The Arrival of Jesus Christ Superstar

The musical Jesus Christ Superstar began its life as a 1970 concept album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice before becoming a 1971 stage show and then a 1973 movie. The original work inspired some controversy, as was inevitable for a rock musical retelling of the story of Jesus, but thanks to its earnest spirit and songs such as “Everything’s All Right” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” the show transitioned from blasphemous to beloved as it became a part of the pop culture firmament. The show is now produced regularly around the world, and in 2018 NBC aired a concert version featuring John Legend as Jesus.

The show was enough of a phenomenon that before it even came to Broadway in 1972, LIFE magazine had already devoted a cover story to it, based on early stagings in London and other locations. And LIFE wrote about the show again when the Jesus Christ Superstar finally came to New York. This version of the musical had a more elaborate staging that made for some eye-popping photos by LIFE staff photogapher John Olson, But the magazine felt that these embellishments were a needless distraction. LIFE’s headline on its Oct. 22, 1972 story about the Broadway production was “`Superstar’ Becomes a Circus.'”

Here’s LIFE’s critique of that version of the show:

Thanks to director Tom O’Horgan, the stage floor doubles as a curtain, there are smoke machines laser beams and wind machines. People descend from the ceiling on intricate bridges and appear out of the floor wearing incredible costumes….Superstar’s appealing music and lyrics are still there, and there are compelling performances by Ben Vereen as Judas and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene. But the humanness of Christ, a central concept of the work, has been buried under the ruck of show-biz gimmickry.

Even while enumerating what it saw as the production’s shortcomings, LIFE acknowledged that it would be a massive hit with audiences—which it was, and that set the stage for the film version.

Directed by Norman Jewison, the movie was filmed in locations around Israel and Palestine. LIFE staff photographer John Dominis was on set to document the making of the movie.

Alas, those photos never made it into the magazine. The movie came out in the summer of 1973, but by then LIFE ended its original run with its issue of Dec. 29, 1972.

Actor Jeff Fenholt as Jesus, wearing giant golden robe with followers seated around hem, is elevated with angels and Judas, played by actor Ben Vereen, on a wing-shaped set platform in a scene from the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar, 1972.

John Olson/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jeff Fenholt in his role as Jesus, surrounded by his disciples, in a scene from the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar, 1972.

John Olson/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jeff Fenholt, in his role as Jesus, is carried by his followers in the Palm Sunday scene from the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar, 1972.

John Olson/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ben Vereen as Judas hangs limply from a rope in a scene from the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar, 1972.

John Olson/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jeff Fenholt as Jesus in the Crucifixion scene from the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar, 1972.

John Olson/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from the filming of the 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from the filming of the 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from the filming of the 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from the filming of the 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Actor Ted Neeley, as Jesus, in scene from the 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar.

John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“For Here Was Born Hope”: Christmas and Easter in Bethlehem, 1955

In 1955 LIFE magazine devoted its entire Dec. 26 issue to the topic of Christianity. The first section was focused to the heritage of the religion. Then came a series of stories about contemporary Christianity in the United States. And the final section had an international flair, concluding with a photo-driven piece on how Christmas and Easter were celebrated in Bethlehem, renowned as the site of the Nativity of Jesus.

Here’s how LIFE described the importance of Bethlehem:

In Bethlehem priests speak many languages, for this is a place sacred to Christians of all lands and groupings—Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. Through the ages pilgrims have come here in reverence and love, for here was born hope.

The photo essay by Dmitri Kessel, who was born in Russia and handled many international assignments for LIFE, covered the celebrations of both Christmas and Easter. In addition to taking photos of the rituals of those holidays, he also captured images of young shepherds at work in the nearby hills. Those photos are particularly evocative because—setting aside the technological impossibility of it—the images look as if they could have been taken in the time of Jesus, imparting the feel of a history that is still very much alive. `

An aerial view of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Christmas celebration in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Church of the Nativity (center) in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In the Grotto of the Nativity, the sacred site of Christ’s birth was marked by a silver star on the floor, with a hole in the middle for pilgrims to peer through, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

People looked through a hole in the Grotto of the Nativity during Christmas in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Franciscan friar placed a figure in the manger during a celebration of Christmas in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Christmas celebration in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A shepherd stood in his field in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Shepherds in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A shepherd stood in his field in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A camel near Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A camel near Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Easter in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Easter in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A scene from Good Friday in Bethlehem, 1955.

