Some moments are beautiful because they are quiet, like the glimpses of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn before they went on stage together at the Oscars. Or the photo of Sammy Davis Jr. eating spaghetti and watching the news on television. Or burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee sitting at a typewriter while in costume before she performs one of her strip-teases.

Or consider the photo of the cast of The Honeymooners all sitting and waiting, Jackie Gleason with his ankle on ice. It’s funny to see the cast of this all-time great sitcom together without a smile on their faces, or any expression at all, really. Each of these photos their own way feels like a glimpse of reality.

Some photos offer curious juxtapositions, such as Johnny Cash, dressed in his trademark black, coming backstage at production of the musical Annie. Same with Frank Zappa and his family posing with the cast of Broadway show Cats. You can also find unexpected couplings, such as Lucille Ball visiting with Shirley Maclaine in her dressing room, or James Dean helping actress Geraldine Page with her hair.

Also intriguing are the images of stars just before they go onstage. This gallery includes shots of Alec Guinness and Albert Finney before they have leapt into character, and singer Paul Anka stretched out across two beds, They are about to cross the bridge from private person to public performer, and give their audiences the performances they came for.

Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly backstage at the RKO Pantages Theatre during the 28th Annual Academy Awards, 1956.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Award presenters Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly waiting backstage at the RKO Pantages Theatre during the 28th Annual Academy Awards, 1956.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Sammy Davis Jr. ate spaghetti in his backstage dressing room while watching The Huntley-Brinkley Report news show in 1964. “My only contact with reality,” he told LIFE. “Whatever I’m doing, I stop to watch these guys.” Reflected in the mirror: LIFE photographer Leonard McCombe.

Leonard McCombe/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Paul Anka, backstage at the Copacabana, 1960.

Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Albert Finney backstage during a production of the play Luther, 1963.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Elvis Presley tenderly kissing the cheek of a female admirer backstage before his concert, 1956.

Robert W. Kelley The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ray Charles backstage talking with Eric Burdon and the Animals, 1966.

Bill Ray/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Shirley MacLaine preparing to perform the TV show “Shower of Stars” in 1955.

Loomis Dean The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Shirley MacLaine and Lucille Ball backstage during a benefit show for victims of the devastating Isewan typhoon, 1959.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Marcia Diamond (right) watched as her husband Neil clipped their son Jessie’s nails in a dressing room at the Winter Garden Theatre, 1972.

MICHAEL MAUNEY/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee writes in her dressing room in Memphis, Tenn., 1949.

George Skadding/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Bobby Darin in his dressing room, 1959.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Dustin Hoffman in his dressing room for the play (which he also directed), Jimmy Shine, New York City, 1969.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Mae West backstage at the Hotel Sahara with one of the co-stars of her Las Vegas show, 1954.

Loomis Dean/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

James Dean with the great Geraldine Page in her dressing room, New York City, 1955.

Dennis Stock—Magnum

Betty Grable, in her dressing room at 20th Century-Fox studios, pulled on black mesh stockings for a scene that would feature her famous legs, 1943.

Walter Sanders The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Josephine Baker’s four-foot chignon is wound up into three tiers of buns in her dressing room, 1951.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Honeymooners cast—Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Andrews—in 1954.

Leonard McCombe The LIFE Images Collection/Shutterstock

Chorus girls watching the Ed Sullivan television show at the Roxy Movie Theater dressing room, 1958.

Peter Stackpole/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness put on theatrical makeup at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, 1953.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy relaxing in dressing room, waiting for show to begin, 1942.

John Florea/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Movie director Vincent Sherman (right) with actor Paul Newman in dressing room reviewing lines for the legal drama The Young Philadelphians, 1958.

Leonard McCombe/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Johnny Cash, with stepson John (right), posed with Annie star Alison Smith and Sandy at a Broadway production of musical, 1981.

