Behind the Scenes: The Run-Up the Oscars, 1972

Like much of the early Seventies, 1971 was a very good year for film aficionados who prized variety in the movies as highly as they valued quality. A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show, The French Connection, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Klute, McCabe & Mrs. Miller the titles released in that single 12-month span are among the most revered and influential of the entire decade.

Of course, for even the most artistically minded filmmakers, all the accolades in the world can quickly pale beside an Oscar nomination or, the summit of happiness, an Oscar win. That thrilling, glitz-fueled night in Los Angeles, meanwhile, when much of the world seems to hold its breath waiting for the words, “And the Oscar goes to …” (or, as it was put in 1972: “The winner is …”) has become a cultural touchstone in its own right, with the show’s production values, jokes, performances and, of course, clothes as closely analyzed as the films the Academy honors each year.

In March 1972, LIFE magazine sent photographer Bill Eppridge to Los Angeles to photograph behind the scenes during the run-up to that year’s Oscar night, capturing images of everything from the dead-of-night delivery (by station wagon!) of the nomination lists to the destruction of the Price Waterhouse typewriter ribbons on which ballots were tallied.

Here, LIFE.com presents a gallery of both published and unpublished photographs from Eppridge’s fascinating, revealing assignment, an insidery piece titled, a bit acidly, “The Oscar Game.”

As for the April 10, 1972, ceremony itself, which took place weeks after Eppridge’s shoot and was hosted by the powerhouse lineup of Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Lemmon, Helen Hayes and Alan King the big winners were The French Connection (five Oscars, including Best Picture, William Friedkin for Best Director and Gene Hackman for Best Actor); Fiddler on the Roof (three statuettes); Jane Fonda (Best Actress for Klute); and Peter Bogdanovich’s beautiful, profoundly heartfelt Last Picture Show, which scored a rare win when Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards for their roles in the film.

Price Waterhouse delivers Academy Award nomination lists to the theater

Original caption: “At 2 AM Price Waterhouse delivers 10,000 copies of the nominations lists to the Academy Award Theater.”

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

While nominations are being tallied, studios inundate the Academy with photographs and biographies of actors, directors and films they hope will be nominated.... Material on those not nominated is stacked away and later returned.

Original caption: “While nominations are being tallied, studios inundate the Academy with photographs and biographies of actors, directors and films they hope will be nominated…. Material on those not nominated is stacked away and later returned.”

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Members of the Academy enter an auditorium for a screening of an Oscar nominated film, 1972.

Members of the Academy enter an auditorium for a screening of an Oscar nominated film, 1972.

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

From a "caption guidance" memo sent to New York from L.A., meant to provide editors with a quick take on specific frames from the rolls and rolls of shot film: "Photographers shooting the honorary announcers who were there to read nominees for benefit of TV."

Photographers shooting the honorary announcers who were there to announce the nominees on television.

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Original caption: “As the list of nominees is read, TV cameras and dozens of reporters jam the morning press conference.”

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Each night during the ballot counting at P.W. [Price Waterhouse], even the used portions of typewriter ribbons are sealed in a lockbox.

Original caption: “Each night during the ballot counting at P.W. [Price Waterhouse], even the used portions of typewriter ribbons are sealed in a lockbox.”

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Peering forlornly at near-full screening schedule, a studio rep tries to find a time to show a nominated film

Original caption: “Peering forlornly at near-full screening schedule, a studio rep tries to find a time to show a nominated film.”

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

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Original caption “The $200 ‘beefed-up’ metal cabinet holding ballots and worksheets is locked in a specially secured room.”

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rehearsing for a production number prior to the 1972 Academy Awards.

Rehearsing for a production number prior to the 1972 Academy Awards.

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Rehearsing for a production number prior to the 1972 Academy Awards.

Rehearsing for a production number prior to the 1972 Academy Awards.

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Envelope used by Price Waterhouse to enclose the name of Academy award winner

Envelope used by Price Waterhouse to enclose the name of Academy award winner

Bill Eppridge The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Miles Davis: Photos of a Jazz Giant in 1958

When LIFE photographer Robert W. Kelley shot a few rolls of film at an intimate jazz gig on May 14, 1958, evidently neither he nor the magazine’s editors were jumping out of their skins with excitement.

