Discover the colorized mugshots of notorious criminals, petty thieves, and David Bowie.
Like this gallery?
Share it:
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
1 of 49
Al Pacino
Arrested for possession of a concealed weapon.
1961.Woonsocket Police
2 of 49
Albert Fish
American serial killer, child rapist, and cannibal.
1903.Wikimedia Commons
3 of 49
Bugsy Siegal
A Jewish-American mobster.
1928.New York Police Department
4 of 49
Charles Manson
Cult leader and career criminal.
1968.Wikimedia Commons
5 of 49
Clyde Barrow
An early mugshot of Clyde Barrow of Bonnie And Clyde infamy.
Circa 1930.Dallas Police Department
6 of 49
David Berkowitz
Notorious serial killer known as the "Son of Sam."
1977.Hulton Archive/Getty Images
7 of 49
Frank Sinatra
Charged with the outdated crime of "seduction" for allegedly convincing an unmarried woman of good repute to engage in an "inappropriate" encounter.
1938.Bergen County Sheriff's Office
8 of 49
Hermann Göring
Hitler's right-hand man and the commander of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring was captured by the Allies in 1945 and sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials a year later - a sentence he escaped by ingesting cyanide in his cell 2 hours before his scheduled execution.Wikimedia Commons
9 of 49
Jack Ruby
A nightclub owner who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy.
1963.Dallas Police Department
10 of 49
James Earl Ray
Future assassin of Martin Luther King Jr.
1955.Wikimedia Commons
11 of 49
Jane Fonda
Arrested for alleged pill smuggling. The charges were later dropped.
1970.AP Images
12 of 49
Janis Joplin
Charged with using “vulgar and obscene language."
1969.Tampa Police Department
13 of 49
Jim Morrison
Arrested for disturbing the peace.
1963.Tallahassee Police Department
14 of 49
Jim Morrison
Convicted for indecent exposure and profanity.
1970.Dade County Sheriff’s Office
15 of 49
Jimi Hendrix
Arrested for drug possession.
1969.Wikimedia Commons
16 of 49
John Dillinger
One of the most famous American bank robbers in history.
1931.Indiana State Prison
17 of 49
John Gotti
Italian-American crime boss.
1968.Getty Images
18 of 49
Johnny Cash
Arrested for possession of illegal drugs.
1965.El Paso County Jail
19 of 49
Joseph Stalin
Then 33 years old, the future Soviet dictator had a long string of arrests during the Russian Revolution.
1911.Tsarist Secret Police
20 of 49
Julius Rosenberg
American man convicted of giving military secrets to the Soviet Union.
1950.Hulton Archive/Getty Images
21 of 49
Kurt Cobain
Arrested for trespassing onto the roof of an abandoned warehouse while intoxicated.
1986.Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images
22 of 49
Larry King
Charged with grand larceny.
1971.Wikimedia Commons
23 of 49
Lee Harvey Oswald
Man accused of killing President John F. Kennedy.
1963.Wikimedia Commons
24 of 49
Lucky Luciano
Italian-American crime boss.
1931.Wikimedia Commons
25 of 49
Malcolm X
Arrested for a string of alleged muggings and burglaries.
1944.Wikimedia Commons
26 of 49
Mark David Chapman
The assassin of John Lennon.
2003.New York State Department of Correctional Services
27 of 49
Martin Luther King Jr.
Arrested for directing the Montgomery bus boycott.
1956.Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
28 of 49
Mick Jagger
Charged with assault and obstruction of a police officer.
1972.Warwick Police
29 of 49
Myra Hindley
English serial killer who murdered children with her partner.
1965.Wikimedia Commons
30 of 49
O.J. Simpson
The chief suspect in the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. He was later acquitted, which remains a controversial court decision even today.
1994.Wikimedia Commons
31 of 49
Patty Hearst
Arrested for crimes she committed while being held captive by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
1975.Wikimedia Commons
32 of 49
Nick Nolte
Arrested for selling phony draft cards.
1961.Omaha Police Department
33 of 49
Robert Leroy Parker
Arrested for thievery.
1894.Wikimedia Commons
34 of 49
Rosa Parks
Arrested for her role in the segregated bus boycott.
1955.Universal History Archive/Getty Images
35 of 49
Sid Vicious
Arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.
1978.Wikimedia Commons
36 of 49
Sirhan Sirhan
Convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
1968.Los Angeles Police Department
37 of 49
Steven Tyler
Arrested for possession of marijuana.
1967.Yonkers Police Department
38 of 49
Ted Bundy
One of the most infamous American serial killers in history.
1980.Wikimedia Commons
39 of 49
Tupac Shakur
Convicted of sexual assault charges.
