1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: and today's topic is one I've actually been wanting to 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: do for a little bit because it is the woman 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: who really started the idea of celebrity trainers, and she 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: also cemented the idea that Hollywood's beauties were aspirational figures 8 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: for the average woman to try to achieve similar looks, 9 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: which I there's a whole bundle of psychology to discuss there, 10 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: but that is that is not a history podcast. That's 11 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: a different podcast. There's some baggage, a lot of baggage. Yeah, 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: there's a ton of baggage, and it's fascinating. As we 13 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,599 Speaker 1: go through her story, you will hear a lot of 14 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: things and practices and ideas that are very commonplace today, 15 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: but we're not at the time at all. She is 16 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: a mix of kind of interesting and trailblazing and also 17 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: like there's some cringing. We'll talk. You'll hear about the 18 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: cringing parts. Her name was Sylvia oh Back. You will 19 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: see that spelled two different ways, sometimes with two l's 20 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: and sometimes with one, and the reason is that she 21 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: almost never used her last name. She went by Sylvia 22 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: or Sylvia of Hollywood or Madam Sylvia, but in anything, 23 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: even her books are written as Sylvia of Hollywood, you 24 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: never see her actual name appear in them. Yeah. I 25 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: also saw some places where it was spelled with an 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: E instead of an A, so it's kind of all 27 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: over the place. Yeah. Uh. And in the nineteen twenties 28 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: and nineteen thirties she became a star in her own right, 29 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: known for shaping up starlets to get them screen ready 30 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: and heads up. Obviously, this episode is going to be 31 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: talking about things like body image and weight loss in 32 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: ways that are in some ways completely sensible and in 33 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: others utterly ludicrous and really dangerous and unhealthy. So if 34 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: that's a sensitive topic for you, just know that going in. Additionally, 35 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: Sylvia was known to be really harsh and direct in 36 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: her criticism of people's bodies, so that is a whole 37 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: other angle. If hearing people be very mean to other 38 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: people is problematic, this might not be the episode you 39 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: want to hang out with yet, because she could be 40 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: really harsh. One of the few photos of her that 41 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: you can find on the internet is literally of her 42 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: preparing to hit someone because they're slouching. Yes, I have 43 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,399 Speaker 1: the book that that photo appeared in. She's showing how 44 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: you should teach your friends to do it. Well. Oh great, 45 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: because her idea is that we don't talk about this 46 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 1: a lot later, so I could say it now. A 47 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: lot of her books where she's talking about things that 48 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: she would do as a trainer, she wants like people 49 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: to have a workout partner so they can do some 50 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: of the stretches together and stuff, but also can hit 51 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: each other in the back when they're not exhibiting good posture. Great. 52 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: Like I said, it's a mixed bag. She was born 53 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: Sylvia Waller in one and Oslo, Norway, to an operasing 54 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: her mother and an artist father. Her grandparents were her 55 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: primary caregivers and part because their parents both had really 56 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: demanding careers, but also because she lost her mother when 57 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: she was still a girl. Her mother, Emily, died in 58 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: one when Sylvia was ten, and then Sylvia claimed in 59 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,639 Speaker 1: interviews that her family referred to her as an ugly 60 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: duckling and that really catalyzed her interest in beauty. Yeah, 61 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:18,959 Speaker 1: we should also say uh and We talked about this 62 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: a little that Sylvia is also a little bit tricky 63 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: because she crafted her persona very carefully in the media, 64 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: So we don't know how much of the things she 65 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: said about her life previous to becoming a well known 66 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: uh figure in the United States are true versus how 67 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: many are kind of crafted to developed that persona. So 68 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: we don't know if they really called her an ugly duckling, 69 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: but that's what she said. As a young woman in 70 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: the eighteen nineties, Sylvia, against the wishes of her father, 71 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: decided to pursue nursing as a career. I had read 72 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: at one point that she had wanted to be a doctor, 73 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: but that was not an avenue open to her. She 74 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: claimed later on, when she was recounting her life, to 75 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: have studied under a doctor l Rich in Copenhagen, but 76 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: there is a little bit of fuzziness about whether she 77 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: actually took any medical courses while she was there. She 78 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: did learn massage during this time, and would describe what 79 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: she learned as a sort of medical massage, manipulating the 80 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: body for medical purposes. To be clear, the mid to 81 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: late eighteen hundreds were a time when massage was being 82 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 1: integrated into an approach to wellness that involved massage and 83 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: calisthenics is a way to improve your digestion and mood 84 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: and fatigue, among other things, similarly to how a lot 85 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: of folks talk about massage today. So it's really not 86 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: especially unusual that Sylvia would talk about this link between 87 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: massage and medicine. We just don't have any hard evidence 88 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: that she had actual medical training. Yeah, and in the 89 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: parts of Europe where she lived was where this whole 90 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: idea of massage and wellness being linked and also physical 91 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: activity was really getting sort of the most interest in research, 92 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 1: So she was in the hot bed for that to 93 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: be a very real discussion she would have been a 94 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: part of, or at least had access to. Yeah, as 95 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: a former massage therapist, I will also say it was 96 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: a lot more common to call massage therapist massus is 97 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: at the time, which will like come up later on 98 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: in the episode. Yeah, it's an interesting thing. I was 99 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: looking up usage of that word, and a lot of 100 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: people still use it, but other people find it not 101 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,280 Speaker 1: so good. Uh. I used it in her case because 102 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: she used it about herself. Um. And sometime in the 103 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: late eighteen nineties, while she was doing these studies, Sylvia 104 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 1: met a man named Andrew Uhlback and the two were married. 