Kelley provided scant notes describing the evening: just the date, the city and the subject’s name, “Miles Davis,” scrawled on the small archival file of the resulting photos. Why the pictures which capture the great, groundbreaking trumpeter, then just 31 years old, leading his band in an unnamed New York venue never made it into print remains a mystery to this day. [NOTE: A comment below cites research that places Davis and his band at New York’s Cafe Bohemia on that night. Ed.]

At this pivotal moment in his career, Davis was cementing a new iteration of his sextet, with John Coltrane, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, alto saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley and pianist Bill Evans. Less than two weeks after these pictures were made, that astonishing lineup would begin recording 1958 Miles, and by the following March they were at work on the best-selling and arguably the single most influential jazz album of all time: Kind of Blue.

Even artists outside of jazz rockers like Duane Allman and Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright, for example have cited Kind of Blue as inspiration. Davis’ friend Quincy Jones, meanwhile, has said: “I play Kind of Blue every day. It’s my orange juice.”

Maybe Kelley’s 1958 photos never ran in LIFE because seeing and hearing jazz greats on any given night felt so commonplace in New York at the time—the music mecca Birdland, after all, was just around the corner from the Time-Life Building. Maybe pictures of a groundbreaking young master of the art weren’t something to get worked up about.

But six decades later, when Miles Davis’ star shines brighter than ever and he’s acknowledged as one of the genuine titans of 20th century music, it’s hard not to get excited by the opportunity to see previously unpublished pictures of the man and the rest of his legendary sextet.

Unpublished picture of Miles Davis in New York, 958

Miles Davis plays with his sextet in New York City, 1958.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Miles Davis and John Coltrane play in New York City in 1958

Miles Davis (right) plays his trumpet beside a promising talent he’d recruited for his sextet in 1955, a man who’d go on to become a jazz giant in his own right: tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Not long before this photo was taken, Coltrane had rejoined Davis’ group after a sojourn away with Thelonious Monk.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Miles Davis plays with his sextet in New York in 1958.

Miles hangs back while drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassist Paul Chambers (out of frame) play. It was only May of 1958, but the year was shaping up to be a busy one for Davis: Weeks earlier he had finished recording Milestones, a classic work signaling new stylistic directions, and by July he’d begin the sessions for the Porgy and Bess soundtrack.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Miles Davis takes a break from performing at a club in New York, 1958.

Miles Davis in New York, 1958

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of Miles Davis, close-up, in color, 1958.

For a 1958 TIME magazine profile, Davis explained the birth of his playing style, beginning with a local instructor in his hometown of East St. Louis, Ill.: ” ‘Play without any vibrato,’ he used to tell us. ‘You’re gonna get old anyway and start shaking.’ That’s how I tried to play — fast and light and no vibrato.”

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of Miles Davis and his trumpet, 1958

Miles Davis adjusts the mouthpiece of his trumpet at a New York club in 1958. He famously paid as much attention to what notes he did not play as to those he did. “I always listen to what I can leave out,” he once said.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of Miles Davis in 1958

As he became more successful, Davis’ reputation as snappish and disrespectful of his audience — he was famous for turning his back to the crowd — became legend, earning him the nickname “The Prince of Darkness.” But his friends said Miles was sometimes misunderstood. Remembering Miles in 1991, Herbie Hancock explained to People magazine that Davis was not shunning his fans in concert, he was merely focusing on the music and his band.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of Miles Davis playing his trumpet in New York, 1958

Miles Davis, 1958.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of Miles Davis and Paul Chambers, 1958

Davis had a gift for seeking out the best talent on any instrument. In 1955, he recruited bassist Paul Chambers, just 20 years old but already a virtuoso, influential player.

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb

Drummer Jimmy Cobb

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Picture of Miles Davis in a New York nightclub in 1958

Miles Davis in a New York nightclub in 1958

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Miles Davis plays in a nightclub in New York

Even after the mighty transformation of his own style in 1958, Miles Davis continued to switch things up, experimenting in later years with fusion, funk and rock. “I have to change,” he once said. “It’s like a curse.”

Robert W. Kelley Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and More: LIFE Jams With Jazz Legends

LIFE photographer Gjon Mili (who also directed the classic 1944 short film, Jammin’ the Blues) often hosted jam sessions at his photography studio in New York during the 1940s. The pictures in this gallery testify to the talent on hand both musical and photographic at those all-night parties. Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Cozy Cole, Gene Krupa . . . like the jam sessions themselves, the names of the greats who played at Mili’s studio go on and on and on.