1995.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
40 of 49
Vladimir Lenin
The future founder of the Russian Communist Party was arrested for his work in revolutionary politics.
1895.Wikimedia Commons
41 of 49
Whitey Bulger
Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, who was locked up in the notorious Alcatraz. 1959.Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
42 of 49
Steve McQueen
Arrested for drunk driving and speeding.
1972.Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
43 of 49
Al Capone
Notorious American gangster.
1930.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
44 of 49
David Bowie
Arrested for marijuana possession.
1976.Public Domain
45 of 49
Dutch Schultz
New York City mobster.
Circa 1931.Wikimedia Commons
46 of 49
John Wayne Gacy
The American serial killer known as the "Killer Clown" who murdered at least 33 people.
1978.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images
47 of 49
Pablo Escobar
Infamous drug lord responsible for much of the world's cocaine supply.
1977.Wikimedia Commons
48 of 49
Benito Mussolini
The future fascist dictator of Italy was arrested for advocating for a strike.
1903.Mads Madsen
49 of 49
Like this gallery?
Share it:
From Celebrities To Serial Killers: 48 Famous Mugshots Brought To Life In Vivid Color
View Gallery
For many, some of the most memorable images of famous people are the snapshots showing them at their lowest: their mugshots.
Whether the photos show someone high and mighty being brought down or whether they symbolize heroic defiance of authority, the intersection of fame and the criminal justice system is an inherently dramatic one.
Sometimes certain mugshots, like the ones of serial killer David Berkowitz or Nazi Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring, reassure the public that evil people can be brought to justice.
Regardless of the reason, the mugshots of the most famous and infamous figures in modern history become defining chapters in their stories.
Mugshots As Historical Artifacts
Wikimedia CommonsThe mugshot of a 33-year-old Joseph Stalin, held by the Tsar's secret police, in 1911.
Joseph Stalin's 1911 mugshot, for example, offers a compelling historical artifact of Tsarist Russia. Taken by the Okhrana, the secret police of the Russian empire, the mugshot reminds us that the agents behind history's most pivotal events have complicated backstories of their own.
In this case, the future Soviet dictator was then in the midst of his many arrests and exiles during the early years of the Russian Revolution.
Other mugshots record examples of systemic oppression. Those of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks don't reflect the subjects' criminality like most mugshots, but instead indict a criminal justice system that was unequal and oppressive during the civil rights movement.
The willingness of those opposed to the system to subject themselves to its machinations to highlight its issues was an essential step to dismantling that very system.
History's Most Infamous Criminals
New York Police DepartmentThe "Son of Sam," David Berkowitz, after his arrest in 1977.
Much is made of the early mugshots of legendary criminals as well, like Clyde Barrow's, of Bonnie and Clyde infamy. Taken when he was a young man, Barrow's mugshot preceded a period of brutal incarceration that perhaps contributed to him becoming a brutal killer later on.
His time in the Eastham State Farm prison — where he was repeatedly sexually assaulted — only fueled his burning hatred for law enforcement.
The mugshot of Albert Fish belies the absolutely abominable human being that is its subject. Fish, a serial killer and cannibal who terrorized people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wrote a letter to the mother of one of his victims, a 10-year-old girl named Grace Budd.
The sickening note read: "Dear Mrs. Budd, ... On June 3, 1928, I called on you at 406 W. 15 St. and brought you pot cheese and strawberries. We had lunch. Grace sat on my lap and kissed me. I made up my mind to eat her."
And one could never forget the mugshot of the "Son of Sam," David Berkowitz, an image splashed all over newspapers in New York City during the summer of 1977, telling people that his string of murders was finally over.
Celebrities Behaving Badly
Public DomainThe various mugshots of Lindsay Lohan, the perpetually-troubled star.
Easily the most widely remembered mugshots of recent days are those of celebrities whose run-ins with the law are immortalized in the public consciousness.
Nearly every musician in the 1960s has a mugshot floating around out there, usually for drug possession or disorderly conduct. Jim Morrison of the Doors has more than one.
Famous actors like Al Pacino have mugshots, as do not-so-famous-anymore stars like Lindsay Lohan. Even a young Larry King was once booked by police for grand larceny. Apparently he was unable to pay a financier back money that he owed him.
Then there's O.J. Simpson's mugshot, probably one of the most infamous of the last 30 years. It signaled the beginning of a criminal saga that would captivate the American public and continue to divide public opinion for more than two decades after his not guilty verdict was announced.
Mugshots have clearly become ubiquitous in the media in recent years, but there's no denying their historic impact throughout the last century. It's unlikely that we'll see the end of mugshots any day soon.
If you want to see more famous mugshots in their original form, check out this famous mugshots gallery. Then, see some more vintage mugshots that bring the past to life.
