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I Colorized 30 Celebrities From The Golden Age Of Hollywood Using AI And It Took A Few Seconds
Nowadays, photographers use black and white photography to convey emotion by playing with tones, contrasts, and shadows, but it wasn't always an option to choose. Color photography brings photographs to life and reveals every little vivid detail that creates a compelling image. Photographers from the past could only convey the world they were living in in black and grey. Have you ever wondered what these photographers saw that very moment? I have.
Digital artists spend hours trying to recreate old black and white photographs in realistic colors with impressive results—just check the incredible work of colorists Marina Amaral, Andrea Erali, or Olga Shirinina previously featured on Bored Panda. It's intricate and time-consuming work that requires not only great editing skills, but a lot of knowledge and research of historical context to color the image as accurately as possible.
I wondered if, with the fast advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning, this scrupulous job can be done by technology as well as by humans. Well, only time can tell, but it seems like the future is near. I have found this image colorization API called DeepAI that allows you to colorize black and white photos and videos in a few seconds.
I tested the program with these iconic B&W images of celebrities from the golden age of Hollywood. The result is far from perfect and in most cases needs to be at least touched up in Photoshop or other programs, but I was surprised by how much a deep learning model can achieve!
More info: deepai.org
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Marilyn Monroe
HappyPig1723 5 years ago
She looks so happy! Not enough people actually appreciate her acting skills and her boss-lady'ness. (I know that isn't a word)
I love all arts and entertainment. I have been drawing pencil portraits since I was a child, and later, I discovered digital art and started participating in several Photoshop contests. But I can't wait to see what technology can offer—that's why I explore what's new in the industry and try it myself. I have recently played with AI to see what the kids of famous ex-couples would have looked like.
I also regularly post articles on Bored Panda about the most amazing artists I come across, both world-class and aspiring, as well as animal stories. Putting their art in the spotlight makes me proud and inspired. Check out some of the recent posts I made here, here, and here.
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#2
Katharine Hepburn
Mustn’t eat the mango 🥭 5 years ago
First woman wear pants when it was illegal, so proud of her
Santa Claus 5 years ago (edited)
Actually, Katharine Hepburn was NOT the first to wear trousers, she was born in 1907, and was gained fame in the 1930s, years after the suffragette movement started. Trousers were worn by quite a few women already. We do not actually know who the first female who wore trousers was, since many girls lied to join the army, received hand me downs, etc. But yes, beautiul photo
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Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 5 years ago
Can you imagine curling up in that chair by the fire reading a good book on a cold winter night???
Crochet lady 5 years ago
I was born in 1963 so was in elementary school in the 70's and my sister and I were the only two girls in the entire school who wore dresses everyday. It wasn't by choice, my father was 20 years older than my mom and was brown in 1912 and was extremely old fashioned and strict. All the boys in my family were forced to endure buzz cuts like they were in the military and my sister and I were NOT allowed to cut our hair without his permission, get our ears pierced or wear pants. Girls should "look like girls". I remember being forced to get on the monkey bars by my gym teacher and being horrified when all the boys saw my underwear. I was sobbing, told the teacher why and he said sweetie put shorts on under your dress. My father was very controlling and abusive. Hate to say it but there was a sense of relief when he died when I was 9. We ALL rebelled. Brothers grew their hair long, I cut mine off into a pixie cut, got my ears pierced & began wearing pants.
JamezyJamez 5 years ago
I recommend watching her in-depth interview with talk show host D**k Cavett in 1973. She rarely sat for interviews and you can see why - she was a private person, and particular.
#3
Ingrid Bergman
Justin G 5 years ago (edited)
That globe doesn’t even have the countries on it ... it just says AFRICA
Cathy Jo Baker 5 years ago
Ingrid Bergman... wow! Highly recommend the Hitchcock thriller Notorious starring her, Cary Grant and Claude Rains. Great flick!
#4
Audrey Hepburn
Dilly Millandry 5 years ago
WHAT? No, seriously, she was a brunette. Nothing about her looks like a redhead. Always described as having brown hair. Not a single photo of her with any other colour - as a child, a mother, when not acting, nothing.
Load More Replies... #5
Lucille Ball
Danni 5 years ago
she's so beautiful but what's going on with her feet? is that just a glitch in the photo or are they that damaged from walking in high heels? what these wonderful talented women had to suffer.