Born in Albania, raised in Romania, Mili emigrated to America to study electrical engineering at M.I.T. Inspired, in 1937, by M.I.T.’s Harold Edgerton’s development of the stroboscopic light, Mili went on to experiment with strobes, film speeds, unusual compositions and subjects in short, he applied his prodigious technical prowess and dedicated his artist’s eye to new ways of seeing.

Time, he realized, “could truly be made to stand still. Texture could be retained despite sudden violent movement.” These insights, combined with his love of jazz, helped him create some of the most intimate, unique portraits of jazz legends ever made by any photographer all in what LIFE magazine called his “smoky sweaty barn of a studio.”

As for the jam sessions themselves, LIFE (helpfully) wrote in its Oct. 11, 1943, issue in which some of these pictures first appeared:

A jam session is an informal gathering of temperamentally congenial jazz musicians who play unrehearsed and unscored music for their own enjoyment. It usually takes place in the early morning hours after the participants have finished their regular evening’s work with large bands. . . . It represents the discarding of the shackles imposed by working with a band that plays You’ll Never Know and All or Nothing at All in the same unimaginative arrangements night after night. It represents the final freedom of musical expression.

Recently such a session took place in the New York studio of LIFE photographer Gjon Mili. From shortly before 9 p.m. until after 4 a.m. some of the most distinguished talents in jazz performed for an audience which, in the smoky sweaty barn of a studio, derived an alert, fascinated, almost frenzied enjoyment from what it heard.

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

Duke Ellington, New York, 1943.

Duke Ellington, New York, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Pearl Primus performs to "Honeysuckle Rose" as played by an all-star group consisting of Teddy Wilson (piano), Lou McGarity (trombone), Sidney Catlett (drums), Bobby Hackett (trumpet) and John Simons (bass).

Pearl Primus performed to “Honeysuckle Rose” as played by an all-star group consisting of Teddy Wilson (piano), Lou McGarity (trombone), Sidney Catlett (drums), Bobby Hackett (trumpet) and John Simons (bass).

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Billie Holiday sings her standard, "Fine and Mellow," accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano and others, New York, 1943.

Billie Holiday sang her standard, “Fine and Mellow,” accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano and others, New York, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Duke Ellington at the piano as Dizzy Gillespie (seated behind Ellington) and others swing, 1943.

Duke Ellington was at the piano as Dizzy Gillespie (seated behind Ellington) and others accompanied, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, 1943.

Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Edward Kennedy ('Duke') Ellington, who leads what is unquestionably the world's most exciting dance band, plays 'Don't Get Around Much Any More,' his own current best-selling composition.

Duke Ellington played ‘Don’t Get Around Much Any More,’ which was his best-selling composition of the moment.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Duke Ellington, 1943.

Duke Ellington, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Vocalist Lee Wiley sings, accompanied by her husband, pianist Jess Stacy, with Eddie Condon on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and the great Cozy Cole on drums, 1943.

Vocalist Lee Wiley sang, accompanied by her husband, pianist Jess Stacy, with Eddie Condon on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and Cozy Cole on drums, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Vocalist Lee Wiley sings, accompanied by her husband, pianist Jess Stacy, with Eddie Condon on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and the great Cozy Cole on drums, 1943.

Vocalist Lee Wiley sang, accompanied by her husband, pianist Jess Stacy, with Eddie Condon on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and Cozy Cole on drums, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Lee Wiley, 1943.

Lee Wiley, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Conde Nast president Iva Patcevitch (in striped suit), Vogue editor-in-chief Edna Woolman Chase (far right, in hat) and other media types hang out at Gjon Mili's studio during a jam session, 1943.

Conde Nast president Iva Patcevitch (in striped suit), Vogue editor-in-chief Edna Woolman Chase (far right, in hat) and other media types hung out at Gjon Mili’s studio during a jam session, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Unidentified jazz musicians, New York, 1943.

Unidentified jazz musicians, New York, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Josh White sings and plays on guitar his 'Hard Time Blues.'

Josh White sung and played on guitar his ‘Hard Time Blues.’

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“Milfred ‘Miff” Mole took a chorus on ‘Royal Garden Blues,’ a jam session perennial. Mole, at 45, was the acknowledged father of a hot trombone style that was widely copied.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

J.C. Heard Orchestra, 1943.

J.C. Heard Orchestra, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Duke Ellington and friends, 1943.

