority (about 60 percent) of those new arrivals were women. That stat inspired a fun and feminine photo shoot from LIFE staff photographer John Dominis.

The stars of the shoot were all women in their 20s who had come to the mountains to live the ski life.

Of course, dreams are often tempered by reality. The story, headlined “A Very Nice Kind of Ski Bum,” neatly summed up both the allure and the pitfalls of a move to Aspen:

They consider a skier’s life not to be a parenthetical experience but a real alternative to urban existence, one free from frustration, noise and the frustration of having to choose between marriage and a less than satisfying job. The only problem with Aspen is finding a way to survive.

In 1971 Aspen was not quite the playground for the rich that it is today (that status really took root in the 1980s), but the transition was in process, and it was being felt by the town’s working class. “Housing is practically non-existent and prices are tourist-level high,” LIFE wrote. One of the women in the Dominis photo essay said that she needed to work so many hours as a hotel maid to support herself that she barely had time to ski. Still, overall, the story painted a romantic picture of the adventure they had embarked on: “The women figure, why wait until you’re 40 to have fun.”

One of Dominis’ photos shows four young women sharing a one-bedroom apartment. That apartment certainly wouldn’t make it into the kind of stories you can find today on Aspen’s luxury homes—but it is a certain kind a paradise. Sure, it’s a mess, and the quarters are cramped. But the women don’t seem to care. It can be that way when you are taking a stab at living your dream.

These four women shared a one-bedroon apartment in Aspen, Colo., 1971

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Sue Smedstad, who had come to Aspen six years previous, received a free ski pass as one of the perks of her job as statistician for the Aspen Skiing Corp., 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Sue Smedstad drover her friends in her jeep as they searched for good snow in Aspen, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Women tubed in Snowmass Mountain, Aspen. Colo., 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lyn Carlson came to Aspen, Colo., from Lousville, Ky., and supported herself by working the doors at an apres-ski club, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Gail Ramsey moved from Wisconsin to Aspen to sing in a nightclub, but after her band broke up she ended up tending bar, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lisa Brooks, 24, came to Aspen for the ski life, but she made so little in her job as a chambermaid that she couldn’t do much skiing, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Leslie Smith, 25, came to Aspen and started her own store, the Birdog Trading Co., when she found that employment opportunities were scarce, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Carolyn Zinke, came to Aspen from Wisconsin with a teaching degree and, after a few years in the resort town she was proficient enough to gain work as a ski instructor, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a 1971 story on the many young women who moved to Aspen, Colo., to live and work

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Phyllis Garrett, 21, lived in a one-room mountain cabin after following her sister to Aspen, Colo., 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Dawn Clark left a college study tour in Hong Kong to live the ski life in Aspen, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Sandy Sollitt, 22, came to Aspen, Colorado from Chicago to enjoy the ski life, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a LIFE story on young women enjoying the ski life in Aspen, Colorado, 1971.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a 1971 story on the many young women who moved to Aspen, Colo., to live and work.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a 1971 story on the many young women who moved to Aspen, Colo., to live and work.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A 1971 LIFE story documented the influx of young women who had moved to Aspen, Colorado to live, work and ski.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Healing Return: Marlene Dietrich Goes Back to Germany, 1960

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Marlene Dietrich was born in Germany and began her show business career there, but she moved to Hollywood in 1930, and after her home country fell under the rule of Adolph Hitler, the star of The Blue Angel renounced her German citizenship and became a U.S. citizen.

Not only that, but Dietrich became an activist, giving financial aid to Jewish refugees and others escaping from The Third Reich. The actress, one of the biggest stars of her day, bluntly declared “Hitler is an idiot” in an interview with British radio. And when America joined World War II, Dietrich toured America to help sell war bonds, raising money for the fight against her homeland.

Dietrich also joined in U.S.O. tours during World War II, performing before American troops in Italy, the Netherlands and other locations. Late in the war she actually ventured into Germany, not far from the fighting, in the company of General George Patton. When asked why she took such a risk, she replied, “Out of decency.”

Dietrich’s stand against Nazism places her on the right side of history. Still, in 1960, when she took her stage show to Germany to perform in her home country for the first time since 1931, some ideologues bristled at her presence.