Crochet lady 5 years ago
All the women in my family have them. I had always thought it was from shoes even though my mom and never really wore heels much but my sister did. But when both of my brother's daughters were still really young, around 6/7 they both started to develop bunions. It only seemed to affect the women in our family so we assumed it was the type of shoes we worse but when I had bunion surgery my doc told me it can definitely be a family trait.
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Susan Egan 5 years ago
My mothers feet look similar although she didn't have bunions. She rarely wore heels either but she never went barefoot. Even sandals enclosed her feet. My sister and I have very large wide feet. Given the choice we are barefoot, have been since we are young. I think people that wear shoes all the time are undergoing a vague form or footbinding. Mens shoes are more boxy so their toes don't end up quite so smooshed.
#6
Kim Novak
Crochet lady 5 years ago
She and Lena Horne really resemble one another, just Lena was a couple of (beautiful) shades darker. Both beautiful women!
#7
Elizabeth Taylor
More about Elizabeth Taylor and her beautiful eyes.
Crochet lady 5 years ago
You always think if I were rich and beautiful life would be so much easier but I never felt like she was ever a very happy person. Maybe I'm wrong but she always seemed to be haunted by one thing after another. What a beautiful woman though.
#8
Elvis Presley
Cathy Jo Baker 5 years ago
He wasn't just rock n' roll... I saw Love Me Tender recently... took me totally by surprise
#9
Sophia Loren
Crochet lady 5 years ago
When I think of the ideal sex kitten I always think of her. She always seemed so confident and comfortable with her beauty, she really owned it and didn't shy away from it. Would love to know what it feels like to have that confidence, I've never had a shred.
#10
Judy Garland
Sofia Cohn 5 years ago
What a pretty colored dress! It's a shame you couldn't see the color in the first.
5 years ago
I feel like she looks like millie bobbie brown. or, millie bobbie brown looks like her :) anyone else agree?
Dilly Millandry 5 years ago
I agree - a tragedy that the film studio treated her so badly and made her feel unattractive.
Load More Replies... Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 5 years ago
And does all this make you think of wizard of oz? Black and white to color?
Load More Replies... #11
Shirley Temple
Catherine Richardson 5 years ago
She was such a talented child the government investigated her because they thought she was secretly a midget pretending to be a child.
Capelli rosa e patate 5 years ago
🎶If I had one wish to make, here is the wish I would choose: I’d want an old straw hat, a pair of overalls, and a worn out pair of shooooes! 🎶😂 She was such a treasure
#12
Jayne Mansfield
#13
Charlie Chaplin And Virginia Cherrill
Rachel Agge 5 years ago
Virginia was married to Cary Grant - husband #2. She was married 4 times. Chaplin was a serial philander and had statutory rape charges brought up against him many times. Usually it was settled 'out of court'.
Dilly Millandry 5 years ago
Do a bit more research regarding those allegations.
Load More Replies... #14
Judy Garland And Gene Kelly
Candace Fitzpatrick 5 years ago
They became great friends after starring in a bunch of movies together, during which time he was married to Betsy Blair.
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Crochet lady 5 years ago
I had THE biggest crush on him when I was a kid! Watched lots of old black and white movies growing up and I always thought he was so smooth and charming.
Candace Fitzpatrick 5 years ago
I just love him! To me, the most handsome man ever in Hollywood
JamezyJamez 5 years ago
I read from many sources that Kelly was an ass hat. He was especially cruel to Debby Reynolds on the set of Singin in the Rain. Welp.
#15
James Dean
HappyPig1723 5 years ago
Giving me country vibes. (If he was a country person don't judge me I'm only 12)
KombatBunni 5 years ago
That was for his movie “Giant” :) He was more of a city boy :)
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Crochet lady 5 years ago
I never felt he was as handsome as others make him out to be. I know to each his own but I feel like he's the one movie star I just didn't get all the fuss over.
#16
Grace Kelly
Mosheh Wolf 5 years ago
To be exact, she was a princess (as well as a duchess a few times over, and 130 + other titles)...
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Alex Bailey 5 years ago
She wore this dress in the excellent film Rear Window. Worth watching - the music is developed throughout to the love story between the two main characters and it's very cleverly done.
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Violet Van Valkenburg 5 years ago
does she look like clara afton to you? (five nights at freddys sister location)
#17
Frank Sinatra
#18
Rita Hayworth
#19
Marlon Brando
BeazleBug 5 years ago
Nice to see the real Brando. Everyone seems to only remember fat Brando.