105 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: The exact date of their wedding is not known. It's 106 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: estimated to have happened sometime in nineteen hundred, probably, and 107 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: the couple had two sons, uh and the way that 108 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 1: marriage was uh and was characterized by Sylvia shifts a 109 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: little bit depending on what interview with her you might read. 110 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: So in some she describes it as a very happy union, 111 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: but at other times she mentions that after Andrew returned 112 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: from fighting in World War One, understandably he was a 113 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: very different man and that affected their relationship and they 114 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: were maybe not so close. Sylvia was a master of 115 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: self promotion, and once she told a story to the 116 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: Hartford Current about her relationship with Andrew leading her to 117 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 1: a life of calisthenics and healthy eating. She claimed that 118 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,679 Speaker 1: she had put on some weight during their marriage, until 119 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: she weighed more than a hundred and fifty pounds at 120 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: five ft tall. After seeing Andrew flirting with a slender secretary, 121 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: Sylvia vowed to learn about reducing and got her own 122 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: weight down to five pounds, which was her weight for 123 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: most of the rest of her life. It's really not 124 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: clear if this story is true or if it was 125 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: just more of a yarn spun by Sylvia to bolster 126 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: her image as a weight loss expert. In the summer 127 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: of Sylvia, Andrew and their children moved from Copenhagen to 128 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: the United States. Before the war, Andrew had a successful 129 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: lumber business, but the post war economy made it impossible 130 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: to keep that company going, so they moved first to 131 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 1: New York and then short thereafter to Chicago. In Chicago, 132 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: Sylvia started working with the family of Julius Rosenwald, and 133 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: if that name sounds familiar, he was mentioned in our 134 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: episode on Sears History. He was a partner in the Sears, 135 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: Roebuck and Company business. We've talked about wanting to do 136 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: an episode on him at some point too. Sylvia was 137 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: hired to help the family matriarch recover from an injury, 138 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,679 Speaker 1: and she exceeded all her expectations in that role. After 139 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,559 Speaker 1: Sylvia's massage treatment got the woman back on her feet 140 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: in less than a week, the family put her on 141 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: retainer as their massage therapist. Sylvia was paid a dollar 142 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: and fifty cents daily for this role, which was a 143 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: good income at the time, but through the Rosenwalds, she 144 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: also had interactions with other wealthy and famous people who 145 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: also became her clients. Yeah, their grandmother had apparently hurt 146 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: one or both of her kneecaps when she fell, so 147 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: she had had a lot of difficulty walking, and Sylvia 148 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: apparently appeared as a miracle worker to them. Uh. And 149 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: through those connections that she made through the Rosenwald family, 150 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: Via eventually found herself pulled to Hollywood. She had made 151 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: several connections to the entertainment industry while working for the 152 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: rosen Walds, and eventually one or more the story of 153 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: which celebrity or if there were several shifts a little 154 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: bit urged her to move to Los Angeles and attend 155 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: to the needs of the actresses there full time. So 156 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: in Sylvia made the move to the West Coast. She 157 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: was in a good position from the start for a 158 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: number of reasons. For once, she had a lot of 159 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: clients already waiting for her when she arrived. And for another, 160 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,320 Speaker 1: this was a time when there was a surge of 161 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 1: body consciousness, which created a really fertile ground for a 162 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: health and beauty business to grow. The ideal body type 163 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: in quotation marks had shifted from the hour glass shape 164 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: of the Victorian era and the Gibson girl to a 165 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: more boyish and less voluptuous figure. A lot of women 166 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: were eager to be told how to achieve a slim figure, 167 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: and so this idea of reducing and we put that 168 00:08:58,120 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 1: in quotes because that's what it was called at the time, 169 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: was all the rage, and it was often marketed to 170 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: women throughout the United States as the way to become 171 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: happy and beautiful. Yes, that is totally damaging language. Uh, 172 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: this is really a time when fat shaming as a 173 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: means of advertising first became common in the US, and 174 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: products to help women reduce were often downright dangerous. Related 175 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: to our recent episode, for example, on radio iodine therapy, 176 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: some women even turned to medication that would essentially put 177 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,079 Speaker 1: their bodies into a state of hyperthyroidism to lose weight. 