Saturday, November 8, 2014

1957

I have a history lesson for you but -- hey, wait! -- don't worry, it's fun.

I was born in 1957.  A picture was taken that year of a famous encounter.  You may or may not have seen the photo; it's worth telling you about in case you haven't.  Here's the picture...



In the photo, Sophia Loren is eyeing Jayne Mansfield.  In case you're too young to know who these women are, Sophia is an internationally-acclaimed actress.  She's still alive at age 80.  Back then, people thought she was gorgeous.  She won an Oscar for one of her roles.

At the time of the picture, Sophia was only 22 years old and had just arrived in the U.S. from Italy.  She was beginning her long career in Hollywood.

Jayne Mansfield was known as a "blonde bombshell" in the 1950's.  After succeeding on Broadway, she made movies in Hollywood.  The media referred to her as the "working man's [Marilyn] Monroe."  Sadly, Jayne died when she was only 34 in a car accident. 

If you know actress Mariska Hargitay from "Law & Order: SVU," you might be surprised to learn that Jayne Mansfield was her mother.

Sophia just published a memoir this week in which, for the first time, she talks about the encounter shown in the photo.  Referring to Jayne, Sophia says, "She sat down.  And now, she was barely …  Listen.  Look at the picture.  Where are my eyes?  I’m staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate.  I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow -- BOOM! -- and spill all over the table."

Have you ever seen this picture before?  What do you think of it?

14 comments:

  1. LOL-yes I have seen this picture before and it's hilarious. Perhaps it is the first so called nip-slip or wardrobe malfunction ever captured by paparazzi. Now, what do I personally think of the boobs and the nipples and the whole situation? I too would probably have feelings similar to Sophia's, as I am a person who feels anothers boobs should not be intruding into my personal space. But I also think that it's time we got over nipples and moved on. Stop being shocked by them and stop using them to shock. Women can do better than that.

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  2. I love Jayne Mansfield.. she's long been one of my style icons since we have similar --aherm-- proportions. It made me so happy when I read a headline this week saying "SOPHIA LOREN BREAKS SILENCE ABOUT INFAMOUS PHOTO." Oh boy!

    Who wouldn't stare though? Especially since Jayne was known for pulling stunts like that all of the time. ;)

    Great post. I love this kind of stuff. I hope you have a wonderful weekend my friend! Did you end up going to the Halloween parade btw?

    XxMO
    madame-ostrich.com

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    1. Thanks, bud. And I see the similarity in your body-type. Yes, I went to the parade; there'a a post with pictures.

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  3. I love this photo! It cracks me up every time I see it.

    I honestly don't know how anyone could look anywhere BUT there. I'm sure a few people nearly poked their eyes out with their forks when trying to eat simply because they were sucked into the vortex of boobs.

    I applaud her for having great body confidence.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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    1. "vortex of boobs"!! You made me snort my coffee.

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  4. LOL! What cracks me up is she admits the photo was exactly what it looks like!

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  5. I have never seen this photo before and can certainly understand Sophia's reaction ... I would probably have had the same reaction however she is drop dead gorgeous!!!!

    Thanks for always finding such interesting stuff to share with us.

    Hope you are having a super awesome weekend.

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  6. I've never seen this image before but I am sure most women would have had the same look on their faces,

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  7. I've never been a fan of Jayne Mansfield. Poor Sophia. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this was taken at an event held in Sophia's honor. I'd be shooting daggers too if someone came to an event held in my honor with their tits hanging out--especially in the 1950s.

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    1. Yes, it was a dinner to celebrate her arrival in the U.S. Jayne was trying to and did steal the show. The place was packed with press and photographers.

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  8. I've seen this photo a million times but never noticed where here eyes are focused. Total nip slip!

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  9. I've seen this photo many times and always thought of some jealousy from Sofie. but for me it's mostly - two amazing beautiful actresses shot together.

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  10. I love this picture. It says so much about women in general. We all do this to each other..

    Lisa.

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  11. I have seen this picture before and honestly I thought that it was Maryline Monroe -
    I think its funny that Sophia Loren would say this about Jane's breasts considering hers were out on display for almost 60 years.

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