Print.... Cut!

Pierce Brosnan in his 007 days.

Well, we're still trying to wind down and catch up following a three-week run of "Mamma Mia!," which was sold out every performance and had standing ovations every time. It was quite a whirlwind and, in fact, has become the most money-making show in the theatre company's 54 year history! So we're taking the (somewhat!) easy way out today with a photo essay. Up until the mid-1990s, I was a voracious reader of every movie and entertainment magazine I could get my hands on. Premiere, Movieline (always my favorite), Us, Entertainment Weekly and others... And I developed a habit of cutting out (or, okay, tearing out!) every page that featured a complete portrait of a star. I didn't have to particularly like the star, I just kept every page that was entirely made up of a picture of one. They were socked away in a folder for more than 20 years and I recently found them while looking for something (which I never did find!) to use in my 10th Anniversary posts. So I went through and selected a fair amount of them for scanning here. These may or may not be "rare" photos of the stars in question, I don't follow these particular people closely enough to know that, but maybe some of them will be rare to you. It's interesting to see how some of these folks have changed, though I myself really only recall them looking this way for the most part since I quit regular movie-going in the late 1990s! They aren't for the most part "my" stars.

I had a ton of photos of Mel Gibson, even though I have never been much of a fan. (I have yet to see any Lethal Weapon film!) He was just that popular at the time, appearing in so many magazine spreads.

He's made 61 movies and I've seen only 11 of them (12, if you count Pocahontas, 1995!), mostly from his earliest days. There's another hugely-popular actor who dominated this stack of pictures, but I'm not scanning any of those...

Look at the handsome face of one Dennis Quaid. The last time I saw him, I scarcely recognized him (and the voice... my God!) But time marches on...

This was also a busy and popular time for David Duchovny. I can count on one hand the movies I've seen him in and have never once watched an episode of The X Files!

Val Kilmer was around this time portraying the caped crusader in Batman Forever (1995.)

His suit here recalls The Joker more than Batman...!

Alec Baldwin, whose career sort of bell-curved from television to movie stardom and then back to television.

One thing Mr. Baldwin nearly always had was one great head of hair! I would have killed for hair this thick back in the day...

1996's Independence Day remains the only movie with Will Smith that I have ever seen.

Kevin Bacon was menacing Meryl Streep in The River Wild (1994) about this time.

I was about to say "Remember Jonathan Schaech?," who was given a build-up for How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and other mid-to-late '90s films, but I see now that he has been steadily working all along! I've never seen him in anything...!

Halle Berry, anticipating the career shift that would occur with 1999's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

I swear Phaedra Parks stole this expression and permanently affixed it to her face!

I was crazy for Sharon Stone in the 1990s and made a point to see everything she did.

Having once been Hollywood's reigning sex goddess, I watched Lovelace (2013) not long ago and it took me forever to realize that I was seeing Ms. Stone before me as the title character's mother!

How about Elizabeth Berkley? An established sitcom star, she was catapulted into the limelight for 1995's Showgirls, but the movie was a total debacle!

Rarely has there been a 180-degree feeding frenzy like there was when the media got ahold of Showgirls and Berkley's performance. She was all but run out of town yet she managed to hold on and continue acting (and for the record, the movie is a camp scream!)

Few people reach the level of fame that Madonna did in her prime, but she was never able to truly establish herself as a movie actress (despite quite a few attempts!) Somehow she worked better in small doses (like in 4-minute-long music videos.)

With regards to media backlashes, I seem to recall Demi Moore swiftly rising the movie ladder as a sought after leading lady only to be swatted down again after 1996's Striptease. She did come back, but eventually found greater success with producing, which has given her the ability to work when she wants on what she wants.

At this time, Salma Hayek was only beginning to appear in American projects in the wake of Desperado (1995.) She's another actress who ultimately saw the benefits of producing material for herself and others.

In 1983, Jennifer Beals starred in the absolute blockbuster Flashdance, but found precious little success in its wake. She continued acting (and at this time was costarring with Denzel Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress, 1995), later landing on television with plenty of regular work.

Patricia Arquette had begun back in 1983 with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but would continue on an acting journey (in many independent and/or unusual films) that took her all the way to the Oscars, where she won for Boyhood (2014.)