Here’s how LIFE reported on Dietrich’s return:

When Marlene Dietrich announced this spring that she was going back to sing in Germany for the first time in 29 years, there was an outcry from German extremists who called Marlene a traitor for having renounced her country….Wrote one angry nationalist, “This is impudence. We shall give her the proper German reception.”

But it turned out that most Germans were happy to welcome Dietrich. The images from LIFE photographer James Whitmore capture the scene. “On the streets of West Berlin where her German tour began, Marlene was greeted with real warmth and affection,” the magazine wrote.

Dietrich played her opening show before a packed crowd of 1,800 and delighted the audience with signature songs such as “Falling in Love Again” and “Makin’ Whoopee.”

LIFE’s story concluded, “After 18 curtain calls there was no doubt on either side of the footlights that Marlene and her homeland were at peace again.”

Actress Marlene Dietrich (left) greeted old friends in West Berlin in 1960 when she came for her first performance in Germany in 29 years.

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Actress Marlene Dietrich (right) was greeted by crowds in 1960 when she came for her first performance in Germany in 29 years.

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Crowds awaited Marlene Dietrich in 1960 when she came back for her first performance in Germany in 29 years

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marlene Dietrich met with the press in 1960 before her first performance in Germany in 29 years

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Actress Marlene Dietrich (left) visited with Mayor Willy Brandt of West Berlin in 1960 when she came back for her first performance in Germany in 29 years

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marlene Dietrich rehearsed for her first show in Germany after a 29-year absence from performing in her homeland, 1960.

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marlene Dietrich performed the song “Makin’ Whoopee” during rehearsal on stage for her first performance for a German audience in 29 years at the Titania Palast, 1960.

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marlene Dietrich (center) performing during her return to Berlin in 1960 for her first performance in Germany in 29 years.

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Actress Marlene Dietrich during her return to native Germany in 1960 for her first performance there in 29 years.

James Whitmore/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Lone Star Fashion Show, 1939

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LIFE’s coverage of the fashion world inevitably leaned on stories about the latest looks from Paris and New York, but the magazine also cast its eye further afield. Consider its 1939 story on a major show that took place Dallas, whose claim to fame in the fashion world is that it was the home of the original Neiman Marcus department store. In 1939, according to the report in LIFE, more than 8,000 people flocked to the store in Dallas for an extravaganza that lasted three nights. It was “the most spectacular fashion show ever held in the great Southwest,” LIFE wrote.

And it was quite a scene: “The audience gasped, applauded and made mental notes of $200 costumes and $2,000 fur coats which would soon be bought to complete a winter wardrobe,” LIFE said. When assessing those prices, keep in mind that one dollar in 1939 is the equivalent of about $23 in 2024.

The customers might not have been daunted by those prices because they came to Neiman Marcus with oil money in their pockets, and also a dose of Lone Star pride. LIFE wrote that the wealthy shoppers of Texas ‘”spurn the labels of the great New York houses. Patriotically they prefer to flaunt the label of their great local store.”

LIFE assigned legendary photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt to the Neiman Marcus show. While he did shoot the main event, he made more memorable images when he took models away from the runway and onto the streets of Dallas. A woman modeling a Hattie Carnegie dress in the parking lot of the Pig ‘n Whistle makes the point that these models are definitely not in Paris.

A model walked the runway during a fashion show in Dallas showcasing the fall lines at the Neiman Marcus department store, 1939

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled a dress by designer Hattie Carnegie, Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled a dress by designer Hattie Carnegie, Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled clothes by Hattie Carnegie in Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled clothes by fashion designer Hattie Carnegie in Dallas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled for a story at the new lines available at the Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled sheared beaver mantelet and muff, Dallas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore a Russian ermine mantelet trimmed in ermine tails with muff, Dallas, Texas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Woman wearing a suit and plaid trouser on sale at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, October 1939

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore an elegant gown that was on sale at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Model wearing sable fur coat with feathered fur hat by designer John Frederics, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Model wearing Persian lamb hat, for sale at Neiman Marcus for $55 in 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore a sweater and trousers on sale at Neiman Marcus, Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled harem-hemlined gown at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled lounging pajamas featuring peg-top trousers like jodpurs for sale at Neiman Marcus for $89.50 in 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore a $27.75 velvet turban with striped cloth handbag that was for sale at Neiman Marcus store in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The wall plaque outside the original Neiman-Marcus store in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Che Guevara: The Image of Revolution

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Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine Marxist and guerrilla fighter, remains a stubbornly popular figure in the broader culture. The famous portrait of him by Alberto Korda has adorned everything from t-shirts and baseball caps to hagiographic murals and MAD magazine covers. A photo of Guevara taken by LIFE photographer Joe Scherschel remains one of the top sellers in the LIFE print store.