178 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: We talked in that episode about how that is a 179 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,479 Speaker 1: dangerous state to be in for your body, so obviously 180 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: not a good plan. The film industry was still in 181 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: its infancy and it was taking off at this same 182 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: time in a way that really created celebrity actors. So 183 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: these standards of beauty were often really closely tied to 184 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 1: these starlets who were appearing on screen as the aspirational 185 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: figures that women should strive to emulate. And coming up, 186 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about how one magazine actually tried 187 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: to combat this unhealthy approach and the unhealthy products that 188 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: were being marketed to women, and how that really set 189 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: the stage for Sylvia's rise to fame. The first we're 190 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: going to pause and have a little sponsor break. Just 191 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,319 Speaker 1: as quickly as these false claim weight loss products became 192 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: regularly advertised, the American Medical Association denounced them as both 193 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 1: fake and dangerous hogwash. Photoplay magazine, one of the most 194 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: popular film periodicals of the time, ran a three part 195 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,719 Speaker 1: expos a on what was called reduced omnia, titled Wholesale 196 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: Murder and Suicide, which opened with the line quote, in 197 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: their efforts to reduce thousands of American women are ruining 198 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 1: their health and preparing their bodies for tuberculosis and other 199 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: diseases by lowering their resistance. The preface to this article 200 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: made the magazines strong stance on this matter really clear. 201 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: It said, quote Photoplay Magazine refuses to admit to its 202 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:06,199 Speaker 1: advertising columns any internal reducing preparations are questionable methods. Photoplay 203 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: is going to fight to the end to force these 204 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: dangerous preparations from the market. Why is the sale of 205 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,679 Speaker 1: mind and body wrecking drugs prohibited and the sale of 206 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: dangerous reducing nostrums permitted? After its investigation and exposure of 207 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: reduction drugs as completed, photoplay believes that national action will 208 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: be necessary. Medical quacks must be prevented from killing American women, 209 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: and American women must be prevented from committing suicide. In 210 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: the Pursuit of Fashion and that series, written by a 211 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: fairly well known journalists at the time, Catherine Brody, discussed 212 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: the use of thyroid treatment as a weight loss aid 213 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: women who developed mental health disorders as a result of 214 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: their anxiety related to their bodies. And it even talked 215 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: about the death of actress Barbara Lamar as it built 216 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: its case against the dangerous claims the medical quacks that 217 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 1: it sought to expose. She had died not long before 218 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: this article from I Believe a heart failure, which is 219 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: how it was publicized, But really she had been doing 220 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: some very foolish things trying to become incredibly thin. That 221 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 1: article also stated pretty clearly that there's no such thing 222 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: as an ideal figure, but merely trends that shift and 223 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: lead to these problematic situations as reduced so mania as 224 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: a craze. And this whole series concluded with exercise tips 225 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: that were from a more sensible approach to fitness. It 226 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: was like, maybe you should if you want to be healthy, 227 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: just eat well and take care of your body and 228 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,080 Speaker 1: don't worry about what people say it should look like. 229 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: As the discussion played out in papers and magazines, the 230 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: concept of a diet and exercise regimen that was meant 231 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,079 Speaker 1: to achieve a slim look rather than using a pillar 232 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: a cream started to take shape and enter Sylvia all back. 233 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: Sylvia was essentially already doing similar work to what Photoplay 234 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: and other journals were touting as a more reasonable approach 235 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: to health and beauty. She had developed a three part 236 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,439 Speaker 1: approach to health and beauty that combined a healthy diet, exercise, 237 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: and massage. From the mid on, Sylvia was working with 238 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: clients both in her home in Los Angeles and in 239 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: their homes. She would go over what they were eating, 240 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: give them massages, and teach them exercises to get and 241 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: keep them in shape for their on screen work. And 242 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: this is still an industry. She was a trailblazer in 243 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: this regard, and if she built a client's hell and 244 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: a reputation for getting results, she emerged as something of 245 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 1: a celebrity in her own right. She started fielding requests 246 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: for interviews to give advice and tips to magazine readers 247 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 1: that would mirror the work that she was doing with 248 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: celebrity clients. Yeah, this really like was where her career exploded. 249 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 1: One of those celebrities that she worked with, incidentally, was 250 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: May Murray, who we mentioned in our donut episode. Murray 251 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,679 Speaker 1: was the one that's given credit for inventing dunking by 252 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: accidentally dropping a donut in her coffee. But she had 253 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: hired Sylvia to go with her on her vaudeville tour 254 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: starting in September of nine. In April, so just a 255 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: few months later, their business relationship had fallen apart, and 256 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 1: eventually they went to court. All Back said that the 257 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: actress had failed to pay her and sued Murray for 258 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: her unpaid wages, and the court found in Olbeck's favor 259 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: and she won two thousand dollars. She also swore off 260 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: exclusive contracts after that that desire to stay away from 261 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: becoming one stars exclusive massus and adviser was just almost 262 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 1: instantly problematic. Gloria Swanson desperately wanted to be Sylvia's only clients, 263 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: even after Sylvia said no repeatedly. Eventually, Swanson appealed to 264 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: Joseph Kennedy at Patay's Studios to step in. Kennedy did. 265 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: He offered Sylvia a contract to work exclusively with the 266 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: studios Stars, including a clause that Swanson had to get 267 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: priority