DMI/Shutterstock

(Center, left-to-right) Musician Frank Zappa and children Moon Unit and Dweezil visited backstage at the Broadway musical Cats in 1983; the cast included actress Betty Buckley (center, bottom).

David Mcgough/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The post Insider’s View: LIFE Goes Backstage with the Stars appeared first on LIFE.

While Guinness seemed to exude wisdom and warmth so naturally in the role of Obi-Wan, he always made his actor’s work look easy, no matter what sort of character he was playing. His broader career was defined by his ability to disappear into a role. He was described as “acting’s preeminent master of disguise” by Turner Classic Movies, and fellow British actor Peter Ustinov once called Guinness “the outstanding poet of anonymity.”

LIFE ran its first feature on Guinness to celebrate his reputation-making performance—or should we say, performances—in the dark comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, where he played nine members of the same family. The story is about an avaricious man who, ninth in line for a dukedom, kills those ahead of him in the line of succession one-by-one. LIFE praised Guinness for playing “aristocrats of all ages, many professions, both sexes—and also was the model for the effigy of a deceased ancestor.”

Guinness continued to demonstrate rare versatility throughout his career, starring in classic comedies such as The Lavender Hill Mob (1952) as well as dramatic epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). LIFE captured memorable images of Guinness when photographer Peter Stackpole visited him on the set of Our Man in Havana (1957), an adaptation of a Graham Greene novel. LIFE photographers were also there when Guinness performed on stage at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, and gave another stage performance in Under the Sycamore Tree.

An unusual number of LIFE’s pictures feature Guinness backstage, putting on makeup. That emphasis tells much about reputation as the ultimate chameleon. He was an actor who could make himself at home in any costume, including those famous Jedi robes.

Alec Guinness, wearing a toupee, on a movie lot, 1951.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIFE pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness earned early notice for his portrayal of Fagin in Oliver Twist, 1948.

Nat Farbman/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness as an army general, one of the nine roles he played in Kind Hearts and Coronets, 1949.

Mark Kauffman/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness as Lady Agatha,, one of the nine roles he played in the movie Kind Hearts and Coronets, 1949.

.Mark Kauffman/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness in one of his nine roles in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).

Mark Kauffman/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness in one of his nine roles in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Mark Kauffman/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness taking off his makeup during a production of Under the Sycamores, 1952.

Cornell Capa/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness put on makeup in his dressing room for the play Under the Sycamore Tree, 1952.

Cornell Capa/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness put on makeup in his dressing room for the play Under the Sycamore Tree, 1952.

Cornell Capa/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Actor Alec Guinness put on makeup in his dressing room for the play Under the Sycamore Tree, 1952.

Cornell Capa/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness relaxed in his dressing room during break from his appearance in Under the Sycamore Tree, 1952.

Cornell Capa/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness in an art gallery, 1952.

Cornell Capa/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness sat alone by a lake in a park, 1952.

Cornell Capa/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness put on theatrical makeup at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, 1953.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness put on theatrical makeup at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, 1953.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness during rehearsals at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, 1953.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Actor Alec Guinness played Richard III at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, 1953.

Pater Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

(Seated L-R) Unidentified, Alec Guinness, Maureen O’Hara, Ernie Kovacs and unidentified; (Standing L-R) Noel Coward and Graham Greene on set of ‘Our Man in Havana,’ 1959.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness and actress Maureen O’Hara on the set of Our Man in Havana, 1959.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Actor/playwright Noel Coward (right) chatted with author Ernest Hemingway (left) and actor Alec Guinness on the set location at the author’s favorite hangout, Sloppy Joe’s Bar, during a break in filming the movie Our Man in Havana, 1959.

Peter Stackpole/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

Alec Guinness (center left) arrived for funeral service for actor Gary Cooper, 1961.

Grey Villet/LIFE Pictures/Shutterstock

The post More Than Obi-Wan: Alec Guinness Before Star Wars appeared first on LIFE.