Top of page

Mystery Photo Contest — Recognize These Faces?

Share this post:

Cary O’Dell at the Library’s National Recording Registry is the maestro of our ever-popular Mystery Photo Contest. He’s back with another round, featuring some of Hollywood’s not-so-famous faces. 

At the Library, we don’t give up!

We have had some successes with our ever-popular Mystery Photo Contest and we’re back for more.  Regular readers might recall that we recently identified faces that had stumped us for years: actresses Esther Anderson and Cynthia Lynn.

The hiding-in-plain-sight factor can drive you nuts. Both actresses had long careers. Anderson, a Jamaican model, actress and filmmaker, was hardly an unknown. She once starred opposite Sidney Poitier in “A Warm December” in 1973. She filmed Bob Marley and the Wailers’ first rehearsal and years later made an award-winning documentary about it. In 2007, the BBC dubbed her the “Caribbean’s first lady of film and music.”

Lynn, meanwhile, had played recurring or guest spots on television shows during the ’60s and ’70s, most notably on “Hogan’s Heroes” in its first season. And still, it took us four years to identify her in a publicity still.

So, once again, we are asking for your help.

To review: The following photos were found within a much larger collection of film, TV and music stills.  So far, all the photos we have been able to identify have been related to one of those fields, so we assume these do, too.

Several of these, faithful readers will recognize, are repeats from earlier panels, because we haven’t found the magic key yet. We’re displaying them in a larger format this time around in hopes that might prompt a stray memory.

As always, we’ll investigate any reasonable guesses.

MANY THANKS! AND STAY WELL!

1.)

1.) Well now. A singing group? Acrobats? Something else all together?

 

2.)

#2. We thought that this pinup was Kitten Natividad. The actress, now 73, says it’s not her.  

3.)

3.) We don’t know who these men are alone or together. (Bear in mind that they might be behind-the-scenes talent.)

4.)

4.) Please note that this is NOT Karen Valentine, NOT Judy Strangis, and NOT British star Suzy Mandel.  (We’ve already checked with them all.)

5.)

5.) A young Thomas Jane has been a popular guess for this gent but, according to his manager, it is NOT him.  Any guesses?

6.)

6.) This might be from a film or documentary. Recognize this woman or the mural behind her?

Subscribe to the blog— it’s free! — and the largest library in world history will send cool stories straight to your inbox.

Comments (73)

  1. Number 5 looks like Jon Bon Jovi to me?

  2. #2 looks like she’s holding a Star Trek original series tribble. Maybe she was one of the characters with Harry Mudd. I checked IMDB.com for “The Trouble with Tribbles” episode, but it didn’t list minor roles and extras. Just a thought.

  3. Both of the men in number 3 are familiar, but I haven’t placed them yet. Number 5 is definitely not Jon Bon Jovi.

  4. #5 – Young Thomas Jane…looks like a young Jon Bon Jovi!

  5. #5 looks like a younger Eric Mabius (actor) to me.

  6. 6. Looks like Taylor Launter from twilight

  7. In picture 3, the man on the left looks to be Alex Weil, the founder of the very influential NYC special effects and post-production house Charlex (now called CHRLX). The man on the right might be Charlie Levi, his original partner in Charlex.

  8. In #3, the man on the left is wearing a Donald Duck pin. Possibly Disney film employees? I didn’t find them among Donald Duck voice actors or animators, but maybe.

  9. In picture 3, the man on the left looks to be Alex Weil, the founder of the influential NYC special effects and post-production company Charlex (now known as CHRLX). The man on the right might be his original partner Charlie Levi.

  10. #4 looks like actress Jenny O’Hara to me.

  11. Number 1. Could the guy to our right be a young John Travolta?

  12. I think the middle guy in the first pic is Dr. Oz

  13. In #3, the guy on the right looks like a young Hugh Jackman.

  14. HELLO ALL! THANKS FOR ALL THE SUGGESTIONS! I FOLLOWED UP THIS MORNING WITH THE CHRLX FOLKS AND THEY SAID THAT THAT WAS NOT A PIC OF THE LATE MR. WEIL. TOO BAD; I THOUGHT WE HAD THAT ONE SOLVED!

    • rats! i did, too.

  15. The two gents in #3 are 1970’s film/music producers. Not necessarily a team. My hunch is to reach out to someone knowledgeable with the Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO) who were very active in both areas.

  16. #5- a young Christopher Lambert?? (he was in the original Highlander movie and in the 1980s Tarzan movie)

  17. Middle guy in No. 1 looks like Yul Brynner to me.

  18. Is No. 5 Howard Stern?

  19. #1 on the left looks like Horst Buchholz to me.

  20. #6 looks like it was taken in a Slavic country, specifically Russia is my guess from the Soviet Union by the way they are dressed and the style of the art depicting a large group of people laboring together, which was a usual theme in Russia under the Soviet Union.

  21. #5 looks like it could be a young Thomas Haden Church, especially the mouth. But his eyes are blue and I can’t tell if those are green or dark blue due to lighting?