over everyone else. And Sylvia took that job and 268 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: it became something of a stepping stone for her career 269 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: because she had carved out this unique space for herself 270 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: in Hollywood. She was also a source of fascination for 271 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: the press. She was in the job less than two years, 272 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: but gave dozens of interviews during that time, and her 273 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: message in those interviews resonated with the public. She felt 274 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: that beauty was in your mind first, and that you 275 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: had to work on your confidence to achieve the body 276 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: that you desired. She focused on health as a means 277 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: to achieve beauty. Sylvia was said to work miracles through 278 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: a very direct, no nonsense approach that did not baby 279 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: her clients. She could be sharp and critical, but people 280 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: found this appealing instead of off putting. Her tough truthfulness 281 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: was a departure from the ways stars were used to 282 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: being treated. Additionally, her promotion of a healthy lifestyle was 283 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: a breath of fresh air at a time when Hollywood 284 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: was seen as being indulgent and debaucherous. Yeah, she really 285 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 1: sort of became a good bit of pr for Hollywood 286 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: when it was like, no, we're employing this woman who 287 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: talks about not drinking and not eating bad things and 288 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: not being self indulgent, and aren't aren't we the paragons 289 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: of good healthy living? Um, So it was it was 290 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: in the studio's interest to promote that they were working 291 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: with her. But while she was in her studio contrast, 292 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: Sylvia also got caught in the middle of a bunch 293 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: of Hollywood drama because of her clients, which she did 294 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: not enjoy. When Gloria Swanson's husband's mistress, if you can 295 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: follow all of that, whose name was Constant Bennett, was 296 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: signed on as a talent with the studio, Gloria and 297 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: Constance started battling over everything, including Sylvia's time and attention. 298 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: And just to be clear, this is not a case 299 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: where Swanson was a spurned wife acting out of hurt. 300 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: She was having her own affair with the head of 301 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: the studio, Joseph Kennedy. It was a big morass of 302 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: people all cheating on one another and being devious and 303 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: having just terrible relationships. At one point, Bennett, according to Sylvia, 304 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: even tried to bribe her to be her exclusive missus 305 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: with an expensive sapphire ring. Sylvia was loyal to Swanson 306 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: and refused, but this tug of war that the two 307 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 1: women were playing over her just exhausted and frustrated Sylvia. 308 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: It started a sentiment that Hollywood just might not be 309 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: worth the trouble. Yeah, she definitely reached a point where 310 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: she thought Hollywood was getting more out of the relationship 311 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: than she was. Uh. In another case of perfect timing, 312 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: just as she had kind of landed on the Hollywood scene, 313 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: as this desire to shift away from some of the 314 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: more foolish approaches to to losing weight was happening. When 315 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: the nine crash happened, it really didn't damage Sylvia's business. 316 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: That signaled the end of the Flapper era and the 317 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: excess of the Roaring twenties, and so her more sensible 318 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 1: methodology was actually bolstered and her business continued to thrive, 319 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: although it did go on a different path. Instead of 320 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 1: treating individual clients, she took her advice on health and 321 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: beauty to the masses by starting a writing career. By 322 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: the time Sylvia left her studio gig in nineteen thirty, 323 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: her name had significant star power of its own. In fact, 324 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 1: when she left her studio contract behind, almost every other 325 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,920 Speaker 1: studio in Hollywood started making her offers, but she didn't 326 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 1: take any of them. She had initially told the press 327 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: that she wanted to work with anybody she pleased and 328 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: not be limited by exclusivity d was with the studio, 329 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,440 Speaker 1: but she never really re established her client based business 330 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: and said she started writing articles for the weekly general 331 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: interest periodical Liberty, and these articles were actually touted as 332 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 1: being written by Sylvia's quote indiscreet secretary, which was actually 333 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: ghostwriter James Whittaker. Presumably they were published that way in 334 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: an attempt to shield Sylvia from blowback because she told 335 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: a number of Hollywood secrets in her article series, which 336 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: ran for two months and was titled A Masseuse looks 337 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: at the Stars. The article series was also adapted into 338 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: a book called Hollywood Undressed, which came out of ninety one, 339 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,719 Speaker 1: and despite the effort to claim the info was leaked 340 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,959 Speaker 1: by a secretary, Sylvia of Hollywood became a contentious figure 341 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: in the film industry. The book adaptation contained both anecdotes 342 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: of her time working with film stars as well as 343 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: the diet and exercise advice that she gave to them, 344 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,480 Speaker 1: and in the process she talked in detail about the 345 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 1: private lives of the rich and famous. She mentioned her 346 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: feud with Maim, and she described the actress's bad marriage 347 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: and hinted that May's husband was abusive. She also called 348 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,119 Speaker 1: out various entertainers as fat and lazy, and she outed 349 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:14,560 Speaker 1: people for various minor illegal activities. She pointed out who 350 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: in Hollywood broke prohibition, for example, and it seemed that 351 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: she had turned and bitten the hand that had been 352 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: feeding her for years. Some actors actually called for a 353 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: boycott of all back, and those who did not were 354 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 1: still pretty vocal that her career in Hollywood was over. 355 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: There were a handful of exceptions that were like, ah, 356 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: that's just Sylvia, but for the most part she was 357 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: quickly becoming persona and garta. Sylvia vehemently denied that she 358 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: had done anything wrong and argued back and forth with 359 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: various Hollywood figures through reporters. She was insistent that she 360 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: was not about to back down because the very people 361 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: that she had called spoiled were mad at her for it. 362 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,399 Speaker 1: She gave statements to the press that anyone was welcome 363 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,439 Speaker 1: to come and talk with her or even give her 364 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 1: a sock in the jaw. She also said that people 365 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: could be as mad as they liked, but they still 366 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: needed her treatments just the same, whether she had intended 367 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: to all along or if it was precipitated by all 368 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: the conflict, Sylvia moved away from Los Angeles, and there 369 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: is some debate also about just how much of the 370 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 1: writing that went into Hollywood undressed and the articles that 371 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: preceded it was really the work of ghostwriter James Whittaker. 372 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: Whittaker was the ex husband of actress Ainah Claire, and 373 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: he had his own access to grind in Hollywood, so 374 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: some people shifted the focus off of Sylvia and onto him, 375 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,000 Speaker 1: claiming that Sylvia could not have understood some of the 376 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: nuances of cutting phrasing that were used in the book 377 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 1: because she was a non native speaker. Of English. We'll 378 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: talk next about the evolution of Sylvia's career after her 379 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: break with Hollywood, but first we'll take our own break 380 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 1: and here from one of the sponsors that keeps the 381 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:59,400 Speaker 1: show going. It turned out that Sylvia spilling Hollywood gossip 382 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 1: was really a pretty brilliant business move. Whether she truly 383 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: disdained the famous people who had come to her for 384 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: help in her time in Hollywood, in calling them spoiled, frivolous, 385 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,400 Speaker 1: and indulgent cinema children, she appealed to a much broader 386 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: audience of readers who were dealing with the early years 387 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:20,639 Speaker 1: of the economic depression and had their own negative opinions 388 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: about the spoiled entertainers of the film industry. The time 389 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: when all of this was going on was a significant 390 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: moment in Sylvia's life for other reasons too. When she 391 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,360 Speaker 1: left Hollywood to move to New York, she did so alone. 392 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: Her husband Andrew, and their two sons, who were adults 393 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 1: at this point, all stayed in l A. Yeah, her 394 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,360 Speaker 1: sons were both working in the entertainment industry, not as actors, 395 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: but in various other roles. Um and Sylvia's life in 396 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,560 Speaker 1: New York involved a lot of efforts in different areas. 397 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: She made appearances at department stores to talk about health 398 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: and beauty, and she had started a line of cosmetics 399 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: with which Andrew was basically running that part of the business, 400 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 1: and so she would go and promote those cosmetics and stores. 401 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: But she also dabbled in new areas, including writing a 402 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 1: satirical play about Hollywood with playwright Edith Ellis for Ness 403 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: and even appearing on stage and a couple of vaudeville acts. 404 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,719 Speaker 1: That play that she wrote never was actually produced, by 405 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,120 Speaker 1: the way, But in the end, it was her status 406 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,400 Speaker 1: as a health and beauty expert that kept her afloat 407 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: even as the depression wore on. In two the year 408 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 1: after she arrived in New York, she started working for 409 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 1: Photoplay magazine as a regular columnist. She wrote for the 410 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: magazine for three years, using that platform to continue and 411 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: share her knowledge about exercise and healthful eating. And it's 412 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,239 Speaker 1: interesting to note that even as she advised women on 413 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: how to achieve the figure they desired, she tended to 414 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: focus it on women making themselves happy. It was never 415 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: about pleasing or catching a man. We have to note here, though, 416 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: as we said at the top, there's some conflict because 417 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: even though she was insistent that there was no single 418 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 1: ideal body type, she did insist that you had to 419 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: be slim, so it is a little bit of a 420 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: mixed bag. She was very clear that women had to 421 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,879 Speaker 1: get over the easiness of their bodies and minds if 422 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: they wish to reduce and she remained her very direct 423 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 1: and sometimes quite harsh self. At one point, in response 424 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: to read her questions, she she didn't do like a 425 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: direct reply, but she wrote in her article, either get 426 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: some brains or stop reading my stories. I'm sick and 427 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: tired of the silly questions A lot of you ask, 428 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: not the most nurturing. And this reminds me a little bit. 429 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: I think it was about a net Kellerman, who was 430 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 1: the woman who made swimming a lot more accessible to 431 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: other women, particularly mostly white women at the time, and 432 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: how she also got into like some beauty tips as 433 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: part of her thing. And it was like she would 434 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 1: sort of simultaneously say, there's nothing wrong with you, it's 435 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: society's expectations of you or what's to blame. But at 436 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,199 Speaker 1: the same time she would be sort of like, but 437 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: here's how to meet those expectations. There, Yeah, I feel 438 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,439 Speaker 1: like Sylvia in some ways invented the concept of the 439 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 1: tough love trainer. Um. Yeah, she could be very, very harsh. 