It was most likely much tougher than it seemed – with charm and grace training, evacuation exercises, disgruntled passengers and endless hair and makeup sessions. Guess all the excitement and grandeur is a thing of the past. Does anyone even consider becoming a flight attendant today? Photos taken from the wonderful Life archive at Google.

This photo by famed photographer Julius Shulman looks absolutely lovely. I wish I had a cocktail lounge like that in my penthouse apartment. The Mid-Century Modernist has a bunch of more photos and information.

Image via Shorpy.com