Duke Ellington and friends, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jazz Jam Sessions, 1943

The legendary Billie Holiday sung ‘Fine and Mellow,’ a blues recorded for the Commodore Label.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Franz Jackson on saxophone, accompanied by James P. Johnson at piano, Wilbur De Paris on trombone, Irving Fazola (fifth from left) on clarinet, Al Mott on bass and Cozy Cole on drums.

Franz Jackson played saxophone, accompanied by James P. Johnson at piano, Wilbur De Paris on trombone, Irving Fazola (fifth from left) on clarinet, Al Mott on bass and Cozy Cole on drums.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Gene Krupa.

Gene Krupa.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Eddie Heywood's hands, 1943.

Eddie Heywood’s hands, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

An unidentified bass player's fingers, 1943.

An unidentified bass player’s fingers, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Count Basie, Lester Young, and other jazz greats at Gjon Mili's Studio in New York, 1943.

Count Basie, Lester Young, and other jazz greats at Gjon Mili’s Studio in New York, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

James P. Johnson (piano) and friends, 1943.

James P. Johnson (piano) and friends, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jazz jam session, including Lester Young (standing, in hat) on saxophone and Count Basie at the piano, 1943.

This jam session included Lester Young (standing, in hat) on saxophone and Count Basie at the piano, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

James P. Johnson, 1943.

James P. Johnson, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cozy Cole on drums, Al Mott on bass and Irving Fazola, taking a break from his clarinet, 1943.

Cozy Cole on drums, Al Mott on bass and Irving Fazola, taking a break from his clarinet, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The one and only Roy Eldridge plays trumpet during drummer Gene Krupa's jam session at Gjon Mili's studio, 1940s.

Roy Eldridge played trumpet during drummer Gene Krupa’s jam session at Gjon Mili’s studio, 1940s.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Mary Lou Williams (who arranged for Ellington's band) jams in Gjon Mili's studio, New York, 1943.

Mary Lou Williams (who arranged for Ellington’s band) jammed in Gjon Mili’s studio, New York, 1943.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Gjon Mili's cat Blackie steps gingerly among empty glasses left on top of the piano after an all-night jam session at his (Mili's, not the cat's) studio, 1942.

Gjon Mili’s cat Blackie stepped gingerly among empty glasses left on top of the piano after an all-night jam session at his (Mili’s, not the cat’s) studio, 1942.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The next morning, Gjon Mili's studio was littered with cigaret stubs, broken glasses, spilled liquor. Many jazz musicians eat scrambled eggs and benzedrine for breakfast.

On a morning after, Gjon Mili’s studio was littered with cigaret stubs, broken glasses, spilled liquor.

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Unhappy Returns: Portraits of Miserable, Anxious Taxpayers

We all know the feeling: a gnawing anxiety that somewhere out there, an IRS auditor is reaching for our file. But perhaps we can draw some very small solace from the realization that this painfully specific, tax-related misery is nothing new.

LIFE’s Alfred Eisenstaedt captured the most dreaded rite of spring filing tax returns seven decades ago, and except for the style of clothes on display, these pictures might have been taken last April, or the April before that. Here, more than a century after the enactment of the income tax (Feb. 3, 1913), LIFE.com commemorates the grim, unavoidable task of paying one’s national dues with a gallery of photographs.

Eisenstaedt’s candid shots of taxpayers, taken with a telephoto lens from around 40 feet away from his subjects at an IRS information center in 1944 New York, reaffirm the old adage that, even when it comes to taxes, the more things change, the more they remain for better or for worse very much the same.

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Taxes 1944

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A priest at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944.

Internal Revenue information center, New York, 1944.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy: The First Lady Wows India in 1962

“If she commanded fewer crowds than previous, official tourists like President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth,” LIFE wrote of Jackie Kennedy’s 1962 goodwill tour of India, “she [nevertheless] conducted herself magnificently.”

Kennedy—all of 32 years old and, a full year into her husband’s administration, arguably the most famous woman in the world—”wore a perpetual grin and a dazzling collection of clothes that were both perfect and simple” during her March 12-21 visit. But, as correspondent Anne Chamberlin reported, she “was not slavishly given over to Kennedy ways. One morning when a lot of Kennedys would have been up to see the sun rise over Delhi or swim 80 laps in the pool, Jackie slept late.”