440 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: She did make some interesting connections between physical wellness and 441 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: mental wellness, though though sometimes that really turned out to 442 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: be about how crying makes your skin puffy and unattractive. 443 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: She was also a proponent of positivity and obviously hard work, 444 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: and she told readers that these were just as valuable 445 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 1: to being happy as any weight that they might lose. 446 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: In two, after thirty one years of marriage, Sylvia shocked 447 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: her husband Andrew by asking for a divorce. While she 448 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,560 Speaker 1: had moved to New York alone, they had remained married 449 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: and seemed to be pretty amicable at that point. It 450 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: is always, of course, unclear what a relationship is truly 451 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:44,880 Speaker 1: like from the inside, and we don't know if there 452 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 1: were troubles before this, but in the press at that 453 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 1: point Sylvia and Andrew had seemed very contented together. But 454 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: once she was in New York, Sylvia met someone. That 455 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: someone was actor Edward Lighter, who was twenty two years 456 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: younger than Sylvia and who really swept her off her feet. 457 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: At the end of June two, Sylvia and Andrew were 458 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: divorced in Mexico, and three days later she married Lighter, 459 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 1: who stayed with her for the rest of her life. 460 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,800 Speaker 1: As Sylvia continued to write, she still used her Hollywood 461 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 1: experiences as material, even though she had left Hollywood behind. 462 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: She wrote a series in which she used famous actresses 463 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: as examples of different body types and advised readers on 464 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: how to achieve a similar level of fitness. It was 465 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: an early sort of synergistic journalism where photoplay could use 466 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: this popular column to then promote the latest entertainment. It's 467 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: kind of like its own little custom content studio going 468 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: on and in a later series, she wrote as though 469 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: she were writing two celebrities to tell them what was 470 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: wrong with them and how to fix it. These are 471 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: to me troubling to read because she's basically like, here's 472 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,159 Speaker 1: what's wrong with you. She would tell an actress, for example, 473 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 1: that her face was too fat, and then outline a 474 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: plan to address the issue of her critique. In all 475 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 1: Back found herself in a new role, which was radio host. 476 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,440 Speaker 1: General Eldrick and Ralston sponsored the radio show Madam Sylvia 477 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:07,119 Speaker 1: of Hollywood. On each show, Sylvia recounted working with the 478 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: specific celebrity starting with the story of how any given 479 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: woman came to be her client, usually at the urging 480 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: of studio executives. These stories were played out as re 481 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: enactments with actors. Sylvia herself only briefly appeared each week. Yeah, 482 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: I would be like, here's what happened, and here's how 483 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,359 Speaker 1: I fixed it. Tada happy. Ending is that she was 484 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: beautiful in this film. A second book by Sylvia was 485 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 1: published in ninety four. This one, titled No More Alibis, 486 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:38,479 Speaker 1: became a bestseller and the opening chapter extols the virtues 487 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: of a healthy lifestyle, and it is a mix of 488 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: Sylvia's stern and direct manner. For example, she writes, quote, 489 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,120 Speaker 1: stop being lazy, stop wishing for good looks when all 490 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,360 Speaker 1: you have to do is get them by making the effort. 491 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,440 Speaker 1: And it's also got a healthy dose of encouragement. For example, 492 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: she writes, quote, and believe me, I'm for you. I 493 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: think every one of you who really tries is swell. 494 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: The world is your or take it. It's your right. 495 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: She lays out a very clear ideology in this text. 496 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 1: People eat too much and moreover, eat unhealthy foods and 497 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,200 Speaker 1: then don't get enough exercise. It's the same simple advice 498 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: that a lot of trainers still give today, and she 499 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,240 Speaker 1: also touched on elements of mental health in the book, 500 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: particularly noting that nervousness was a normal reaction to the 501 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,640 Speaker 1: demands of modern life. She wrote, to be ambitious is fine, 502 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:26,720 Speaker 1: but there is such a thing as being eaten up 503 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: with ambition. She recommended massage to counter nervousness and anxiety. 504 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: That works for me. The massage advice is great, and 505 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,639 Speaker 1: the diet that Sylvia recommended for reducing in the book 506 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,439 Speaker 1: was fairly straightforward. It featured a breakfast of grapefruit or 507 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: orange juice, black coffee and melba toast or rye wafers 508 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 1: with honey but no butter. Lunch was liquids only, tomato juice, 509 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: and a large bowl of clear vegetable soup with black 510 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: coffee or tea with lemon to drink no sugar, of course. 511 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,439 Speaker 1: For dinner, the Woman's Aking to Reduce could have a 512 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: fresh fruit cup, lettuce and tomato salad sprinkled with parsley, 513 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:09,479 Speaker 1: a small portion of broiled or roasted meat, potato skins 514 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 1: seasoned with a little salt only, and for dessert, gelatin, 515 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: a baked apple or stewed fruit, no sugar added. I 516 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: would cry on this diet. Um, there are some problems there. 517 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: That was my weary sigh. Yeah she I mean for 518 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: the time, her ideology was that no, I'm I'm putting 519 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: together a balanced menu, but we know a lot more 520 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: about nutrition, um, and that not the same nutrition will 521 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: work for every person, whereas she was pretty much like 522 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 1: do this everybody well, and even the whole idea like 523 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 1: there are a lot of things that claim to be 524 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: about nutrition but are really about weight loss, like right, yea. 525 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: Like a lot of times people are marketed these things 526 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: in a way that it makes it seem like it's 527 00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: the same thing when it's really not. There are also 528 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,600 Speaker 1: plenty of exercises aimed at reducing and in sculpting various 529 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: parts of the body. In a lot of cases, massage 530 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: is also prescribed to melt away the pounds. This whole 531 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 1: book is full of quips like a fat back mars 532 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 1: your figure and posture and makes people think you're older 533 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: than you really are. There's also a chapter dedicated to 534 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 1: the needs of people who need to put on weight. 535 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 1: She also advises to have a friend give you a 536 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: hard whack on the back if they see you slouching, 537 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 1: which we talked about at the top of the show. Yeah, please, 538 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:32,360 Speaker 1: don't any of my friends whack me on the back, 539 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,720 Speaker 1: just tell me I'm slouching. I also just want to 540 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: know that there's a difference between like you and a 541 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 1: friend deciding to do something together to support each other, 542 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: and like policing your friend's behavior, which seems to be 543 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: more her jam here. Yeah, I mean, I think she 544 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: wants to be the person that police is your behavior. 545 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: She does kind of make it like you should have 546 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: a friend do this stuff with you, but she wants 547 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: to yell at you about your posture first. Sure. Um. 548 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: The second half of the nineties saw a lot of 549 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 1: activity in Sylvia's writing career, both in terms of volume 550 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: and in terms of where it appeared. She abruptly left 551 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: Photoplay magazine and started writing for a competitor, Modern Screen, 552 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: but then she went back to Photoplay as the beauty editor, 553 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: in part because they had received so many letters from 554 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: people wanting her to come back, and she also wrote 555 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 1: articles for Physical Culture. Her articles during this time followed 556 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: the same sorts of formulas that her early writing had, 557 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: often using stars as examples and then telling readers how 558 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: to get similarly pleasing figures, although she did always warn 559 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: that you shouldn't try to make yourself a carbon copy 560 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 1: of anyone, but just be your best self. Her writing 561 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: topics expanded though, to include her thoughts and advice on 562 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 1: parenting and marriage. She wanted parents to teach their children 563 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 1: about a healthy lifestyle from the very beginning, to set 564 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 1: them up for a healthy life. When it came to marriage, 565 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,640 Speaker 1: it was less progressive, essentially urging women who found themselves 566 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: in lackluster marriages to recapture their youthful figures to reinvigorate 567 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: their husband's interests. Yeah, she did talk a lot in 568 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:06,200 Speaker 1: her writing about how, um, I am more than twenty 569 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: years older than my husband, but I look so young 570 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,320 Speaker 1: that that's how I keep him, and like there's a 571 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: lot of that going on. So uh, and she did 572 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 1: look very young for her age, but yeah, it's a 573 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 1: lot of like this is how you stay happy in 574 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 1: your marriage. Um. In ninety six, she wrote the book 575 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: Pull Yourself Together, Baby, which discusses diet and exercise but 576 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: in the framework of a person's personality. It made the 577 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: case that your personality was a reflection of your physical health, 578 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 1: and this was sort of intended as a follow up 579 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,960 Speaker 1: to No More Alibis, employing a similar work ethic to 580 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: cultivating character once your physique is in pretty good shape, 581 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: all with the idea of becoming as beautiful as any 582 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: of her Hollywood clients. All Back's last book was Streamline 583 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: Your Figure in ninety nine, and was published after she 584 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: had stopped writing articles for magazines. Was once again a 585 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: return to her more body focused advice and less about personality, 586 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,000 Speaker 1: but it was really last in a series of efforts 587 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 1: to try to stay relevant. In the late nineteen thirties, 588 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: the Nazi ideology of a physically superior race and talk 589 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,760 Speaker 1: of physical perfection made it hard for someone in the 590 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 1: business of telling people how to make their bodies as 591 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 1: perfect as possible to stay in favor in the United States. Additionally, 592 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,600 Speaker 1: as the world found itself in a very serious conflict 593 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 1: beauty culture, even Sylvia's relatively sensitive approach to it started 594 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: to feel frivolous. After the publication of Streamline Your Figure, 595 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 1: Sylvia stepped away from the spotlight entirely. On the nineteen 596 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:37,360 Speaker 1: forties census, under occupation, she was noticed as a housewife. 597 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: Her life after that was apparently quiet and little is 598 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: known about it in terms of specifics. She and Edward 599 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 1: bought a house in Santa Monica, California, where they lived 600 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: out the rest of their lives. Edward died in February 601 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 1: five and Sylvia died a month later at the age 602 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 1: of ninety four. Reading any of Sylvia's writing which I 603 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,680 Speaker 1: sort of have an almost guilty pleasure level of it, 604 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,240 Speaker 1: like I really like reading it, but it is definitely 605 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,000 Speaker 1: a mix of yeah, these are good ideas and complete 606 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 1: and total cringes. Uh. In many ways, her rhetoric is 607 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: so much about empowerment and positivity and getting what you 608 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 1: want out of life. But then she also writes things 609 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: along the lines of saying the Great Depression was actually 610 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: good for Americans because it made them stop being physically 611 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: and mentally soft. She also could be incredibly harsh, writing 612 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 1: things that always suggested that any bodily issues were the 