Kathryn Baylis 5 years ago
Yes, there was a time when he was just beautiful. Watch “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951). Though Stanley Kowalski is an abusive asshole, Marlon Brando is still gorgeous. His look is part of the reason why he was asked to play the role—-which he originated on Broadway—-in the movie.
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#20
Bette Davis
Rachel Agge 5 years ago
Lipstick was extremely dark so it would contrast well with the camera.
Nonie Freure 5 years ago
If she only knew she would come to say Old age ain't no place for sissies!
#21
Julie Andrews
#22
Marlene Dietrich
izzy.kitsune 5 years ago
both versions are nice, but it feels like the actual mood shifts in the transition i love it
Nechiti Octavian 3 years ago
This one is colorized by me a few years ago. No AI. Just manual photoshop. Check out the color patterns on the leaves, they match perfectly to mine: https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/4ra1y7/marlene_dietrich_1930s_colorized_by_me/
#23
Clark Gable
Nonie Freure 5 years ago
And infamously known for his foul breath from full set of dentures (at age 32)
#24
Shirley Maclaine
Crochet lady 5 years ago
If you've never seen her movie The Apartment, do yourself a favor, she's fantastic in it! Such a fun movie.
#25
Ava Gardner
#26
Charlton Heston
Cathy Jo Baker 5 years ago
Classy, classy, classy! He came to Indiana to visit the Lew Wallace Study and Museum (where Wallace wrote Ben-Hur) many years ago! (I had to mention that because the pic seems to be from that movie. Movie is good (the 1959 one) but the novel is wonderful!
#27
Betty Grable
Crochet lady 5 years ago
Wow, she's gorgeous. She has a very modern look. I could see her in 2020 easily.
#28
Fred Astaire
Demongrrrrl 5 years ago
Everyone says he was such an amazing dancer, but Ginger Rogers did everything he did, in heels and backwards.
Marlene Ricker 5 years ago
She wouldn't have looked as good doing it all by herself.
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Savannah Mcquillan 5 years ago
Dang what do I know him from, is he on Andy Griffith or matlock?? Ugh this is gonna drive me insane
Kimberly Greenock 5 years ago
You're thinking of Don Knotts. They look similar in this pic.
Load More Replies... #29
Greta Garbo And George Brent
#30
Gary Cooper And Helen Hayes
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Dotzilla _( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/ 5 years ago
I went to the website! So cool! Here is one I did judy-5fd26...1b2fe5.jpg 
¡ Rachel ¡ 5 years ago
Thank you for sharing. I just converted so old photos of my dad and they came out brilliantly.
Mike Pence's Fly 5 years ago (edited)
I was wondering what the link to the site was? Much appreciated. Very cool, I want to try it out! Edit: Realized it was at the top, very cool anyway!
Rannveig Ess 5 years ago
Tried it twice, with pictures of my great-great-grandmother . Just made her face neon pink. : /
quarantine panda 5 years ago
the fact that the top two both are the only ones with dogs tells me something...
Maggie Smith 5 years ago
Many of the b/w pictures look better to me because they show greater detail. Color makes some of the pictures appear almost fuzzy. I learned this many many years ago.
A Dumbo Octopus 5 years ago
Thank you for telling us the website the AI came from! Most people who make similar articles never mention the website and claim the AI's work as their own. Thank goodness this isn't one of those times. :)
Dotzilla _( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/ 5 years ago
I went to the website! So cool! Here is one I did judy-5fd26...1b2fe5.jpg
¡ Rachel ¡ 5 years ago
Thank you for sharing. I just converted so old photos of my dad and they came out brilliantly.
Mike Pence's Fly 5 years ago (edited)
I was wondering what the link to the site was? Much appreciated. Very cool, I want to try it out! Edit: Realized it was at the top, very cool anyway!
Rannveig Ess 5 years ago
Tried it twice, with pictures of my great-great-grandmother . Just made her face neon pink. : /
quarantine panda 5 years ago
the fact that the top two both are the only ones with dogs tells me something...
Maggie Smith 5 years ago
Many of the b/w pictures look better to me because they show greater detail. Color makes some of the pictures appear almost fuzzy. I learned this many many years ago.
A Dumbo Octopus 5 years ago
Thank you for telling us the website the AI came from! Most people who make similar articles never mention the website and claim the AI's work as their own. Thank goodness this isn't one of those times. :)
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