While in India the stylish First Lady also had an effect on the “traditionally dowdy female press corps,” LIFE wrote: “Two lady reporters now carry, in addition to typewriters, hatboxes containing wigs, and three take notes while wearing little white gloves.”

Here, LIFE.com offers a series of photographs—many of which never ran in LIFE—that capture a young woman, wife, mother and fashion icon-in-the-making (“Her every seam has been the subject of hypnotized attention from the streets of Delhi to the Khyber Pass,” Chamberlin wrote) navigating with evident ease the high-stakes, high-stress worlds of diplomacy and international relations.

For her part, meanwhile, it was clear that Mrs. Kennedy took something of India with her when she left.

“It’s been a dream,” Jackie said of her trip.

In a sea of Indian saris, Mrs. Kennedy and Rajasthan's governor move through Jaipur airport. On her forehead is the Rajasthani mark of luck and respect, the tika. Her silver-encased coconut also honors the occasion

In a sea of Indian saris, Mrs. Kennedy and Rajasthan’s governor moved through Jaipur airport. On her forehead was the Rajasthani mark of luck and respect, the tika. Her silver-encased coconut also honored the occasion.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Indira Gandhi with Jackie Kennedy in 1962.

Indira Gandhi with Jackie Kennedy in 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The First Lady Jackie Kennedy and sister Lee Radziwill in India in 1962. LIFE estimated Jackie wore 22 different outfits during her trip; on one day in New Delhi she changed five times.

The First Lady Jackie Kennedy and sister Lee Radziwill in India in 1962. LIFE estimated that Jackie wore 22 different outfits during her trip; on one day in New Delhi she changed five times.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

On a side trip to a textile showroom in Banaras, Mrs. Kennedy wore a sleeveless pink unbelted and high-waisted sheath of linen-like silk by New York designer Donald Brooks. Covered buttons up the side.

On a side trip to a textile showroom in Banaras, Jackie Kennedy wore a sleeveless pink unbelted and high-waisted sheath of linen-like silk by New York designer Donald Brooks.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

As day followed vivid day, India's magic began to work on Mrs. Kennedy and   in a change from the first days of the trip   she became relaxed and easy

As day followed vivid day, India’s magic began to work on Jackie Kennedy and — in a change from the early stages of the trip —she became relaxed and easy.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy during her visit to India in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy during her visit to India in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

First Lady Jackie Kennedy, center, in a white coat and hat walks with Ambassador John Galbrath, right, in India in 1962.

First Lady Jackie Kennedy, center, walked with Ambassador John Galbrath, right, in India in 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The esthetic summit of Jackie's trip was her visit to the Taj Mahal. She saw it twice  once in the morning, as here, and again by moonlight, when she returned to stand in awe before its pale splendor.

The esthetic summit of Jackie’s trip was her visit to the Taj Mahal. She saw it twice —once in the morning, as here, and again by moonlight, when she returned to stand in awe before its pale splendor.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy presents a cup to Princess Gayatri Devi, right, and members of a polo team in Jaipur in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy presented a cup to Princess Gayatri Devi, right, and members of a polo team in Jaipur.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy attends a formal event in India in 1962.

Jackie Kennedy attended a formal event in India in 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

At Jaipur, sitting in an elaborately carved howdah, Jackie and her sister [Lee Radziwill] ride on a trumpeting female elephant, newly painted and spangled for the show.

At Jaipur, sitting in an elaborately carved howdah, Jackie and her sister, Lee Radziwill, rode on a trumpeting female elephant, newly painted and spangled for the show.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wears a pink dress and three-stranded pearls during her visit with Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru, left, and Ambassador to the U.S., Braj Kumar Nehru.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy visited with Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru, left, and Ambassador to the U.S., Braj Kumar Nehru.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In fitted silk apricot dress, Jackie walks through crowds at Udaipur, where she was given a noisy reception." She walks with the Maharaj of Mewar, left, during her visit in 1962.

Jackie walked with the Maharaj of Mewar.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jacqueline Kennedy

In a fitted silk apricot dress, Jackie walked through crowds at Udaipur, where she was given a noisy reception.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Mrs. Kennedy, center, and Mrs. Indira Gandhi, third from left, attend a sporting event on the First Lady's tour of India in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy, center, and Indira Gandhi, third from left, attended a sporting event on the First Lady’s tour of India in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Mrs. Kennedy smiles with the U.S. ambassador to India, John Kenneth Galbraith, in 1962.

