1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:19,760 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and today we are 4 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: talking about Head of Hopper. And although she started out acting, 5 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: what really made her famous was her work in newspapers. 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,159 Speaker 1: For several decades, she literally could make or break a 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: movie career with her gossip column sending statements to print, 8 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: regardless of whether there was any actual proof of what 9 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: she claimed or the behavior she alleged that people are 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: participating in or not. I find her super fascinating. I 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: read both of her books growing up. She has been 12 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: in a kajillion movie and TV projects. Most recently was 13 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: the show Feud, which is a Ryan Murphy show, But 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: it's largely a lot of her. Discussion of her is 15 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: about her and Luella Parsons because they were kind of 16 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: the two big power players in terms of gossip columns 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: in Hollywood in the early part of the twentieth century. 18 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: And I am forever just I marvel at the power 19 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: that they both had and how much they created ways 20 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: of consuming information about movies and movie stars that we 21 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: are still wrapped up in today, even though they're kind 22 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: of nonsensical. We could talk about this more behind the scenes, 23 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: because I feel like I have Chicken or the Egg 24 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: thoughts about the movie industry and how it has developed 25 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: in this way. But she just is like a wild 26 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: story of her own. So I thought we would talk 27 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: about her today. We may do an episode on Luella 28 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: Parsons in the future because she's also pretty interesting, and 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: we'll talk about her some on this, but we're not 30 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: going to go into her backstory. They are often, as 31 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: I said, discussed kind of as a payer. Even one 32 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: of the biographies I read is a simultaneous biography of 33 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: the two of them that came out in the seventies. 34 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: And yeah, so we'll talk about Luella some today, but 35 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: really we're going to talk about head of Hopper and 36 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: how she got to this point pretty late in her 37 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: life of being a gossip columnist and having just such influence, 38 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: and also how she used that influence sometimes in just 39 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,519 Speaker 1: really cruel ways. So she started life with a completely 40 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: different name, which was Elda Furry. She was born June second, 41 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty five, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. She described that sort 42 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: of as a suburb of Altoona, Pennsylvania. Later on, she 43 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: wrote that she was born during an electrical storm, and 44 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: she also fudged her age and routinely said she was 45 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: born in eighteen ninety. Her father was a butcher, and 46 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: she described her upbringing as hard. She had eight siblings, 47 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: although not all of them lived to adulthood, and she 48 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 1: made it sound as though she never really got much 49 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: praise or encouragement. When her brother sherman got hired away 50 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: from their father's butcher shop, she was made to pick 51 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: up his duties, and this is something that she said 52 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: made her tough enough to be unafraid of anyone in Hollywood. 53 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: Later in her life, while she was still a teenager 54 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: in Altoona, Elda acquired an accessory which defined her style 55 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: for the rest of her life. She bought herself a 56 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: hat with her own money, and she wrote of that 57 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: hat quote, it was a thing of beauty, of bright 58 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: green straw with red velvet geraniums. It made me feel 59 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: rich as a queen. That hat was a greater attraction 60 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: on Easter morning than the choir or the preacher's sermon. 61 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: I said, if a hat can get the attention of 62 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: this many people, I'll never go bareheaded, and she stuck 63 00:03:57,680 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: to that because she was known for her hat collection 64 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: and the money she spent on it throughout the rest 65 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: of her life. When she was seventeen, Elda saw a 66 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: touring company performed the play Captain Jinks of the Horse 67 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: Marines that involves a love triangle with a bet and 68 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: an opera star and a lot of complications before a 69 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: happy ending. Ethel Barrymore starred in the play. It's often 70 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: credited with being the show that made her famous, and 71 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: Elderfurry thought that this was amazing, and after seeing the play, 72 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: she knew she wanted to act, so in nineteen oh seven, 73 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,280 Speaker 1: she left Pennsylvania for New York, intent on a stage career. 