“I threw myself, one hundred percent, into every shoot,” Ray said. “And I loved it.”

For this Photographer Spotlight, however, LIFE.com focussed on one aspect of Ray’s varied portfolio: celebrity portraits.

Even a partial roll call of the stars Bill Ray photographed for LIFE reads like a Who’s Who of Sixties pop culture: Marilyn Monroe, Sinatra, the Beatles, Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis, Steve McQueen, Jackie Kennedy and on and on and on. What’s truly remarkable is that he managed to capture something utterly distinctive about each one.

It’s difficult to imagine one photographer capable of showing us something elemental about personalities as wildly disparate as, say, Brigitte Bardot, Sonny Liston and Woody Allen, but Bill Ray did just that, again and again.

Some photo captions in this gallery include Ray’s memories of what it was like to photograph these people. But we’ve also included, below, a few of the longer and often hilarious stories Bill Ray told about documenting the lives and careers of the 20th century’s most famous public figures.

[Buy Bill Ray’s My LIFE in Photography, from which some of these memories, slightly edited, are taken.]

Marilyn Monroe Sings “Happy Birthday” to JFK, May 19, 1962:

I was on assignment for LIFE at the old Madison Square Garden that night one of many photographers down in front of the stage. The police, with directions from the Secret Service, were forcing the press into a tight group behind a rope. I knew that all the “rope-a-dopes” would get the same shot, and that would not work for LIFE. I squeezed between the cops and took off looking for a better place.

It seemed that I climbed forever. When I found a pipe railing to rest the lens on (exposure was strictly by guess), I could see JFK through the telephoto. When the moment came, the Garden went black. Total silence.

One spotlight snapped on, and there was Marilyn, in that dress, crystals sparkling and flashing. She was smiling, with everyone on the edge of their seats. Then, in her breathy, sexy, unique voice, looking the entire time right at JFK, she sang.

In two-and-a-half months, Marilyn would be dead. In eighteen months, Kennedy would be assassinated; Vietnam would turn into our worst nightmare; Camelot would be gone. But that night, Marilyn’s brief song stopped the world.

 

Brigitte Bardot Throws a Tantrum on the Set of Shalako, Spain, 1968:

I rode with Bardot to the set many times in her white Rolls-Royce. On one of those mornings, B.B. saw a stray, starving dog and ordered her driver to stop. It was love at first sight. The starving mutt loved B.B. and the Rolls, and B.B. loved the mutt. B.B. put all her retainers on the case. She would make a perfect life for this “adorable” dog.

Her hairdresser bathed the dog. Her chauffeur tore off in the Rolls for filet mignon. The dog never left her side until the fourth day when he keeled over dead from too much of the good life.

B.B. started to cry and worked herself up to uncontrollable wailing. She locked her dressing room door. Cast and crew [including co-star Sean Connery] were standing by. Lunch time came and went. The wailing went on and on. The whole day was lost; mucho dinero.

 

Woody Allen in Vegas, 1966:

It was a pivotal year for Woody. He published stories in the New Yorker, wrote and directed his first film, What’s Up Tiger Lily? and had a Broadway hit, Don’t Drink the Water. He was on fire, and LIFE wanted to celebrate him with a cover story. I was given the job of shooting Woody in Las Vegas, along with any other photos I could get of his other activities.

The Woody I met at Caesars Palace was one of the quietest, most cooperative people I’ve ever worked with. The only problem was that he didn’t do anything except stay in his room, write, and practice his clarinet until it was time for his standup routine. Then I remembered the kitschy nude Roman statues in front of Caesars. With trepidation, I asked Woody if he would pose with one of the nudes. He thought it was a funny idea and said “sure.” That was a relief and I pressed my luck, asking him if he would wear a red sweater that I happened to have with me.

“Is it cashmere?” he asked. It wasn’t; it was wool.

Woody said he was allergic to wool, but after some pleading, he agreed to wear it.

I needed the contrast with the white statue, and a bit of red never hurt for a cover shoot. The statue seemed to inspire Woody, and he really came to life. He hugged and vamped and swung around. It was tremendous fun.

Phone calls and telexes from New York assured me the shots were great and would run with the story.