Jackie Kennedy smiled with the U.S. ambassador to India, John Kenneth Galbraith, in 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy during her tour of India in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy during her tour of India in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy visits children in a hospital during her tour of India in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy visited children in a hospital during her tour of India in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

First Lady Jackie Kennedy is greeted by Gov. Gurmukh Nihal Singh, center, at Jaipur Airport in March 1962.

First Lady Jackie Kennedy was greeted by Gov. Gurmukh Nihal Singh, center, at Jaipur Airport in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

On a carved wooden swing in the prime minister's garden, the First Lady sits and talks with Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter and the former president of the ruling Congress party of India.

On a carved wooden swing in the prime minister’s garden, the First Lady sat and talked with Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter and the former president of the ruling Congress party of India.”

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie walks with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the garden of his home in 1962.

Jackie walked with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the garden of his home in 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy on her tour of India in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy during her tour of India in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

On veranda outside her room at the residence of Prime Minister Nehru, Mrs. Kennedy turns her miniature camera on photographers. Beside her, Ambassador Galbraith busies himself with his notes

On a veranda outside her room at the residence of Prime Minister Nehru, Jackie Kennedy turned her miniature camera on photographers. Beside her, Ambassador Galbraith busied himself with his notes.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in India in 1962.

Jackie Kennedy with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in India in 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

First Lady Jackie Kennedy, right, in blue sheath dress and white gloves watches a polo match with Maharani of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, on a visit to India in March 1962.

First Lady Jackie Kennedy, right, in a blue sheath dress and white gloves, watched a polo match with Maharani of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, on a visit to India in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

At a glittering state luncheon for her in New Delhi, the First Lady, wearing a green Oleg Cassini sheath, sits at the right hand of Prime Minister Nehru.

At a glittering state luncheon for her in New Delhi, the First Lady, wearing a green Oleg Cassini sheath, sat at the right hand of Prime Minister Nehru.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jackie Kennedy at the Taj Mahal in March 1962.

Jackie Kennedy at the Taj Mahal in March 1962.

Art Rickerby The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Fair Question?: When LIFE Tested the 1940 Census

Age? Income? Mortgage? Toilet? Bathtub? Radio?

Thus did LIFE magazine kick off a lengthy article in its March 18, 1940, issue featuring photographs from a “test census” in Indiana’s St. Joseph and Marshall counties in the summer of 1939 the purpose of which, LIFE wrote, was “to see whether any of the new questions proposed for the 1940 census were too difficult or too objectionable to answer.”

“On April 1,” the March 1940 article explained, “an army of some 120,000 census takers will march forth to ring doorbells and ask questions [how old residents are, how much their house is worth, how far they got in school, how much family members earn at their jobs, etc.] about every home and human in the land. Though the census has been taken every 10 years since 1790, last week it was front-page news. In the Senate, in letters-to-the-editors and letters-to-Congressmen rose a chorus of outraged squawks led by Republican senator Charles W. Tobey of New Hampshire against ‘bureaucratic snooping’ represented by some of the 1940 questions, particularly those about income and mortgages. Indignant clubwomen threatened to overflow the jails, and the New York Legislature petitioned Congress to withdraw the questions. Sniffed President Roosevelt: ‘Politics!'”

“It is a significant comment,” LIFE told its readers, “on the current Republican-led rebellion against census ‘snoopery’ that only about one Indiana citizen in 50 objected at all to answering any of the questions, and these were brought around by a little persuasive explanation.”

1940 census: Test in Indiana

A “test census” in South Bend, Indiana, summer 1939, ahead of the full, national census undertaken in spring 1940.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

A “test census” taker talks with a housewife on the porch of her home, South Bend, Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

“Test census” taker talks with South Bend, Ind., mayor Jesse I. Pavey and his family, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

Census taker Seymour Weiss (fourth from left) questions Mrs. George B. Townsend (center), Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

Grocery owner Oscar Banfi (center) talks with a “test census” taker, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

A “test census” in South Bend, Indiana, summer 1939, ahead of the full, national census undertaken in spring 1940.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

“Test census” taker talks with Mrs. Clarence Schultz and her children, Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

Test census in Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

Test census in Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

Test census in Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

1940 census: Test in Indiana

“Test Census” taker talks with nurses Louise Bergland (left) and Evelyn McGuinness (center) at Epworth Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, 1939.

Hansel Mieth Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

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