  22. #6 – could this be an assistant working on a mural under Diego Rivera? Could possibly be in Mexico

  23. 2 reminds me a little of the singer Marilyn McCoo. According to Wikipedia, she has 2 sisters, though there’s no info about them.

  24. #5 is a young Tomas Hayden Church.

  25. I immediately thought a super young Thomas Hayden Church when I saw #5.

  26. Might the Donald Duck pin be significant in #3? Was this common during this time period?

  27. Is number 5 a young Ben Mendelsohn?

  28. Linda, I also thought the bald guy looked very similar to Yul Brynner too!
    But after some close research I’m not sure the shape of the eyebrows, eyes, or ears are quite right. Could be wrong!

  29. #3 is Steve Rubell(left) and Ian Schrager (right),founders of New York’s Studio 54 nightclub.

  30. In mystery photo #3, the gentleman on the left is Ian Schrager, standing next to his early business partner, Steve Rubell, on the right. They founded the infamous Studio 54 nightclub in New York. Schrager is a hotel developer and is still alive. Rubell died in the 80’s.

  31. #1) The far left man could be American actor Martin James Landau and the man in the middle might be American screenwriter Earnest Paul Lehmann. They both worked on Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest”.

  32. #1) Could be Martin Landau (far left) and Ernest Paul Lehmann (middle). American actor and American screenwriter who both worked on Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest”.

  33. Could number 5 be a young Thomas Hayden Church?

  34. #3 is Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, founders of Studio 54 in New York.

  35. I agree with Carter Rawson on #3. I was thinking late 60’s early 70’s music producers. The man on the left is very familiar and I (mis)remember seeing him in a documentary about a band.

  36. 5 – Thomas Haden Church?

  37. #3 is Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, founders of New York’s Studio 54 nightclub back in the 70’s. Schrager is still active in New York. (got this off of reddit)

  38. #4 Actress Maureen O’Brien maybe?

  39. This was crossposted to Reddit and user AvalonC identified “#3 is Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, founders of New York’s Studio 54 nightclub back in the 70’s. Schrager is still active in New York.”

  40. #4 looks a lot like it could be a very young Julian Sands

  41. #2 Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, creators of New York’s Studio 54 nightclub

  42. 4 looks quite like Joyce McKinney.

  43. Hi, I believe #6 might be from the 1988 East German documentary Winter Ade

  44. #5 looks like Thomas Haden Church to me

  45. #3. The guy on the right looks like Dennis Lawson (ewan mcgregors uncle).

  46. #5 looks kind of like James Marshall, just a guess

  47. #5 = Jeff Conaway from Taxi?

  48. Could number 5 be a young Taylor Sheridan?

  49. #5 looks very much like a young Thomas Haden Church with the slightly hooded eyes and facial structure.

  50. From Reddit:

    #3 is Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, founders of New York’s Studio 54 nightclub back in the 70’s. Schrager is still active in New York.

    #5 looks like a young Thomas Haden Church?

  51. Could number 5 be a young Ben Mendelsohn?

  52. #4 – Catherine Burns had lighter hair, but could this be her? Chin looks similar, but the rest of the face not so much

  53. Double check if #6 is Judy Baca (muralist, art historian, UCLA prof)

  54. I agree with the above in that number 5 looks like a young Bon Jovi. If not, my stretch of a guess would be young Michael Bay.

  55. #5–Could be a young Jack Noseworthy?

    #6–Could be from Armenia when it was part of the Soviet Union?

  56. WOW! Thanks to everyone for their comments! We check with both Sheridan and Church and both men say that isn’t them. The Studio 54 guys have been a popular choice for that one photo–has anyone seen it reproduced anywhere?

  57. Hello again. I like that Maureen O. suggestion. I will reach out to her…. THANKS!

  58. #2 – a young Eartha Kitt?

  59. Just heard back from Michael Bay’s office. That isn’t Michael Bay. : (

  60. #1, maybe Flea on the left and Anthony Kiedis on the right from the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Somebody with the band would have to ID the guy in the middle.

  61. #3 The man on the right, his eyes looks a lot like Jack Cassidy, perhaps a sibling?

  62. #5 A young Thomas Haden Church or Ted Levine

  63. 3 is Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson of “The Alan Parsons Project”

  64. Just heard back from Alan Parsons and he says that is not him or Eric. 🙁

  65. JUST HEARD BACK FROM THOMAS H. CHURCH’S PEOPLE AND BEN MENDELSOHN–THIS PHOTO IS NOT OF EITHER OF THEM.

  66. Just heard back from Maureen O’Brien’s people…that is NOT her. 🙁

  67. #4 might be “Dr. Who” actress Cheryl Hall.

  68. #3 looks like Ray Stevens and Bobby Goldsboro.

  69. #2 is Aisha Tyler

  70. #5-Jon Bon Jovi?

  71. Number 4 is a young Thomas Haden Church.

  72. Oops, I meant #5 is Thomas Haden Church.

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *