LIFE.com

In Moscow, Russia, pig owners from seven different countries gather to show off the skills of their star piglets at the Pig Olympic Games. At the event, pigs partake in pigball (soccer), swimming, and running competitions. Pictured: A piggy mentally prepares for the long swim ahead.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to the world as Pelé, last played professionally more than 20 years ago. But for untold numbers of fans, the Brazilian remains the greatest player in the history of the world's most popular game. ...

Heidi Klum flashes a peace sign backstage before the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York. The supermodel, who just had a baby last month and already seems to be back in astonishing shape, is hosting the sexy show this year. ...

"He was such a sensitive instrument. I used to play the violin, and I liken Marlon to one of those strings that when you're playing just vibrates." —Eva Marie Saint, remembering Marlon Brando (pictured in A Streetcar Named Desire)

Arguably the most influential industrial designer of the 20th century, French-born Raymond Loewy (1893 - 1986) fashioned or utterly re-imagined a dizzying array of products and brands during a career spanning seven decades. ...

Industrialist, aviator, film producer, and legendary recluse, Howard Hughes was one of the most extraordinary, accomplished, and mysterious figures America has ever produced. Here he climbs into the cockpit ...

For eight months in 1966, LIFE photographer John Dominis tracked big cats on game preserves in Africa, capturing their unique physical attributes, hunting rituals, and social habits. The results were published ...

You wouldn't know it from this picture of Mata Hari (born Margaretha Geertruida "Grietje" Zelle) but spying is not always glamorous. The Dutch WWI spy used her body as tool for information gathering, making her a legend in the history of espionage. ...

Love her or hate her, you have to admit that Sarah Palin has an amazing life story. From small town mayor to governor to voice of the new conservatism, no one seems to know just how far her star will rise, but the consensus is in: it hasn't stopped yet.

Spying is a dangerous business. Whether "the operative" is an international man of mystery, a private dick, or a crack-shot G-man (like the fellow in this time-lapse photo), the job often demands the most advanced data-gathering tools available. ...

Few species of photograph are as purely, simply awe-inspiring as those taken of—or from—the outer reaches of space. We've collected our 21 favorites. Case in point? Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan takes ...

The story goes he broke Sean Connery's wrist showing him martial-arts moves for Never Say Never Again. He's had the same firm hand ever since. Inscrutable as a cross-eyed sphinx, he ...