I can recall watching young Alicia Silverstone in The Crush (1993) wherein she fixated on Cary Elwes (!), but it was 1995's Clueless which put her on the map. She could have fallen into the flash-in-the-pan trap, but has stayed the course all these years, working steadily and expanding her range.

Ashley Judd in the midst of an image makeover (around the time of Norma Jean & Marilyn, 1996.)

Sometimes the mags would run full-page photos of the real thing, such as with this shot of Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe was probably one of the most photographed women (with film... not cellphones and/or selfies!) ever.

This is a lovely close-up of one Elizabeth Taylor.

As part of a tribute to a particular photographer, we have Miss Jessica Tandy.

Also Miss Loretta Young. I love the use of color and composition in this portrait.

Gene Tierney. Check those lashes...!

I only include this pic and the next one of Leonard Nimoy in case there are Spock fans out there.

The two together could make a fun animated .gif!

A strangely menacing Anthony Edwards who was then in the early stages of the stratospheric success E/R, which made him one of TV's highest-paid actors. (And before you ask, I've only ever seen one episode of the show! The one featuring George Clooney rescuing a boy from a storm drain.)

The Tonight Show's hirsute host, Jay Leno.

Controversial radio personality (and brief would-be movie actor) Howard Stern.

Michael Keaton, who has had one pendulous career in the biz with many highs and lows.

Oh dear... We're getting artsy. Waterworld (1995) didn't work and neither did this photo shoot.

Over the span of forty years, Jeff Bridges was nominated for Oscars seven times, winning for Crazy Heart (2009), but at this time he was playing a lot of more conventional leading man roles, which weren't attracting award attention.

I love this shot of him in all white with his blue eyes coming across.

Ed Harris was enjoying a hot streak in colorful supporting roles like Apollo 13 (1995) and The Rock (1996.) His Oscar nomination for Apollo 13 was the first of four to date (the latest one being for The Hours, 2002.)

William "Billy" Baldwin enjoyed key supporting roles in movies like Flatliners (1990) and Backdraft (1991) before costarring in films that would be marked as flops like Sliver (1993) and Fair Game (1995.) He's continued to work, however, with many TV appearances as of late. I always chuckle about Sliver (a highly-troubled production, which I actually liked... to a point.) I was in a video store and this horny husband was trying to get his wife to rent something of his choosing. He picked up Sliver and said, "Hey, look here hun, they got 'Silver!'"

Long before Greg Kinnear segued into movies, I was a huge fan of his from a TV show he did on E! Entertainment Television called Talk Soup, a wacky clip-fest in which he ran segments from all the then-popular chat shows with all their lunatic guests.

He was breaking into films with roles in movies such as Sabrina (1995) and Dear God (1996), with an Oscar-nominated turn in As Good as It Gets (1997) a highlight. I recall writing him what is in retrospect a humiliatingly familiar and flirty fan letter during his Talk Soup days which, hopefully, knowing his wacky sense of humor, he took in stride!

Young Matt Damon parlayed a showy role in School Ties (1992) along with other movies to an even showier one (losing all kinds of weight to do so) in Courage Under Fire (1996.) Soon thereafter he emerged as a leading man, which is something he remains today.

At the time enjoying the hit show Party of Five (nope, never saw a single episode!), Scott Wolf made a stab at movie stardom with White Squall (1996) and Go (1999), but ultimately would continue to work on television more than the big screen. Hard as it may be to believe, he was recently cast as Nancy Drew's father (!) in a new series pilot.

A TV star of Homefront, Early Edition and others (none of which I've ever once seen!), Kyle Chandler was a cutie. Now he's morphed into a worthwhile character actor in movies like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Carol (2015) as well as the miniseries Catch-22 (2019.)

One of the few child actors to successfully carry on as an adult leading man, Kurt Russell was still hanging in there with hits like Stargate (1994), Executive Decision (1996), Escape From L.A. (1996) and Breakdown (1997.) He remains active on the big screen today.

A pensive shot of John Travolta. We try not to ponder too heavily what goes on inside there...!  At this point he'd managed a spectacular comeback after a fallow period with Look Who's Talking (1989) and it's 1993 sequel and Pulp Fiction (1994), for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

Sylvester Stallone went from near obscurity to the star of the Oscar-winning Rocky (1976), riding that wave of sequels as well as those of First Blood (1982) to the top of the box office. By the mid-'90s, he was still starring in slick action movies (like The Specialist, 1994, and Assassins, 1995), but with less stellar results. As of this writing, he's still returning to Rocky and Rambo for movie ideas!

