Sunny Florida, 1947

Photographer Allan Grant

Performers take leaps of faith all the time―so why not off a pier? In this snapshot, comedian and Broadway actor Danny Kaye, best known for his movies White Christmas and Up in Arms, holds onto friend and fellow nightclub performer Juanita Hughey as they plunge into Florida waters.

Allan Grant had a knack for good timing. As a teenager, he captured the Hindenburg airship in flight just before it exploded. On assignments for LIFE, he was the last person to photograph Marilyn Monroe before her death and the first to get images of Marina Oswald after the assassination of President Kennedy. For Grant, photography was a way to “stop moments in time and have them forever.” ―Kristen Shelton

NextSanta Monica, 1950