But LIFE was a weekly and would use a news cover whenever they could. Unfortunately for me, some damn thing happened that week and LIFE scrapped the Woody Allen cover. It was heartbreaking but I still had the great thrill of working with one on the comic geniuses of my time.

Pvt. Elvis Presley in Brooklyn, 1958, before leaving the States to serve in Germany.

Bill RayThe LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation

Gina Lollobrigida signed autographs in front of New York’s old Metropolitan Opera House, 1958.

Bill Ray

Frank Sinatra on the set of the movie, “Can-Can,” 1959.

Bill Ray

Elizabeth Taylor 1959

Bill Ray

John Wayne, Toots Shor, 1959

Bill Ray

Jackie Kennedy 1960

Bill Ray

Ella Fitzgerald at the old Madison Square Garden in New York on the night Marilyn sang to John F. Kennedy, May 1962.

Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marilyn Monroe 1962

Bill Ray

Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, 1963

Bill Ray

Natalie Wood 1963

Bill Ray

Jill St. John 1963

Bill Ray

Marlon Brando and Paul Newman 1963

Bill Ray

Senta Berger 1964

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

The Beatles 1964

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Woody Allen 1966

Bill Ray

Michael Caine 1966

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles performed at Carnegie Hall, 1966.

Bill Ray/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation

Nancy Sinatra 1966

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen 1967

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Lew Alcindor 1967

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot 1968

Bill Ray

Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski 1968

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Jane Fonda and daughter 1971

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

George Harrison and Bob Dylan at the Concert for Bangladesh in New York, 1971.

Bill Ray/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation

Ann Margaret 1972

Bill Ray

Diahann Carroll and David Frost

Bill Ray Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

The post Photographer Spotlight: Bill Ray’s Classic Celebrity Portraits appeared first on LIFE.

In a June 1958 article In LIFE magazine titled “The Charged Charms of Brigitte,” LIFE waxed lyrical about the 24-year-old actress’ effect on American moviegoers and critics, declaring “Not since the Statue of Liberty has a French girl lit such fires in America.” A companion piece in the same issue titled “A Lot More Than Meets The Eye” went further with its analysis, saying that because Bardot acted in French movies that played in art houses, she could be sexy on screen in ways that American actresses simply couldn’t.

Like the European sports car, she has arrived on the American scene at a time when the American public is ready, or even hungry, for something racier and more realistic than the familiar domestic product….Brigitte, to put it bluntly, is also permitted to take off more of her clothes than any Hollywood star and get away with scenes more risque than Hollywood would dare attempt….Although she was virtually unknown in this country a year ago, Bardot’s name is now a synonym for sex from coast to coast.”

The above story also included a passage which gave a window into what American life was like before standards regarding sexual content in media were loosened: “Owners of art theaters have discovered that they can pull truck drivers and mourners after the vanished burlesque houses in off the sidewalks to see foreign language films if Bardot’s name is on the marquee. They can keep pulling them in for weeks and months at a stretch.”

Combine Bardot’s looks and persona with her exquisite timing and the result is an actress who left an indelible mark on a generation. That helps explain why the lead photo of in this gallery, of Bardot holding a camera on the set of the film Viva Maria, is one of the best-sellers in the LIFE print store. When it comes to images of actresses, only Marilyn Monroe sells better.

Nearly all the photos in this gallery were taken by LIFE staff photographer Loomis Dean, after she made perhaps her most famous film, And God Created Woman. Bardot’s final film came out in 1973, and when she retired from the screen she left behind an art form that had changed greatly, especially when it came to subjects once considered too hot for the American screen.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.

Brigitte Bardot during a break in filming on the set of “Viva Maria,” 1965.

Ralph Crane/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot on set with actor Michel Roux, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot on location in Spain in 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film, “La Femme et le Pantin” Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed at the time she was making the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot plays the guitar while on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot checks her hair and makeup on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot (holding a copy of LIFE magazine) looks at a photographic slide on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin” in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot photographed between takes, Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot with co-star Antonio Vilar on the set of the film “La Femme et le Pantin.”

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In Bardot’s films she often ended up lounging on a bed.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Brigitte Bardot during break on location in Spain, 1958.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Brigitte Bardot: “A Synonym for Sex From Coast to Coast” appeared first on LIFE.