74 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: In her autobiography, she describes this exit from Pennsylvania as quote, 75 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: when life became intolerable at home, I ran away to 76 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: New York and went on the stage. But really, and 77 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: you'll often see like she saw this play and then 78 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: she left, But really she took some time before that 79 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: to get some education that was going to benefit her 80 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: in her acting career. She didn't actually get formal education 81 00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: past eighth grade because she had to work in the 82 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: family business. But once she got the acting bug. She 83 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: did manage to get her father to let her enroll 84 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: in music school in Pittsburgh, so she did that for 85 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: a while. But she did make that move from Opportunity 86 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: to New York, kind of in a spur of the moment, 87 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: way after an incident in which, according to her, her 88 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: brother broke her favorite chair, and that was just the 89 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: last straw for her. She had been secretly saving up money, 90 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: and she got that money. She packed a suitcase and 91 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: she left without telling anyone. And she wasn't though, without 92 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: a place to go in New York, because her uncle 93 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: lived there and she just kind of showed up on 94 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: his doorstep. In New York, she got a job working 95 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: as a chorus girl with the Aborn Opera Company. She 96 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: was not naturally talented, but she was determined. As she 97 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: moved in the social circles of the theater, she met 98 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: one of the most successful actors of the day, de 99 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: Wolf Hopper. He's most famously remembered today for his recitation 100 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: of the Ernest Lawrence Thayer baseball poem Casey at the Bat. 101 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: Hopper was twenty seven years older than Elda, and he 102 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: clearly captivated her. She later wrote quote. To me, Hopper 103 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,239 Speaker 1: was something special, something new under the sun. His massive size, 104 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: his voice, his storytelling gift. Wolfe was a six foot 105 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,719 Speaker 1: three riot. From the moment I saw him, he fascinated me. 106 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: She wrote a lot of very adoring things about him, 107 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: even long after the marriage had ended, describing how his 108 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: voice was something you couldn't help but fall in love with, 109 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: and describing it as sounding quote like some great church organ. 110 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: Hopper had his own acting company and Elda joined it, 111 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,239 Speaker 1: and though they soon started a romance, they were really 112 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: not open about it. No, he had a little bit 113 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: of a history with women. He had already been married 114 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: a divorce four times at this point. She was so 115 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: much younger. They just kind of kept it quiet initially, 116 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: And when Elda, who had gotten frustrated with chorus rolls, 117 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: managed to land a lead part in a touring production 118 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: of The Country Boy, which meant she no longer with 119 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: de Wolf's company, he sent her letters throughout her eight 120 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: month tour, and then when that tour ended, she decided 121 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: she also wanted to be in musical theater. Instead of 122 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:13,679 Speaker 1: doing straight acting again, not as chorus girl. She wanted 123 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: to be a main player, and so she started studying voice, 124 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: and then she landed a role in The Quaker Girl, 125 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: so once again she went back on tour, and again 126 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: Wolfy wrote to her constantly. She continued to keep the 127 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: secret of their romance, even as her colleagues asked who 128 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: this man was who so dutifully wrote to her and 129 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: was obviously just adoring of her, And she later said 130 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: that the strain of keeping this secret of their romance 131 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: was so great that she was never able to keep another. 132 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: By the time the tour of The Quaker Girl ended, 133 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: Elda and Wolfe were secretly engaged. She went to a 134 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: jewelry store and bought her own ring by herself, and 135 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: the next morning she took the earliest train from Albany 136 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: to Grand Central station, where De wolf and his chauffeur 137 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: were waiting. The couple headed to New Jersey and they 138 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: got me read in secret. They only told the manager 139 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: of the Algonquin Hotel where mister Hopper was living, so 140 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: that he could arrange for Elda to have separate but 141 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: adjoining rooms with her new husband. As Holly said earlier, 142 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: this was De Wolfe's fifth marriage. As they started telling people, 143 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: Elda told one of the couple's closest friends, Alice Miller, 144 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: and the response was that she burst into tears because 145 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: she was worried about what her young friend had done. 146 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: Their other close friends, who were slowly let in on 147 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: the secret, ended up celebrating with a private dinner, and 148 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: eventually Elda telegraphed her parents and her father, who was 149 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: several years younger than her new husbandd wolf was so 150 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: angry that he put out a statement to the press 151 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: that the marriage quote pains me greatly. Essentially, everyone kind 152 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: of thought that de wolf had taken up with such 153 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: a young woman to stroke his own ego, and that 154 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: he was going to soon cast her aside. The family 155 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: statement meant that soon that news was everywhere. There was 156 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: no keeping any kind of secret, and the newly weds 157 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: were suddenly having to patch up a lot of friendships 158 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: with people who were shocked by this news or just 159 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,319 Speaker 1: kind of hurt at having been left out of the loop. 160 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: De Wolfe's previous wives had been named Ella, Ida, Edna, 161 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: and Nella, and she found that their similarities led to 162 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: her new husband calling her by all of their names 163 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: and not her own. She wrote, quote, I didn't have 164 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: much personality of my own then, but I'd be darned 165 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 1: if I was going to give up the shred I 166 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: did possess. So she consulted a numerologist who came up 167 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: with the name Heda de wolf Hopper did not like this, 168 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: but she said he never called her the wrong name again. Yeah, 169 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: she loved it and he was not pleased, but it 170 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: worked out, I guess. On January twenty sixth, nineteen fifteen, 171 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: Hedda and De Wolf had a son, William de wolf 172 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: Hopper Junior. She had been touring Withdwolf on his current tour, 173 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: but she returned to New York early because her pregnancy, 174 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: which they had also kept secret, had just become too 175 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: uncomfortable for life on the road. The birth of their 176 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: son came several weeks early, and De Wolf was not 177 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: in New York with her at the time. He actually 178 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: found out that she had had the child while he 179 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: was on stage in Chicago, and then once he returned home, 180 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: the family traveled with a nanny to Nantucket and there 181 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,199 Speaker 1: they spent the summer. Later that same year, the couple 182 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: decided to move to Hollywood, something a lot of stage 183 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: actors were doing to try to get into the new 184 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: and growing film industry. De wolf had been offered a 185 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: contract with Triangle Film Corporation. Initially, do wolf had wanted 186 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: Heda to give up her career when they married, and 187 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: she acquiesced, but then she took a part, allegedly as 188 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: a favor to their friend William Farnham. In nineteen sixteen, 189 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: she made her on screen debut in the film Battle 190 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: of Hearts. It was the first of many movies for her. 191 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,839 Speaker 1: By the end of the nineteeneen, she had been in 192 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: eleven films and the work continued to come. This was 193 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:59,439 Speaker 1: good because de Wolfe's talent didn't really translate to the screen. 194 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: His best feature was his voice, and the films were silent. 195 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,439 Speaker 1: Plus he was old enough that he just didn't look 196 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 1: good on film, according to Heada's account. Later, when his 197 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: contract was up, he went to New York and she 198 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: stayed in California, where the work was steady for her. 199 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: She did eventually go back to New York, and the 200 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 1: Hoppers bought a house on Long Island so that their 201 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: son could have a home outside of the city. De 202 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: Wolfe had gone back to acting on the stage, and 203 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: Hetta also did some stage work too, and then Sam 204 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn opened a studio in Fort Lee, 205 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: New Jersey, to make movies, and they called headed to 206 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: see if she'd like to make some films on the 207 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,199 Speaker 1: East Coast, and she did, and she also established her 208 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: reputation as a woman with a sharp tongue very early 209 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: on in these movies. In nineteen eighteen, she appeared in 210 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 1: the film Virtuous Wives that was actually the first film 211 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: made by Lewis B. Mayer. She tells this story in 212 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: her book about how there was this weird guy kind 213 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:58,599 Speaker 1: of lurking around the set and they kept having to 214 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: tell him to get out of the shot, and nobody 215 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,960 Speaker 1: realized it was Lewis B. Mayer and he had to 216 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: tell people at the end, like, oh, I'm the producer. 217 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: But Elda, who at this point was going by Heada, 218 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: but she was also being billed as Missus d wolf Hopper, 219 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: which is how she's credited in that film, fought constantly 220 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: with her co star Anita Stewart. Hedda made a point 221 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: to have custom clothing made for every scene out of 222 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: her own pocket. She spent her entire salary, which is 223 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: quoted as five thousand dollars for this project on new 224 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: clothes and it upstaged the much more famous Stuart with 225 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: her wardrobe, and this caused a huge calamity. In a moment, 226 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,199 Speaker 1: we'll talk about the end of Heada's marriage and her 227 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 1: life after De Wolfe, but first we will take a 228 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 1: quick sponsor break. According to Hedda's account, she began to 229 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: fall out of love with her husband when she told 230 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: him that she had gotten a raise the studio and 231 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: was finally making the same amount of money as he was. 232 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: His response to this was anger instead of happiness, and 233 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 1: he said some very insulting things. They had already been 234 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 1: living on very different schedules and not spending as much 235 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: time together, and then Hadda started to find evidence that 236 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: he was having an affair or multiple affairs. She eventually 237 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,319 Speaker 1: caught him in one of these, and she filed for divorce. 238 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty two. D Wolfe Hopper got married again 239 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: to his sixth wife, Lily and Glacier, right after the 240 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 1: divorce was final. Soon after, Hetta was offered a year 241 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: long contract in Hollywood and she took it. She was 242 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 1: in a lot of projects, but was always a supporting player. 243 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: Over time, she found she wasn't getting offered contracts and 244 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: she needed to figure out what to do. Interestingly enough, 245 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: during this time, she was friends with the woman who 246 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: would later become her most bitter rival, Luella Parsons, and 247 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: would sometimes slipper information for her gossip column in exchange 248 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: for a little good press. For a while, Hopper jumped 249 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: from job to job, just trying to make a living 250 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: and support herself and her son. In nineteen thirty two, 251 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 1: she made a move into a new arena, and that 252 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: was politics. She ran for Los Angeles City Council that year. 253 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,720 Speaker 1: She did not win, but she did remain politically interested, 254 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: and sometimes that interest became part of her columns. We're 255 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: going to talk about that a lot more in a minute. 256 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: After foundering for a bit, Heda got a radio agent 257 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: and they worked on getting a show together. But her 258 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: first effort was bad. She wasn't used to being on 259 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: mike rather than on a stage, and she ended up 260 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: using an affected British sounding accent. But she worked on 261 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: it and in nineteen thirty six had us started a 262 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 1: radio show, The Head of Hopper Show, which was a 263 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: short form gossip program. Mostly she cataloged Hollywood divorces and weddings, 264 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: using her connections in the industry for insider information. Luella 265 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: Parson's show A Hollywood Hotel had debuted two years earlier, 266 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: and based on the head of Hopper Show, Heda was 267 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: offered a column by the Esquire syndicate. They specifically wanted 268 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: a gossip column to compete with the one written by 269 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: Lluella Parsons. Hedda couldn't type, but she could dictate, and 270 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: soon her column, HEADA Hopper's Hollywood, was running in more 271 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: than a dozen papers. She soon was writing seven columns 272 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 1: a week and still doing her radio show. She got 273 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: busy and successful enough to move her work out of 274 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: her house to an office on Hollywood Boulevard. She kept 275 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: that office, I think for the rest of her life. 276 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: She listed her number and address so people could drop 277 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: in or call if they had a hot tip or 278 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: any inside information, and they did, and she shared it 279 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: all without fact checking, later saying she didn't know anything 280 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: about libel laws. But her radio show was with CBS, 281 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: and their legal team would actually cut her scripts before 282 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: she went on the air. They would review it and 283 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: edit them if they thought something was unverifiable or could 284 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,840 Speaker 1: get them trouble. But she kind of found a way 285 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: to work around that. Problem by using her delivery to 286 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: suggest when she was hinting at something salacious, even if 287 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: she couldn't say it. Hetta's work was, as we mentioned, 288 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: not known for fact checking. The New York Times wrote 289 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 1: of her after her death, quote, Ordinarily, there was a 290 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: fake quality to miss Hopper's columns, tracing perhaps to the 291 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: fact that she did not like to have her staff 292 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: tamper with her dictated output, and to the fact that 293 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: she did not always check out her information. The result 294 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: was that she got names confused, such as Switching Shirley 295 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: Temple and and Shirley and Judy Garland and Judy Canova. 296 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: She sometimes misattributed pregnancies or engagements or love affairs. Uh, 297 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: this gets a yikes. Yeah. I mean that's a pretty 298 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: fast way for somebody to like have their phone ring 299 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: and be like, I didn't know you were having an affair, 300 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: to be like, what are you even talking about? That's 301 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: not me, but it's in print, and people will start 302 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: to believe it. That's a problem. Right. In nineteen forty, 303 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: Hopper's writing had become so popular that she was able 304 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: to take a more lucrative offer at the Des Moines Register. 305 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: In Tribune syndicate, but they released her from it when 306 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: the Chicago Tribune New York News syndicate made her a 307 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,400 Speaker 1: better offer. This was just after Hedda had pulled off 308 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: something that seemed unthinkable. She had scooped Luella Parsons that 309 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,400 Speaker 1: was regarding the divorce of Jimmy Roosevelt, the President's son, 310 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 1: And this was hot gossip because Jimmy, who worked for 311 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: the Goldwyn Studio, was having an affair that precipitated that divorce. 