Another action star who drew inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger was martial arts master Jean-Claude Van Damme. Even though his days in the spotlight have waned, he does still work in lower-budget movies today.

TV star Helen Hunt became one of the few females to make the leap to the big screen with a certain amount of success. A role in Kiss of Death (1995) was followed by Twister (1996) and then As Good as It Gets (1997), which scored her an Oscar! And all this in her free time during Mad About You...! (Never saw one episode... LOL!)

Gillian Anderson is another TV star who enjoyed a spate of movie roles as a result, though she didn't score quite the same as Helen Hunt did in that regard. I have yet to see the perpetually sullen actress in any project!

Helena Bonham Carter has had an interesting career. She seemed as if she would forever be locked into all those E.M. Forster period movies like A Room with a View (1985) and Howard's End (1992), but marriage to Tim Burton opened up an entirely new realm for her.

Nevertheless, I still like her in those austere period flicks and one of my very favorite performances of hers was as The Queen Mother in The King's Speech (2010.) I don't know when I will completely get over her Oscar loss to Melissa Leo for The Fighter...!

Liam Neeson has proven to be such a versatile actor over his career. My own first glimpse of him came as the wordless title character in Suspect (1987) with Cher. By the time of this photo he had headlined films like Schindler's List (1993), Rob Roy (1995) and Before and After (1996) yet still had a considerable career ahead of him. He's as busy as ever today, albeit in character roles.

Boy, Chris O'Donnell was cute at this time! He'd had featured roles in Scent of a Woman (1992) and The Three Musketeers (1993) and was now starring in The Chamber (1996.)

It seems strange to see him so skinny! As Robin in two of the Batman sequels, he was just plain gorgeous. He's been ensconced for a decade on NCIS: Los Angeles.

This was a two-page spread facing the wrong way that I pieced together here.

Antonio Banderas had been steadily building up a resume in Hollywood following success in his native Spain. He appeared in films like Philadelphia (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Assassins (1995) and Never Talk to Strangers (1995.)

It was Evita (1996) and especially The Mark of Zorro (1998) that really got his career in high gear. He remains busy yet today, though his wildly successful days seem behind him now.

One last one of the sensuous Mr. Bandaras.

Another TV actress who segued to movies and really hit the big time was Sandra Bullock. I love the cool, clean styling of this portrait. In the mid-1990s, she seemed to appear in hit after hit, be it an action flick like the blockbuster Speed (1994) or a romantic comedy such as While You Were Sleeping (1995.)

Bullock has continued to enjoy success and is another actress who turned to producing in order to secure good roles for herself (and others.)

We first met Dylan McDermott as Julia Roberts' handsome, but rather shallow and selfish, husband in Steel Magnolias (1989) and were instantly hooked nonetheless. When it came to the movies, he never was able to quite soar as a leading man, but on TV he found success with The Practice and was still sexy as hell on the first season of American Horror Story.

Who is this?? I pride myself on remembering the faces of stars, but this young man completely escapes me....!

A bit slow out of the gate, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman eventually became a mid-level hit, thanks in no small way to the charms of its stars Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.

...or if you prefer, Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain.

Hatcher, here surrounded by a bevy of super men, would eventually reach even greater success with Desperate Housewives seven years later.

Meg Ryan was a hot soap star (on As the World Turns) who made it big as a romantic comedy movie star lead. For a time, everything she appeared in seemed to be a hit, but eventually she faced backlash over her personal life and changes to her face.

One minute Cameron Diaz was a young model plucked to dance with Jim Carrey in The Mask (1994) and by 1998 she was a sensation in There's Something About Mary.

It might surprise you to know that Diaz has not appeared in a movie, nor on TV, as an actress since 2014 and is - in fact - retired! She was forty-four when she stepped away from it all.

Lauren Holly had been costarring on Picket Fences when she began making movies like Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Down Periscope (1996.) She was also wed to Carrey for less than a year. Still working steadily, her profile is not as high as it was during this period.

