40 Amazing Behind the Scenes Photos of Michael Jackson During the Filming of the Music Video for “Thriller”

Thriller is the music video for the song “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, released on December 2, 1983. It was directed by John Landis, written by Jackson and Landis, and stars Jackson and Ola Ray. It references numerous horror films and has Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies. The video is often credited with revolutionizing the music video industry and is widely regarded as one of the greatest music videos of all time.

Michael Jackson wanted to create a music video that was more like a short film, and he was inspired by classic horror films. John Landis was brought on to direct because of his experience with the horror-comedy genre. He and Jackson worked closely to create a narrative that was both entertaining and spooky.

At the time, Thriller was the most expensive music video ever made, with a budget of around $500,000. This was considered a huge amount for a music video in the early 1980s. The video’s high budget was partly funded by MTV and Showtime, who agreed to pay for the behind the scenes documentary titled Making Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Thriller was filmed at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, the junction of Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona Street in East Los Angeles (for the zombie scene), and 1345 Carroll Avenue in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood of Echo Park (for the final house scene). The director of photography was Robert Paynter, who had worked with Landis on Trading Places. The zombie dance was choreographed by Michael Peters, who had choreographed the “Beat It” video.

Landis said directing Jackson was “like dealing with a gifted 10-year-old.” He described Jackson as “emotionally damaged ... He was tortured, but he was happy-go-lucky for a lot of it. He worked very hard. He really was childlike.”

Jackson’s red leather jacket became a fashion icon and has been widely emulated. In 2011, one of the two jackets worn by Jackson in the video sold at auction for $1.8 million. “Thriller” has become closely associated with Halloween; in 2016, US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama danced to the song with schoolchildren at a White House Halloween event. The Thriller dance is performed in major cities around the world. The largest zombie dance included 12,937 dancers, in Mexico City. Thriller is popular on YouTube, which hosts reenactments of the dance. A YouTube video of more than 1,500 prisoners performing the dance attracted 14 million views by 2010.

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Ingrid Bergman Carrying Her Twin Daughters, Isabella and Isotta Rossellini, in 1952

Ingrid Bergman, the renowned Swedish actress, had a memorable moment in 1952 when she was photographed carrying her twin daughters, Isabella and Isotta Rossellini.

Isabella and Isotta Rossellini are the twin daughters of Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. They were born on June 18, 1952, in Rome, Italy.

Isabella Rossellini is widely known for her successful career as an actress, model, author, and filmmaker. She gained international fame with her roles in movies such as Blue Velvet (1986) and Death Becomes Her (1992). Isabella also became a prominent fashion model, particularly recognized for her long association with Lancôme as a brand ambassador. Beyond her acting and modeling career, she has written books, produced short films, and is passionate about animal rights and environmental conservation.

Isotta Ingrid Rossellini, unlike her twin sister, pursued a more academic career. She is a professor, author, and television personality. Isotta holds a Ph.D. in Italian literature and has taught at various universities, including Harvard and Columbia. She has also written several books and articles, focusing primarily on Italian literature and cinema.

Both sisters have made significant contributions in their respective fields, each embodying a different aspect of their parents’ artistic and intellectual legacy.

Beautiful Hats Designed by Otto Lucas in the 1950s

Otto Lucas (1903–1971) was a German-born, London-based milliner. Running a hugely successful hatmaking studio in London between the 1930s and the 1970s, his business supplied both major stores throughout Europe, the US and Australia and hats for private clients such as Greta Garbo and Wallis Simpson.

Hats designed by Otto Lucas in the 1950s

Lucas was responsible for training many future milliners – notably leading hatmakers to the Queen, Frederick Fox and Philip Somerville, both of whom completed apprenticeships at his studio. His hats can be found in, among others, the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

His career was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash over Belgium in October 1971. These glamorous photos that captured portraits of classic beauties wearing hats designed by Otto Lucas in the 1950s.

Anne Gunning in loose leopard-skin coat from Brenner Furs, felt hat by Otto Lucas, photo by Richard Dormer, Harper's Bazaar UK, October 1950

Model is wearing a black velvet hat with a brim of black fox fur by Otto Lucas, photo by John French, Harper's Bazaar UK, October 1950

Myrtle Crawford in navy wool bolero and skirt by Spectator, with it a blood-orange felt cloche swaddled in chiffon by Otto Lucas, photo by Maurice Tabard, Harper's Bazaar UK, February 1950

Myrtle Crawford is wearing a spectacular coal-black velvet tricorne by Otto Lucas, photo by Henry Clarke, Harper's Bazaar UK, November 1950

Anne Gunning in box jacket of reversible wool in white on one side and yellow the other over black wool dress with diagonal draped V-neck by Frederick Starke, white straw hat by Otto Lucas, Harper's Bazaar UK, February 1951

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August 28, 1830: Peter Cooper’s Locomotive Tom Thumb Lost a Race Against a Horse-Drawn Railcar

Tom Thumb was the first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad. It was designed and constructed by Peter Cooper in 1829 to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) to use steam engines; it was not intended to enter revenue service. It is especially remembered as a participant in a legendary race with a horse-drawn car, which the horse won after Tom Thumb suffered a mechanical failure. However, the demonstration was successful, and the railroad committed to the use of steam locomotion and held trials in the following year for a working engine.

The race on August 28, 1830, between Peter Cooper’s Tom Thumb locomotive and the horse-drawn Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad car demonstrated the superiority of steam power. Though the gallant horse won eventually when mechanical failure stopped the locomotive, the Tom Thumb had led the race, rounding curves at 15 miles an hour.

The B&O, America’s first common carrier railroad, was organized when Baltimore began to lose business to New York’s Erie Canal. Because steam locomotives were experimental, the B&O intended to use horses. But failure to make expenses, and the lack of success of wind-driven sailing cars and horse-powered treadmill cars, opened the way for Peter Cooper’s plan for steam power.