312 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: It made front page news all over the US, and 313 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: it sparked a feud between Hopper and Parsons that persisted 314 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: for decades. By the early nineteen forties, the column was 315 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 1: getting so much mail from readers that Hopper needed two 316 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: full time assistants to wade through it all. Hedda became 317 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: an integral part of the studio star system. That system 318 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: is something we've brushed up against on the show before, 319 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: but we've never really talked about it in depth. Basically, 320 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,000 Speaker 1: being an actor in Hollywood from the nineteen twenties to 321 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties usually involved going in for a screen test, 322 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: and if the studio liked what it saw, that actor 323 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: would be signed to a contract. The contracts were often 324 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: seven years long, and during that time the actor was 325 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: essentially an employee of the movie studio. They acted in 326 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: the films they were assigned. They were usually held to 327 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: morality clauses that were meant to curb any reckless, lascivious, 328 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: or other behavior that could embarrass the studio, and in return, 329 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: the studio made that actor a star. This usually meant 330 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 1: the concoction of a false backstory and name, essentially meaning 331 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: that that actor had to play a character anytime they 332 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: were out in public, and part of that system was, 333 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: of course, pr The studio essentially introduced these actors as stars, 334 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,400 Speaker 1: and gossip columns became a way to get the word 335 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 1: out about their doings that were wholesome and image affirming. 336 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: For example, Clark Gable was one of the stars who 337 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: became famous in the star system. He was already famous 338 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: by the time we're using this example, but it shows 339 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,439 Speaker 1: how this whole thing worked. In nineteen thirty eight, so 340 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 1: that was the year Too Hot to Handle came out, 341 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 1: and while plans were being laid for Gone with the Wind, 342 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: a breezy mention of the already well known actor appeared 343 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 1: in head of Hopper's Hollywood. It read quote Clark Gable 344 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: is taking all his pals up to the rodeo in Victorville, 345 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: October fourteenth, long before he knew Carol Lombard. Yuko Lomo 346 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 1: was his old camping ground. He'd go out every night 347 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: rabbit shooting with all the kids. When celebrity seekers found 348 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 1: out about it, Clark moved on. Nice to know he's 349 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: going back because the gang up there adore him. So 350 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: it's basically like, isn't he the best guy ever? We 351 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,680 Speaker 1: all think he's amazing, which just Garner's more public favor 352 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: for that actor so that when their films come out, 353 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,680 Speaker 1: people want to go see it. On the flip side, 354 00:19:57,880 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: if a star was caught in a scandal and it 355 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: was about to go to press, the studio would pay 356 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: off papers or the columnists to suppress this story. There's 357 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,400 Speaker 1: one story about Luella Parsons where they bought a screenplay 358 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: from her to suppress the story that never got made, 359 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: but she basically got a big hunk of money to 360 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: not talk about something she knew about an actor. This 361 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: all meant that Hetta and her rival Luella Parsons were 362 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,919 Speaker 1: able to wield an incredible amount of power. If an 363 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: actor did something that one of them didn't like, they 364 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: could easily tank their careers by reporting it or even 365 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: fabricating unfounded gossip in the guise of an inside tip. 366 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 1: Actors who violated the morality clauses in their contracts were 367 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: fired and left with no real recourse. In a nineteen 368 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: ninety seven interview with Vanity Fair, actor Roddy McDowell noted 369 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 1: that being mentioned positively by Hetta or Parsons was a 370 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: sort of currency, and actors saved their clippings and showed 371 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: them to studios, so they were a negotiating tool to 372 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: prove the value of the actor. Hetta Hopper's sometimes manifested 373 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: in ways that were actively harmful to the people she 374 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: wrote about. Both she and Parsons could be incredibly conniving 375 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 1: in ways that are kind of hard to stomach for 376 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: anyone with scruples. Frankly, after Orson Wells had convinced Luella 377 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: Parsons that his upcoming film Citizen Kane was not based 378 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,439 Speaker 1: on her boss William Randolph Hurst, Hetta was able to 379 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: see an early screening and immediately reported to Hurst that 380 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: it was obviously based on him, and that she was 381 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,719 Speaker 1: surprised Luella had not given him a heads up. Hurst 382 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: was so angry he commanded Luella to launch a full 383 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: scale attack on the film. To squash it. Parsons threatened 384 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: to expose all of the secrets she knew about RKO executives, 385 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 1: that was the studio where it was made, and that 386 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: she would black out any coverage of it or Radio 387 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 1: City Music Hall where it was set to premiere, and 388 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: as a consequence that premiere was canceled. There is more 389 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: to this story. There are so many ins and outs 390 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: of just cruel and unkind behavior and canniming, but the 391 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: short version is that citizen Kane tanked initially due to 392 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: the work of Parsons at the behest of Hurst, which 393 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: he started with a tip off from head of Hopper, 394 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: and although HEADA Hopper did not work for her. She 395 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: called the movie quote a vicious and irresponsible attack on 396 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: a great man. Writing for the Australasian Journal of American 397 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: Studies in two thousand and seven, Jennifer Frost described the 398 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 1: way that Hopper used her column to blur the lines 399 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:34,159 Speaker 1: of public, private, and political. Quote gossip was understood to 400 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 1: be private talk talk about those things which ought to 401 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:42,439 Speaker 1: be kept private, voiced often illegitimately in the public realm. 402 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,879 Speaker 1: Yet as in traditional societies, Hollywood gossip also had a 403 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: public function. It shared information and knowledge, contributed to a 404 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: sense of community among moviegoers, and, in Hopper's case, provided 405 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: a platform and an audience for her political views. As 406 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:03,400 Speaker 1: practiced by and her reader's, Hollywood Gossip became an arena 407 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: for discussion and debate about significant and contested issues of 408 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 1: public and private life and their intersection in mid twentieth 409 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: century America. So coming up, we will talk about the 410 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,679 Speaker 1: way head of Hopper used this whole function of her 411 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: writing to target Charlie Chaplin in her column. But first 412 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: we're going to pause for a sponsor break. The most 413 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: famous victim of Heada's poison pen was Charlie Chaplin. She 414 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: had many times written about other celebrities with a good 415 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: bit of venom, but Chaplin was someone she targeted repeatedly 416 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: in what has often been called a decades long campaign 417 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: against him. Some of her write ups were honestly the 418 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 1: sort of boring critiques of his films that may have 419 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: been an irritant, like she would say he's a good actor, 420 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,160 Speaker 1: but his films are bad, but soon she started attacking 421 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,679 Speaker 1: him on a personal level. Some of this seems to 422 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: have largely been initiated as a grudge for Chaplain not 423 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: really caring about Hollywood gossip or playing the games that 424 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: she typically required of stars if they wanted to stay 425 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,919 Speaker 1: in the good graces of her column. He also was 426 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: mora aligned a little bit with Luella Parsons. There are 427 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: things that place him socially near Luella Parsons, which of 428 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,640 Speaker 1: course she would not have liked. He also didn't work 429 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:33,160 Speaker 1: within the Hollywood system right He was making his films independently, 430 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: so it wasn't as though his job was in danger 431 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 1: if he didn't play nice with her, at least not directly. 432 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: Chaplain was very liberal in his politics, and Hopper was 433 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 1: very conservative, and she characterized his every move as suspicious. 434 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: He also was and is notorious for his pursuit of 435 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: underage girls and his extremely poor treatment of them. This 436 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: is not a matter of dispute, but Hopper seemed to 437 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: conveniently forget while lambasting him for that behavior, that her 438 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: own husband, who was much older, had started seeing her 439 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: when she was still very young, and that he was 440 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: married six times. She often referred to Chaplin as quote 441 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: the man who came to dinner and stayed forty years, 442 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,479 Speaker 1: as a way to criticize the fact that he lived 443 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: and worked in the US but never became a citizen. 444 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: She also made antisemitic comments about him. He wasn't Jewish, 445 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:29,199 Speaker 1: but she made the case that he seemed Jewish and 446 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,719 Speaker 1: was hiding it. There were a couple of major and 447 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:37,159 Speaker 1: deeply damaging moments in Hopper's print attacks on Chaplain. The 448 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: first was when she broke the story of a paternity lawsuit. 449 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: In June of nineteen forty three, an actor named Joan 450 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,360 Speaker 1: Berry had approached Hopper and told her that she had 451 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: a sexual relationship with Chaplain. That was true, and that 452 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 1: he had broken up with her, which was also true, 453 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: and that she had gotten pregnant by him. That was 454 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,800 Speaker 1: not true, and blood tests proved it, but Hopper had 455 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: gone full force against him, characterizing him as having abandoned 456 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: a pregnant Joan Berry. In the early nineteen forties, blood 457 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: tests were not admissible evidence in California praternity lawsuits. That 458 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: is a little mind blowing, and while the first trial 459 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 1: ended in a hung jury, a second trial found in 460 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 1: favor of Barry, and Chaplain was ordered to pay support 461 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,439 Speaker 1: for a child that was not his own. Throughout this 462 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,240 Speaker 1: entire thing, Hopper had stoked public opinion against him as 463 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,880 Speaker 1: immoral and irresponsible, and that deeply hurt his reputation with audiences. 