613 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,760 Speaker 1: individuals to overcome, even when they were things like actual disabilities, 614 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: like she talks in some of her books about like, 615 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: if you have very severe bow legs, if you just 616 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: work out and get the outside of them thinner, then 617 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 1: you'll look almost normal. Like it's a little dicey. Yeah, 618 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 1: So she definitely does not give any leeway for people 619 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: to have anything but a pretty healthy, standardized life and 620 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,280 Speaker 1: figure like she puts all of the onus on you, 621 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,560 Speaker 1: as though any problem or defect you have is kind 622 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 1: of your own fault. Yeah, well, an idea that then 623 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:09,680 Speaker 1: people are automatically healthy, it's just not true. Nope. There 624 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 1: are though some gems you can find reading her work. 625 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: Some of them come off as funny just because she's 626 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:18,839 Speaker 1: so curt, and then some of them do seem like 627 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:22,040 Speaker 1: pretty good advice. So we thought we would close with 628 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: a handful of them. So first, as um, I legitimately 629 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,320 Speaker 1: love this advice. There is a funny side to everything 630 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:33,759 Speaker 1: that happens. Look at that side. Then there's eat properly, 631 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:38,399 Speaker 1: live properly, exercise regularly and properly. I might add, use 632 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: your noodle and stay away from quackery and hocus pocus. 633 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 1: That's pretty good advice. Um. The next is you've got 634 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 1: to have courage and grit to be beautiful, and you've 635 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 1: got to stop whining. I think that might maybe should 636 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:58,920 Speaker 1: go on a shirt. Yeah, every woman can be charming 637 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,920 Speaker 1: if she'll let herself be. And then uh, this one, 638 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: remember this self assurance, the self respecting kind is a 639 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:11,879 Speaker 1: first and ever present necessity of personality development. Finally, there's 640 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 1: this opening passage from her first photoplay article titled any 641 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,719 Speaker 1: Woman Can be Beautiful. I say any woman can be beautiful, 642 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: and I mean it. You can't all have lovely features, 643 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,200 Speaker 1: but you can be beautiful. Whoever said beauty is only 644 00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: skin deep as a fool? Beauty begins behind your forehead, 645 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: and the beauty of some of the loveliest women I 646 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: know can never be registered by a motion picture camera. 647 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:35,839 Speaker 1: Now here's the amazing part of it. You can make 648 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,920 Speaker 1: yourself beautiful. You can if you have the nerve and 649 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,920 Speaker 1: the courage do it all yourself. That's kind of like 650 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 1: the best of Sylvia, because then you know you'll find 651 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 1: something less delightful if you keep reading. Yes, she's such 652 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:52,759 Speaker 1: a mixed bang that that's part of what's really fascinating 653 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,480 Speaker 1: about her to me. Like I said, I'll read her 654 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,799 Speaker 1: stuff and be like, yeah, that's Oh what did you 655 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:02,120 Speaker 1: just say? No, that's all it was, Sylvia. Do you 656 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 1: have some listener mail for us? I do? I have 657 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,760 Speaker 1: a postcard from our listener, Jane. She writes, Dear Holly 658 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:11,080 Speaker 1: and Tracy, thank you so much for the amazing show. Recently, 659 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,080 Speaker 1: I went to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and 660 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: this painting on the front caught my eye. When I 661 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: looked at the artist, it was Visis Leblin. I was 662 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,839 Speaker 1: amazed to see what a great artist she was. My 663 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,040 Speaker 1: mom was surprised when I started spewing a bunch of 664 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:25,080 Speaker 1: facts about her, but it was so cool to know 665 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 1: part of the story behind a cool painting. Could I 666 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:31,120 Speaker 1: request more Asian history? Also some more sad Royal childhood's 667 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,640 Speaker 1: because I'm a terrible person. Thanks again, doesn't make you 668 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: a terrible person, it just makes you interested in those. Um. Yeah. 669 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:43,480 Speaker 1: So it's a beautiful picture of princessa at Vocia Ivanova 670 00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:50,760 Speaker 1: gold Cina that was painted in It's absolutely beautiful, I UM. 671 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:52,880 Speaker 1: I had been sharing on social media as we traveled 672 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,960 Speaker 1: through France my trip to the Louver, in which I 673 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 1: stood in front of the four visions that they have 674 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 1: all in one room, crying like a chi olds. I 675 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 1: like lost it, full grade um because her artwork is 676 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,000 Speaker 1: so beautiful, like no one captures light and skin the 677 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:11,960 Speaker 1: way she does. I absolutely love it. So I'm always 678 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,239 Speaker 1: glad when anybody discovers a piece of art. Tracy and 679 00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:16,840 Speaker 1: I've talked about it recently as well. Um, if you 680 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:18,319 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, you should do that, 681 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:20,680 Speaker 1: whether that's about art or anything you would like. You 682 00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:22,719 Speaker 1: can do that at History podcast at how Stuff Works 683 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:25,080 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also find us everywhere on social 684 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:27,960 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History. Missed in History dot com 685 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 1: is also the website you are l where you can 686 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:31,880 Speaker 1: come and find us and check out all of the 687 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:34,200 Speaker 1: episodes of the show that have ever existed, including show 688 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:36,280 Speaker 1: notes for any that Tracy and I have worked on together. 689 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 1: You can also subscribe to this podcast I think you should. 690 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:42,759 Speaker 1: You can do that on the I Heart Radio app, 691 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:50,840 Speaker 1: at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts. Stuff you 692 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,480 Speaker 1: Missed in History classes a production of I Heart Radios 693 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,399 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, 694 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 695 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,000 Speaker 1: you listen into your favorite shows.