In the 1950s, when the studio system broke down and stars became just like us only prettier, Hurrell's style fell out of fashion. Actors were demystified and desexualized. Technology changed, as photographers adopted 35-millimeter film and stopped retouching their shots. "When we stopped using those 8 x 10 cameras, the glamour was gone," said Hurrell, who turned to shooting stills of TV shows.

In the late 1970s, he began once again to photograph rising stars in his characteristic style. While the techniques remained similar, glamour had changed. The audience was media-savvy, and stars could no longer avert their gaze. (Compare Sharon Stone's open smile to Jean Harlow's.) Playfulness and irony, not seriousness and reserve, were marks of sophistication. Those changes restored glamour's appeal. When people no longer believe that a photograph tells the simple truth, they'll accept honest artifice.