Joe Scherschel shot his Che photo for a story that ran in LIFE in July 1960 titled “Communism’s Take-Over in Castro’s Cuba.” The story recognized Guevara’s key role in the revolution:

“Castro nominated himself the messiah of Latin American underdogs using one instrument his voice. And although his wildly histrionic performances often make him appear a certifiable lunatic, the power of his magnetic appeal cannot be denied. . . . But since he does almost no real work himself, the material power of his regime rests with his chosen aides. Chief among them, and probably the most sinister, are his brother Raúl and the Argentine party-liner Ernest (Che) Guevara.”

That’s an overly simplistic characterization of the post-Batista power structure in Cuba, but there’s no question that, for several years, no other rebel in Havana was closer to Castro, or wielded as much power, as Guevara.

But the complexity of Guevara’s legacy is in many ways far more fascinating, and more telling, than any litany of mere facts about his life.

For example, for countless people around the globe, Guevara is the paragon of the freedom fighter: a fearless, selfless defender of the downtrodden who gave his life battling to liberate all of Latin America from the yoke of imperialist—i.e., American—oppression and exploitation.

For others, he’s little more than a glorified thug—an unimaginative and brutal commissar who imprisoned, tortured and killed those who disagreed with him (or those who happened to be gay, or Jehovah’s Witnesses, or displayed any number of other “anti-revolutionary” tendencies).

Finally, there are those who know absolutely nothing about the Cuban Revolution, or Castro, or Guevara, or Fulgencio Batista, but who love rocking those Che t-shirts and key chains.

In the end, it is at least marginally amusing to imagine what Guevara himself would say if he could see that his most lasting influence might not reside in the realm of geopolitics, or socialist or military theory, but in the world of merchandise.

 

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Havana, 1959.

Che Guevara in Cuba, 1959.

Joe Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cuban rebels Che Guevara (left(, Manuel Urrutia and Camilo Cienfuegos during a celebration of Fidel Castro’s rebel victory, 1959.

Joe Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cuban rebel Ernesto Che Guevara with a lit cigar clenched between his teeth and his left arm in a sling.

Joe Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cuban rebel leader Che Guevara in Havana, 1959.

Joe Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Che Guevara (left) in Cuba during a time of revolution, 1959.

Joe Scherschel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Eddie Murphy: Images of a Star Taking Flight

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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 Farley, Bill Hader….)

But none of these stars skyrocketed as high or as fast as Eddie Murphy. He debuted on Saturday Night Live in 1980, at the remarkable age of 19, and quickly caught fire behind the strength of such characters as Mr. Robinson, Buckwheat and Gumby. He then capitalized on that popularity with a string of hit movies that included 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Not to mention his wildly popular 1983 standup special Delirious.

Photos in the LIFE archive capture the public life of a young man taking flight. He is photographed in the company of such luminaries as Jerry Lewis, Liza Minelli, Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone, Rick James, Luther Vandross, Jamie Lee Curtis and Arsenio Hall.

The paparazzi shots are telling, and so are the images in this collection that were shot for LIFE by Ted Thai. For those photos Murphy posed shirtless, with track pants and a ball cap. If you saw those pictures without knowing why Murphy was famous, you might guess that he was an athlete—and that comparison is appropriate. He was the comedy equivalent of another 1980s contemporary, Michael Jordan, a young man electrifying the stage with his prodigal talent.

Cast members Eddie Murphy (left) and Joe Piscopo (right) appearing with guest Jerry Lewis on Saturday Night Live, 1984.

DMI/Shutterstock

Comedian Eddie Murphy, 1983

Ted Thai/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Eddie Murphy

Ted Thai/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Comedian Eddie Murphy (left) and singer Rick James following Murphy’s performance at Madison Square Garden, 1986.

David Mcgough/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Eddie Murphy and singer Luther Vandross after Vandross’ performance at Radio City Music Hall, 1985.

DAVID MCGOUGH/DMI

Singer Michael Jackson and actor Eddie Murphy in Press Room at American Music Awards, 1989.