Rebecca De Mornay made an early splash in Risky Business (1983), but had experienced lackluster career results afterwards (despite prestige projects like The Trip to Bountiful, 1985.) 1992's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, a massive hit, changed all that, though, and she was able to crank out some more leading roles. Things eventually cooled again, though she is still active today.

Speaking of The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, one look at Julianne Moore in that movie and I was hooked for life! I had to see everything she did after that for years (and I suffered through several things, trust me.) She's so versatile that she never really played that sort of type again, but I grew to love her for her other facets.

I can recall being so obsessed over Sherilyn Fenn's look at this time... And, in fact, there are still girls out there adopting it even now, though usually with tattoos to go with. Twin Peaks got her a lot of attention , which she parlayed into a series of movie roles, but none of them really took off. She's still as busy as ever as an actress now, though.

Few pretty girls have enjoyed the success story that Michelle Pfeiffer has because not only was she a box office star, but she also racked up three Oscar nominations along the way, increasing her acting credibility.

She paired with Jack Nicholson in 1994's Wolf. Always choosy, she only works when she wants to, but does generally appear in at least one film per year.

It's almost difficult to recognize Jamie Lee Curtis with this hair color and length after years of her short-cropped, salt & pepper 'do. In between spates of leading movie roles, she costarred in the barely-remembered sitcom Anything But Love with Richard Lewis which was about the time this portrait was taken. (And I've never seen a moment of it!)

Kate Capshaw had a major showcase in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and proceeded to a variety of leading lady film roles, but after marrying Doom's director Steven Spielberg in 1991 has only worked sporadically. At this time, she was playing a supporting part in Warren Beatty's elegant, but dreary, Love Affair (1994.)

How fun is this portrait of Sally Field? A true Hollywood survivor, Field suffered the rigors of teenage stardom on daffy sitcoms and ultimately emerged as a double Academy Award winner. At this time, she had scored in the hits Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994) and was about to star in Eye for an Eye (1996.) She's still acting regularly today.

No performer was ever nominated more than Meryl Streep for an Oscar (21 times as of this writing, winning 3.) Her films around this period include The River Wild (1994), The Bridges of Madison County (1995) and Before and After (1996.)

This is one of the oldest clipped portraits (from about 1989) when Faye Dunaway emerged with her new face for the TNT original movie Cold Sassy Tree. That took some getting used to...! By 1993's The Temp, though, she was looking dazzling. But as the years have gone on, so have the repeated attempts to hold back the clock diminished in their effectiveness.

Barbara Hershey could have been just another young TV actress who drifted away in time, but she proceeded to a considerable career on the big screen and by this point had earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in Portrait of a Lady. She later popped up again in the hit Black Swan (2010) and still works frequently today.

Raquel Welch was still killing it while in her fifties and had embraced a fresh, shorter hairstyle in contrast to the voluminous piles of tresses that had helped make her a household name in the 1960s.

We always love Donna Mills. This was from an old US magazine that I think was ranking the sexiest women on TV at that time.

I cannot tell you how many debates I have one over how to pronounce some of Hollywood's more unusual names thanks to this page! They ought to come out with one of these every year considering the monikers that are out there now...!

Rounding out the collection, we find Andrew Shue at his locker. The younger brother of Elizabeth Shue, he began acting in bit parts in the mid-1980s. He then stumbled into a leading role on Melrose Place in 1992 where he stayed until 1998, promptly retiring from acting thereafter! (He was always more interested in soccer/football than in acting and has only gone before the cameras in projects related to that sport ever since.)

I didn't recognize this guy right away (mistook him for another shot of Andrew Shue), but it's stage star John Barrowman, who was at this time starring on a prime-time soap called Central Park West (later morphed into C.P.W., to no avail.) It was the cancellation of C.P.W. and Profit, along with others prior, in mid-storyline that caused me to cease watching network scripted television. Since 1997 I can count on one hand how many series I have watched (and even then I was burned again when I got hooked on GCB only to see it flame out...)

I don't think you'll wonder why I held on to this portrait of Steve Guttenberg. Even though I never ever see him, he's busier now as an actor than he's ever been!

This clipping seemed appropriate for The End...! It's a faux Oscar "For Your Consideration" advertisement put out by the star of Braveheart.