All horses on the B&O Railroad were replaced by steam locomotives on July 31, 1831.

Beautiful Photos of the 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Boat-Tail Tourer

Founded in Milan in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and brothers Oreste, Vincenzo, and Antonio Fraschini, Isotta Fraschini initially imported French cars before starting their own production in 1902. By 1906, they became Italy’s second-largest motor manufacturer, highlighted by an Isotta Fraschini victory in the 1908 Targa Florio race. Their pre-World War I era saw the creation of distinguished automobiles, yet they are best known for the Giustino Cattaneo-designed Tipo 8 and its variations.

Introduced in August 1919, the Tipo 8 was groundbreaking as the world’s first mass-produced straight-eight engine. Its 5.9-litre, overhead-valve powerplant generated 80bhp at a modest 2,200rpm, featuring advanced components like a nine-bearing crankshaft, alloy cylinder block, and magneto ignition. The chassis included a three-speed gearbox, multi-plate clutch, semi-elliptic springs, and four-wheel brakes.

Targeted at the affluent American market, the Tipo 8 became favored by celebrities like Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, William Randolph Hearst, and boxer Jack Dempsey. The 1924 Tipo 8A followed with a 7.3-litre engine producing approximately 115bhp, boasting Isotta’s acclaimed three-speed synchromesh transmission and enhanced chassis and suspension.

Isotta Fraschini faced challenges during the Great Depression despite success in the US, where their cars rivaled Rolls-Royce in popularity and price. Post-1935, the company pivoted to aero engines and trucks after failed attempts to revive their luxury car production.

Here below is a set of beautiful photos of the 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Boat-Tail Tourer.

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Early Photos of United Parcel Service From Between the 1900s and 1920s

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has expanded to become a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s largest shipping couriers. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS Store, a retail chain which assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses. UPS offers air shipping on an overnight or two-day basis and delivers to post office boxes through UPS Mail Innovations and UPS SurePost, two services that pass on packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery.

On August 28, 1907, the American Messenger Company was started in Seattle by 19-year-old James E. Casey and another teenager, Claude Ryan. Using a borrowed $100 as their initial capital, they set up shop in a cellar beneath Ryan’s uncle’s tavern. Their first employees ran errands and made deliveries on foot or by bicycle. A second office opened in 1912. The following year the company merged with a competitor and acquired its first delivery truck, a converted Model T Ford. At this time, the founders decided to concentrate on delivery of packages from stores and therefore changed the company name to Merchants Parcel Delivery. In 1916 Charles Soderstrom was hired, and it was his idea to paint the company’s vehicles dark brown, a color that tends to camouflage grime.

Ryan left the company in 1917. Two years later Casey began expanding the business outside Seattle, opening operations in Oakland, California, where the company first used the name of United Parcel Service, and later in Los Angeles (1922). In 1925 the entire company became known as United Parcel Service (UPS), and by the end of the decade UPS was operating all over the West Coast.

In 1930 the United Parcel Service moved its headquarters to New York City; it steadily expanded thereafter. By the 1950s, however, the company faced a challenge. The need for store delivery was decreasing because customers were increasingly using their own cars to carry their purchases home. The company responded in 1953 by beginning the territorial expansion of its common carrier service, which it had offered in southern California since the 1920s. In accepting packages from the general public, UPS put itself in competition with the parcel post service of the U.S. Post Office (now U.S. Postal Service). Not until 1975 did UPS clear away regulatory barriers to operation in all 48 contiguous states. In the same year, corporate headquarters were moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, and the company became international by expanding to Canada. Over the next four decades, UPS continued to increase its global presence, eventually offering services in more than 200 countries and territories.

Other notable events in the company’s history included the resumption (1953) of air freight service, which it had tried out briefly in 1929. Entering the field of overnight air delivery, the company started UPS Airlines in 1988. UPS Airlines operated from a “main global hub” in Louisville, Kentucky, and by the early 21st century it ran a fleet of more than 200 jet aircraft. In 1991 UPS headquarters were moved again, to Sandy Springs, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The company gained retail outlets in 2001 when it bought Mail Boxes Etc., later renamed the UPS Store. The UPS Store offered mailbox, shipping, and clerical services to individuals and small businesses.

Cofounder Casey was active in UPS management until his death in 1983. He, his family, other UPS executives, and their families were the principal stockholders for most of the company’s history. Not until 1999 were shares first offered to the public.

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The Traveling Wilburys, a Supergroup Consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty

Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup active from 1988 to 1991 consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as “perhaps the biggest supergroup of all time.”

Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison’s 1987 album Cloud Nine, the band formed in April 1988 after the five members united to record a bonus track for Harrison’s next European single. When this collaboration, “Handle with Care,” was deemed too good for such a limited release, the group agreed to record a full album, titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Following Orbison’s death in December 1988, the Wilburys continued as a quartet and released a second album, incongruously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, in 1990.

The release of their debut album was much anticipated because of the stature of the participants. The band members adopted tongue-in-cheek pseudonyms as half-brothers from the fictional Wilbury family of traveling musicians. Vol. 1 was a critical and commercial success, helping to revitalize Dylan’s and Petty’s careers. In 1990, the album won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

Although Harrison envisioned a series of Wilburys albums and a film about the band, to be produced through his company HandMade, the group became dormant after 1991 and never officially reunited, though the individual members continued to collaborate on each other’s solo projects at various times. Harrison died in 2001, followed by Petty in 2017, leaving Dylan and Lynne as the only surviving members. After being unavailable for several years, the two Wilburys albums were reissued by the Harrison estate in the 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection.

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