Kevin Winter/DMI

Sylvester Stallone and Eddie Murphy, 1991.

DMI

Eddie Murphy with Liza Minelli, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy posed with the poster of his hit comedy Beverly Hills Cop.

DMI

Eddie Murphy, 1987.

DMI

Jamie Lee Curtis and Eddie Murphy, co-stars of the film Trading Places, in 1993.

DMI

Eddie Murphy with Vanessa Williams.

DMI

Eddie Murphy with talk show host Arsenio Hall, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy, 1990.

DMI

Eddie Murphy

DMI

Michael Jordan: The One and Only

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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 to us on several levels. At the fade-in, we see a basket hanging mercilessly high in a dimly lit warehouse. The storyline, at least initially, is simple: Michael Jordan enters, dribbling, then, looking grim but confident, drives in and up (and up) for the unmakeable but of course inevitable jam. The spoonful of message—that the man inside those supercool shoes can perform superhuman feats—went down without question back then, when Jordan was still in his Chicago Bulls prime and on a nightly basis redefining what was possible in the game of basketball. But the commercial doesn’t stop there. 

In a spasm of celebratory ecstasy, our hero, we see, has grabbed onto the rim, as slam-dunkers do, and now finds himself swinging slowly above the hardwood at an unsafe altitude. The moment of triumph has passed. Jordan first looks down, then at us, the audience that he always wanted to impress. He does not speak, but his big brown eyes pose an excellent question: “Where do I go from here?”

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was a skinny middle-class kid from Wilmington, North Carolina, who put aside the doubters—no, who used the doubters who appeared at every stage—to have himself a storybook career. His breakthrough came in the spring of 1982, when, in a game played in the Louisiana Superdome against Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas,
he hit an electrifying jumper with 15 seconds left to give his Carolina Tar Heels the National Championship. “Your life will never be the same after that shot, son,” his father, James, told him soon afterward.

A few years later, Jordan revitalized the Bulls, a motley bunch that played in a dreary, half-empty arena, a team that according to its owner was regarded by Chicagoans as “somewhere between mud wrestling and tractor pulling,” eventually leading them to six NBA championships. Along the way, Jordan took the excitement generated by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson—stars a few years ahead of him—and brought it to a new level, helping shake the NBA out of its 1970s doldrums and usher its players and franchises onto an international stage. In Jordan’s spare time, he revolutionized the sneaker business. 

Jordan broke into the league exactly 40 years ago, in the fall of 1984, and he left it for good in the spring of 2003. Over a 15-season playing career, he won 10 scoring titles, five MVP awards, and six Finals MVP awards, and he was named to the All-Defensive first team nine times. He played in 14 NBA All-Star Games and, competing against Bird, Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and others in the pantheon of basketball gods, won three All-Star MVP trophies. He has the highest regular-season career scoring average and career playoff scoring average of all time (30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively). Numb yet? After a point, even such incomparable statistics don’t capture all of the player Jordan was. They say nothing about the way he did what he did, the rampaging love of the game he always demonstrated, or the role he played in the larger popular culture—the very things that made him the man and the brand we know and love.

Here is a selection of images from LIFE’s new special issue Michael Jordan: The Greatest of All Time.

Cover photo by Jerry Wachter/NBAE/Getty

Michael Jordan in his freshman year at North Carolina, January 1982.

Bettmann Archive

Michael Jordan, with Chicago Bulls general manager Rod Thorn, signed his first NBA contract in 1984.

Bettmann Archive

Michael Jordan in 1989 took on the Detroit Pistons, a team that served as an early foil on his way to the top.

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan celebrated winning his first NBA title in 1991.

Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Michael Jordan led the Dream Team to a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Richard Mackson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Michael Jordan in 1994, when he took time off from the NBA and tried his hand at minor-league baseball with the Birmingham Barons.

Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images

Michael Jordan, when he returned to the NBA following his time in minor league baseball, briefly wore No. 45 before returning to his familiar No. 23.

NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan in 2003, his final season.

Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images

Michael Jordan waved farewell after playing his final NBA game in April 2003, when he was a member of the Washington Wizards.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Michael Jordan, representing his Jordan Brand, visited Paris in 2015 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his signature Air Jordan shoe.

Jordan Brand via Getty Images

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