Celebrity & People Gallery

Marshall Plan Convention 1948

US Secretary of State George C. Marshall (L, 1880-1959) is pictured during a reception at London US embassy on November 02, 1948 with (L to R) Mrs Churchill, wife of US Ambassador in Great Britain Mrs Lewis Douglas, Mrs James Douglas, US Ambassador in Great Britain Lewis Douglas, Miss Sharman Douglas, James Douglas, Mrs George Marshall and former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
After the conference in Moscow with British, French, and Soviet counterparts in March-April 1947, US Secretary of State George C. Marshall had observed the growing economic collapse of Europe and the obvious intent of Soviet Russia to benefit from that collapse. He had returned to Washington thinking that the best way to avoid this was to prevent Europe's economic, social, and political deterioration by creating a European program with massive assistance from the United States. One year later, in April 1948, President Truman, a Democratic president, signed the Foreign Assistance Act, passed by a Republican controlled Congress, to establish what became known as the Marshall Plan. / AFP PHOTO / RENE HELIER

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American Actors Gene Kelly (L) and Fred Astaire Cannes Film festival Pose

American actors Gene Kelly (L) and Fred Astaire pose for photographers at Cannes Film festival 13 May 1976. Astaire began his career with his sister Adele as a vaudeville team in 1916 and rose to stardom in the 1920s in Lady be Good. When his sister married, Fred Astaire continued with various partners, notably Ginger Rogers. His many films include Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), and Easter Parade (1948). Fred Astaire revolutionized the film musical with original tape-dance designed by himself. / AFP PHOTO

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Simone Signoret and American star Marilyn Monroe

French actor Simone Signoret (L) and American star Marilyn Monroe (R) chat 24 January 1960 in Hollywood where Signoret came with her husband actor-singer Yves Montand who play with Marilyn in George Cukor's "Let's Make Love" (Le Milliardaire). Marilyn Monroe one of the most famous US actress in the world, achieved celebrity with starring roles in three 1953 features, "Niagara", "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "How to Marry a Millionaire" and later in "Bus Stop" (1956), "Some Like it Hot" (1959) and "The Misfits" (1961). / AFP PHOTO / OFF

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