464 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,520 Speaker 1: That was not the end of the Joan Berry problems 465 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: for Chaplain. Hopper also helped get Chaplin indicted under the 466 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: Man Act that made it illegal to transport a woman 467 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 1: across state lines with immoral intent. We've talked about this 468 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,879 Speaker 1: on the show before. It pretty much only applied to 469 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: white women. Chaplain had paid for cross country train fare 470 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: for Barry at one point and had a testified against 471 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 1: him before a grand jury after she had already fed 472 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: the FBI information about his activities with Barry. When the 473 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: case went to trial, she covered every moment in her column. 474 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 1: Chaplin was acquitted, but had a Hopper did not print 475 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,920 Speaker 1: that particular detail. During the Cold War, Hopper, noting Chaplain's 476 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: leftist politics, accused him of being a communist and of 477 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: donating huge sums of money to the Communist Party. She 478 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: also stated that he was slyly including communist propaganda in 479 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 1: his films. Chaplin was subpoena to appear before the House 480 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 1: an American Activities Committee in fall of nineteen forty seven, 481 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: although he was never actually called to testify. Simultaneously, his 482 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 1: film Monsieur Verdeu was released, and Hopper and the FBI 483 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,080 Speaker 1: both called it Soviet propaganda, which led to picketing and 484 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 1: boycotts and a massive failure for the film at the 485 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:55,479 Speaker 1: box office. The FBI's investigation ended. Chaplain ultimately turned up 486 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: no connections to the Communist Party, but Hopper had already 487 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:01,639 Speaker 1: convinced a girl great many of her readers that the 488 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 1: actor director was in fact a Communist or Communist sympathizer, 489 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,360 Speaker 1: so findings otherwise just kind of fed into this idea 490 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: that there might be a conspiracy at work. Hopper's last 491 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,120 Speaker 1: major blow to Chaplain came in nineteen fifty two, when 492 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 1: her work to paint him as a danger to the 493 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: United States led to his permit to return to the 494 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: US being revoked after he'd been abroad. He had gone 495 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: to Europe to promote the film Limelight, and Hopper had 496 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 1: suggested that the Truman administration, which was democratic, had given 497 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 1: him special treatment in giving him a permit to travel 498 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,920 Speaker 1: abroad and then return. They had not gotten his travel 499 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: papers through any special channels, but because of Hopper's insinuation, 500 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: the Attorney General stepped in and canceled his return permit. 501 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: He never returned to the United States, although he tried 502 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,840 Speaker 1: to appeal the situation for a year before giving up. Yeah, 503 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:58,120 Speaker 1: she was kind of trying to subtly make this connection 504 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: that not only was he a communist, she never gave 505 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,600 Speaker 1: up on that, but that also he was in cahoots 506 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 1: with the Democratic Party who was sympathetic to communists, Like 507 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: she was really building this entire house of cards around 508 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 1: his identity. The flip side of her treatment of Charlie 509 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: Chaplin and other stars that she thought should go on 510 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,760 Speaker 1: the Blacklist as communists was the way that she sometimes 511 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: used her column to support stars that were accused of 512 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: the very same thing we mentioned in our episode about 513 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: Lucille Ball that she had also been accused of potential 514 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: communist ties, and it was actually head of Hopper who 515 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: published the rebuttal to that accusation, including the quote from 516 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: Ball's husband Desi Arnez that stated quote, the only thing 517 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: read about her is her hair, and even that is 518 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 1: not legitimate. Incidentally, not long after that, Hopper got to 519 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 1: appear on I Love Lucy playing herself I had It 520 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: continued to be successful by writing about Hollywood. In the 521 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, she had a reported readership of thirty five 522 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: million people, with her column running in eighty five metropolitan 523 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: newspap and thousands of smaller publications. Her autobiography, titled From 524 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: Under My Hat, was published in nineteen fifty two. Maybe 525 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 1: true to form, she opens it by not talking about 526 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: herself exactly, but a family member and how she leveraged 527 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: their unique characteristic for her own gain. It begins quote, 528 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:23,080 Speaker 1: once upon a time, there was a six toed cousin mine. 529 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: When I first saw him, I knew I was in 530 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,680 Speaker 1: show business. Kids in the neighborhood couldn't afford pennies, but 531 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: I made them pay five pins every time they got 532 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: a look at him. It's not exactly a book where 533 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 1: you can trust that all the facts are accurate, but 534 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,960 Speaker 1: it definitely makes her look good, but it also offers 535 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 1: some insights into how she felt about herself and the 536 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: people in her life. She wrote another book that sometimes 537 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 1: categorized as an autobiography in nineteen sixty three that was 538 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,880 Speaker 1: titled The Whole Truth and Nothing But it's really more 539 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: of a stream of consciousness, tell all of all the 540 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: various people she knew in Hollywood. Yeah, she spends a 541 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: lot of time talking about all of Elizabeth Taylor's personal 542 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: business because she had known her for years and years. 