Dmitri Kessel/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A Joyful Thanksgiving and a “Marriage Experiment”

In 1972 LIFE magazine ran a cover feature on what it termed “Marriage Experiments.” The issue featured several examples of nontraditional domestic units. These ranged from a collective family in Berkeley, California to unmarried parents living in the Boston suburbs. If the Boston couple doesn’t sound all that experimental, keep in mind that this was at a time when raising children out of wedlock was still relatively rare, with percentages just starting to climb out of the single digits. (In 2024, about one of four children are being raised by unmarried parents).

Another one of the “experiments” in the issue featured Joy and Stan Potts, a couple who had what the magazine termed a “frontier partnership.”

Here’s how that partnership worked, as described by LIFE:

For three months each year they disappear into the Idaho Primitive Area where, as a team, they operate a commercial hunting camp. To do this they leave behind their three girls, ages 11, 12 and 17, who willingly—and successfully—remain entirely on their own at the alfalfa ranch the Pottses run in Nevada during the rest of the year.

Joy Potts said leaving the children on their own for so long benefited the kids as well as the parents. The kids, she said, learned to be independent. And running the camp together with her husband was good for their relationship. “Marriages get down in the dumps because people sort of ignore each other,” Joy told LIFE. “I know I am an important person to Stan.”

As for Stan, he told LIFE that the key to a happy marriage was sharing in everything—including the inevitable failures. “Then you know how it all works, that it’s not any one person’s fault,” he said. He added that if he were running the camp on his own, “It would be a lot more lonely and a lot harder without Joy, that’s for sure.”

The story was photographed by John Dominis, and he visited the Potts’ camp during Thanksgiving, when their daughters had come to visit. Their holiday dinner, which also included the hunters at the camp, looks as welcoming as it was rustic.

The Potts’ “frontier partnership” was an enduring one. In 2021 Stan and Joy were recognized by the Hall of Fame of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association, Salmon River Chapter. Later that same year Joy died at age 87, survived by her husband of 67 years. Her obituary included a delightful detail on how Joy and Stan first met, while she was Mackay, Idaho visiting family: “During that first conversation, she told him she milked cows, and he was hooked.” 

Joy and Stan Potts shared a light moment during Thanksgiving dinner at the hunting camp they ran in Idaho, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Joy and Stan Potts leave their alfalfa farm and children three months a year to brave the frontier wilderness in Idaho. Here they and their daughters, on the left side of the table, enjoy a Thanksgiving feast, joined by hunters at the camp, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Joy and Stan Potts would leave their alfalfa farm and children three months a year to run an Idaho hunting camp. Here Joy (second from right) handed out sandwiches to a hunting party before they set out, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Joy Potts carried water from a stream to use for cooking and cleaning at the Idaho hunting camp that she and her husband ran, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Joy Potts took a bath in water heated from a stove at the Idaho hunting camp that she and her husband Stan ran, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Stan Potts chopped firewood at the hunting camp run by him and his wife Joy, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Joy and Stan Potts, 1972.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Joy and Stan Potts would leave their three daughters, ages 11, 12 and 17, at the family alfalfa farm for months at a time while they went off to run their hunting camp.

John Dominis/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Pamper House: America As It Was Learning to Treat Itself

The term “day spa” is as much a part of the modern vocabulary as “smart phone” or “Zoom meeting,” which makes sense, because one can feel like an antidote to the others.

But the concept of a day spa was just coming into being when LIFE magazine devoted several pages in its June 4, 1952 issue to a new business called Pamper House, which was located at 5th avenue and 48th street in Manhattan.

These were the rules of the Pamper House, as described in LIFE’s story:

At this unique club, in which a yearly membership costs $1, members can take a shower, wash their hair, give themselves a manicure or a home permanent, freshen their make-up, change their clothes or just drop in to read or watch television in the modern lounge, or to rest in the quiet alcove. Each visit to Pamper House costs 25¢. A dime is the fee for almost every service or item. Five trained beauticians are on hand to give free advice about hair styling and make-up, and to help customers help themselves.

LIFE staff photographer Nina Leen documented what went on at the Pamper House. Perhaps the most interesting novelty there was a perfume vending machine in which women could pay a dime for a spritz of Chanel No. 5.

To the modern eye Pamper House looks like the first draft of a concept that has since been much refined over the years. There is plenty to recommend it, starting with the basic idea of a private enclave for women to have their needs attended to. It’s easy to envy the women who stop by for a nap after lunch. But what stands out about the Pamper House is how much members had to do for themselves. One photograph shows a member doing her own nails, with no manicurist in sight. In another photo a woman irons her own blouse—she basically looks like she’s doing housework. A modern version of Pamper House would have a lot more pampering.

Pamper House was founded by Tanya Pitt, a former French model. LIFE reported that the business at Pamper House was brisk, and that she had plans to add locations both around New York and across the country.

But that doesn’t seem to have happened. Internet searches for Ms. Pitt or Pamper House yield little more than reports about the launch of her venture, which happened to be located just a couple blocks from the old Time-Life Building and many other media outlets.

Even if Pamper House didn’t become a lasting brand, the basic impulse behind the venture was right on. We were on our way to a world where “treat yo self” has become a catch phrase. America is now home to more than 20,000 spas. In short, there are descendants of Pamper House all across the country.

Members of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan applied cosmetics in the club’s make-up nooks, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

At the Pamper House in New York, some women stopped by for a quick nap after lunch, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Women relaxed at Pamper House, a midtown Manhattan club that catered to working women and suburban housewives, 1952.

Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

This vending machine at the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan dispensed perfume at a nickel per spray, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Using the hair dryers at Pamper House in New York City cost ten cents for fifteen minutes, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Members of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan paid ten cents to use the shower, plus another ten cents if they needed a towel, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center, NYC, got her hair done by one of the staff beauticians, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Members of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan enjoyed a snack while their hair was setting, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Two members of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center in New York enjoyed a conversation, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center in New York stopped by to iron her own blouse, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center, NYC, gave herself a manicure, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A member of the Pamper House in Rockefeller Center, NYC, washed her hair in the shampoo booth, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Using the lockers at Pamper House in New York City cost ten cents a day, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tanya Pitt, a French former model, was the founder of the Pamper House in midtown Manhattan, 1952.

Nina Leen/LIfe Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Francis Ford Coppola On The Rise, 1967

In 2024 Francis Ford Coppola released the movie Megalopolis, an idiosyncratic epic which may end up serving as a capstone to one of the great careers of cinema.

Now he is seen is a legendary director, but Coppola was still in his formative years in 1967 when he was captured at work by LIFE photographer Bill Ray on the set of his third feature-length film and biggest production to that point, a musical called Finian’s Rainbow. It all happened by accident—Ray was actually on set to photograph the film’s star, Petula Clark, the British singer and actress.

This was five years before Coppola released The Godfather in 1972. At the time he was enough of an unknown that the theatrical trailer for Finian’s Rainbow didn’t even mention Coppola’s name despite its going on for nearly three minutes. Finian’s Rainbow was an adaption of a 1947 Broadway musical built around the fanciful story of a leprechaun and his pot of gold, and it starred Clark and also Fred Astaire. Today the movie, a mix of fantasy and reality, is mostly of note to cinephiles because of the man who directed it.

In an interview with Turner Classic Movies, Coppola talked about the connections he made on the set of Finian’s Rainbow. He got on well with Clark—Ray’s photos show the two of them enjoying relaxed conversation on set. Coppola says he told Clark about his ambition to make movies that were more personal to him than Finian’s Rainbow, for which he was more of a hired hand, and the pop star said she would be open to financing those ventures. Coppola also developed a lasting relationship with Fred Astaire. In the TCM interview Coppola recalled how in 1979 he and Astaire went to the movies together to see Hair after Astaire, having come away unimpressed by a first viewing, thought Coppola might help him appreciate the film better.