543 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:09,040 Speaker 1: On Friday, January twenty eighth, nineteen sixty six, Hedda came 544 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: down with what seemed to be a bad cold or flu. 545 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 1: On Sunday, she felt bad enough to go to the 546 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,560 Speaker 1: hospital two days later. She died on Tuesday, February first, 547 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty six, of quote, double pneumonia with heart complications. 548 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: Just days before her death, Hopper had told a friend 549 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 1: that she heard Charlie Chaplin was trying to return to 550 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,959 Speaker 1: the US and that he had to be stopped. She 551 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: had maintained her grudge against him all the way to 552 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,480 Speaker 1: the end. When Hopper died, her obituary in The New 553 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: York Times ran under the subheader confidant of leading Stars, 554 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 1: noted for flamboyant hats and caustic comments. That same write 555 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: up also called her the movie colonies mad Hatter and 556 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 1: described her work this way quote. With frequent disdain for grammar, logic, 557 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 1: and often accuracy, Hedda Hopper produced a Hollywood gossip column 558 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: for twenty eight years that contributed to the insecurity and 559 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 1: vanity of the movie industry and to the titillation and 560 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: amusement of millions of readers across the county. Yes, there 561 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 1: is a bit of comedy that in the very same 562 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,680 Speaker 1: paragraph where the obituary writer criticized her work, there is 563 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: a misspelling of county when it should be country. I 564 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: feel like she might have laughed at that. Uh. That's 565 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: a very brief version of heada hopper. She had her 566 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,800 Speaker 1: hand so deep in the Hollywood pie that I feel 567 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:35,440 Speaker 1: like you can do entire series of podcasts about her. 568 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: It intersects with literally everyone we have ever talked about 569 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 1: in Hollywood history, and she has many wild adventures in 570 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,760 Speaker 1: her life because of her connections to that industry and 571 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:54,760 Speaker 1: to the stage industry in New York. But that is 572 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 1: our coverage of her for today. I have a light 573 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: and fun listener. Oh good, This is from our listener, Elizabeth, 574 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 1: and it is about Advent Calendars. She writes, Hi, Holly 575 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 1: and Tracy, I enjoyed your recent episode on Advent Calendars. 576 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,360 Speaker 1: As always, my twelve year old son has done a 577 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:16,880 Speaker 1: lego Star Wars Advent Calendar for the past few years, 578 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: and they are so much fun and such a great 579 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,320 Speaker 1: way to take the edge off of the anticipation of 580 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: Christmas Day. But my favorite thing about it is that 581 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: he calls it microdosing Christmas. He's not wrong, and now 582 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: we refer to it that way all the time. Thanks Elizabeth. 583 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:32,440 Speaker 1: I love this. That's a beautiful way to look at it. 584 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: And I really had not This may sound foolish because 585 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,760 Speaker 1: I don't have kids. I had not thought about it 586 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:43,800 Speaker 1: as a way to kind of entertain kids, because I 587 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 1: you know kids. I mean I remember I would get 588 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:48,720 Speaker 1: like fever pitch starting December fifth and just drive my 589 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: parents crazy for the next twenty days. And so I 590 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 1: had not thought about that function of Advent calendars, being like, 591 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 1: here's a tiny gift, please go to your room. I 592 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: can see this as like a blessing and a curse, 593 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: because I remember the year my brother and I were 594 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 1: getting new snowboots for Christmas and we were gonna go 595 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 1: to a Christmas Eve service and the weather was awful 596 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: and slushy and gross that day, and so my mom 597 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,319 Speaker 1: let us open that one present before we went to 598 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,200 Speaker 1: the service, and then that just became you let us 599 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 1: open a Christmas Eve present last year. Now it's a requirement. 600 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:38,399 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, I finangled a Christmas Eve situation as well. 601 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,600 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Elizabeth. I do like the concept 602 00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:44,760 Speaker 1: of microdocing Christmas. That makes me gagle. If you would 603 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can do so at 604 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find 605 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,480 Speaker 1: us on social media as missed in History and if 606 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: you have not subscribed yet, that's a super easy thing 607 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:56,799 Speaker 1: to do. You can do it on the iHeartRadio app 608 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:04,480 Speaker 1: or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you 609 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,640 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 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