During the filming of Finian’s Rainbow Coppola also made a connection that is one of the most momentous in film history, but which was unfortunately not captured by Ray’s photographs. On the set of Finian’s Rainbow, Coppola was shadowed by a young production assistant named George Lucas, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Coppola would later produce Lucas’ 1973 breakout feature film American Graffiti, and after that the next film Lucas made was Star Wars.

So in short, you had the brains behind two of the most significant movies ever made walking around together on the set of this forgettable musical. In 2024 Coppola, while presenting Lucas with an honorary award at the Cannes Film Festival, shared a memory of their work on Finian’s Rainbow. “Pleased to have someone in my own generation, I suggested he come every day, but only on one condition: That he come up with a brilliant suggestion every day, which he consistently did,” Lucas said. “And with that began an association that has lasted a lifetime.”

It shows: You never know what’s going to turn out to be important.

Petula Clark (right) talking with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark (right) talking with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Director Francis Ford Coppola spoke with actors Petula Clark and Fred Astaire during the production of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Director Francis Ford Coppola spoke with actors Petula Clark and Fred Astaire during the production of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark walked with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark (right) spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark (right) spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The First Beagles Whose Ears LBJ Just Had to Tug

Early in his first term as president, Lyndon B. Johnson found himself caught up in a scandal involving his family’s beagles, named Her and Him. The trouble started when the President was welcoming a group of business leaders at the Rose Garden, and he lifted one of the family pets by its ears, causing the dog to cry out. Johnson then commented, “It does them good to let them yelp.”

The ear-pulling was captured by an Associated Press photographer, and plenty of dog lovers became upset at the President. At this link you can see the photo, as well as audio of Johnson talking about how a senator brought up the ear-pulling during negotiations with Congress over the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

After that incident Johnson’s beagles soon appeared on the cover of LIFE’s June 19, 1964 issue. The story aimed to show that, despite the ear-pulling incident, Her and Him were enjoying life under the Johnson Administration. “Not many dogs have been privileged to shoo birds off the White House lawn, get underfoot at a cabinet meeting or mingle with dignitaries at a State Ball,” LIFE wrote. “Certainly no dogs in all the world have the Bouquet Room as their private boudoir.”

LIFE staff photographer Francis Miller was given great access to Him and Her, and he came to the White House prepared to make the most of it. An animal lover himself, Miller brought a full assortment of treats and amusements to get the beagles on his side. Here’s how LIFE described the shoot:

Too wise in the ways of puppies to believe that affection alone would produce good photographs, Miller stretched himself out on the White House lawn, alternately barked like a dog, tossed a bone in the air, plied the beagles with his Yummies, huffed into the harmonica and joggled the toy bird in his left hand. This left him free to shoot the cover with his right hand and his right eye.

The story stated that Him and Her were primarily the pets of LBJ’s daughter Luci, who was 16 years old at the time. And she was not the beagles’ only caretaker. Miller took several photos of the dogs in the company of Thraphes Bryant, who in addition to being the White House electrician helped look after the dogs.

The affection between Bryant and the beagles was clear in Miller’s photos. And Bryant tended to many First Dogs during his career. He would write a memoir about it, titled “Dog Days at the White House: The Outrageous Memoirs of the Presidential Kennel Keeper.”

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s pet beagles, Him and Her, on the White House lawn, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Him and Her, pet Beagles of President Lyndon B. Johnson, sitting together on lawn of White House, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Him and Her, pet Beagles of President Lyndon B. Johnson, in a White House sitting room, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

President Lyndon B. Johnson, along with his daughter Luci Baines Johnson (left) and her friend Warri Lynn Smith (center), played with the family beagles, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

President Lyndon B Johnson’s beagles at the White House, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lyndon Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her, at the White House, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Him and Her, the beagles belonging to the Lyndon B. Johnson family, made sport of an old overshoe in the White House living quarters, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lyndon Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her, at the White House, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Thraphes Bryant, in addition to being White House electrician, helped care for the beagles of Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

White House electrician Thraphes Bryant helped care for LBJ’s beagles, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Thraphes Bryant, in addition to being White House electrician, helped care for the beagles of Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

LIFE photographer Francis Miller took photos of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s beagles, Him and Her, on the White House lawn, 1964.

Francis Miller/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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