Gossip

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Queens Are Dead, Episode 9) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The Hollywood studio system begins to crumble, and Louella and Hedda decline and fall, too. But just as a new generation of filmmakers rises from the ashes and reinvents the movie business, so too does gossip find new life in a new look. We’ll end our season by talking about a woman who was the antithesis of Louella and Hedda -- liberal, Jewish, sexually forward, and so unwilling to play the industry’s games that she may have ensured the death of the gossip columnist as star. 

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Louella Parsons, Victor Mature and Rita Hayworth at the Cocoanut Grove, c. 1940s

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Barge" by Grey River

"Bellow's Hull" by Reflections

"Jumbel" by Muffuletta

"One Quiet Conversation" by K2

"Walking Shoes" by Skittle

"Trenton Channel" by Reflections

"Unfolding Plot" by Ray Catcher

"Stale Case" by Darby

"Gale" by Migration

"Via Verre" by The Sweet Hots

"Mr Mole and Son" by Love and Weasel

"Vik Fence Lardha" by The Fence

"Base Camp" by K2

"Flashing Runner" by Resolute

"Ether Variant" by Reflections

"Intelligent Galaxy" by The Insider

"Passing Fields" by Quantum Jazz

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949 | LIFE Magazine

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help, I’m Stuck.

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Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (Interracial Panic and Confidential, Episode 8) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959
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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Appalled by rock n’ roll and its racial and sexual implications, Hedda and Louella find themselves in further danger of obsolescence when the gossip game is turned upside down by CONFIDENTIAL Magazine.

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Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons at Party for Sophia Loren at Romanoff's with Conchita Pignatelli, 1957 | LIFE Magazine

Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons at Party for Sophia Loren at Romanoff's with Conchita Pignatelli, 1957 | LIFE Magazine

Nat King Cole and Louella Parsons | Photo by Douglas Robert from the Shades of L.A. Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Nat King Cole and Louella Parsons | Photo by Douglas Robert from the Shades of L.A. Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Single Still" by Vermouth

"Lowball" by Vermouth

"Borough" by Molerider

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

"Vernouillet" by The Sweet Hots

"Spot Peter" by The Sweet Hots

"Gaddy" by Little Rock

"Calisson" by Confectionery

"Tessalit" by Azalai

"True Blue Sky" by Bitters

"Cran Ras" by Vermouth

"Holo" by Grey River

James Dean and Hedda Hopper c. 1950s

James Dean and Hedda Hopper c. 1950s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help, I’m Stuck. Writer Rachel Syme spoke to Karina about Sheila Graham. 

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Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (Sex and Shame in the 1950s, Episode 7) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The 1950s were a decade of massive contradictions in terms of national and cultural attitudes towards sex. As Louella Parsons struggled to keep up with these rapid changes -- and to compete with her bolder, bitchier rival Hedda Hopper -- she reflected and steered the sexual panic through her coverage of two stories: Rita Hayworth’s marriage to a Muslim prince, and Ingrid Bergman’s “illegitimate” pregnancy. Plus: the emergence of Sheilah Graham, the international woman of mystery who would eventually beat the gossip girls at their own game.

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Louella Parsons, Victor Mature and Rita Hayworth at the Cocoanut Grove, c. 1940s

Louella Parsons, Victor Mature and Rita Hayworth at the Cocoanut Grove, c. 1940s

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Single Still" by Vermouth

"Lowball" by Vermouth

"Borough" by Molerider

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

"Vernouillet" by The Sweet Hots

"Spot Peter" by The Sweet Hots

"Gaddy" by Little Rock

"Calisson" by Confectionery

"Tessalit" by Azalai

"True Blue Sky" by Bitters

"Cran Ras" by Vermouth

"Holo" by Grey River

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949 | LIFE Magazine

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949 | LIFE Magazine

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help, I’m Stuck. Writer Rachel Syme spoke to Karina about Sheila Graham. 

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (Witch Hunt, Episode 6) /  by Karina Longworth

Louella Parsons, 1953 | Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Louella Parsons, 1953 | Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

During an era in which Hollywood and Washington are shakily aligned in the witch hunting of actual and reputed socialists, Louella struggles to maintain her position as cheerleader for the status quo, while Hedda grabs a torch and tries to burn it all down, using celebrity gossip to further the racist, xenophobic interests of the FBI. There’s also a new competitor in town, who at once subversively spoke to and for Hollywood’s gay community, while also deflecting attention from his own sexuality by attacking others.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Hedda Hopper | The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Hedda Hopper | The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images

Louella Parsons and L.B. Mayer | Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Louella Parsons and L.B. Mayer | Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Gary Cooper at the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Washington, DC, October 24, 1947 | Photo Via Getty Images

Gary Cooper at the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Washington, DC, October 24, 1947 | Photo Via Getty Images

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"The Records" by Union Hall

"Undercover Vampire Policeman" by Chris Zabriskie

"Chai Belltini" by Vermouth

"Cocoon Transit" by Origami

"Gin Boheme" by Vermouth

"Where it All Happened" by Cold Case

"Roadside Bunkhouse" by Truck Stop

"I Knew a Guy" by Kevin MacLeod

"ZigZag Heart" by Nursery

"Copley Beat" by Skittle

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

Mike Connolly c. 1950s

Mike Connolly c. 1950s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created, and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help I’m Stuck.  

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Queer, Female Film Producer You’ve Never Heard Of, Episode 5) /  by Karina Longworth

Harriet Parsons c. 1930s | Photo by George Hurrell

Harriet Parsons c. 1930s | Photo by George Hurrell

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Louella’s daughter, Harriet Parsons, became a groundbreaking female film producer at a moment in history in which virtually all mainstream filmmakers were male. She was also a lesbian, at a time when being openly gay was unacceptable in Hollywood -- and, in much of America, illegal. 

Harriet Parsons, left, with Radie Harris, 1945 | Photo from the Harriet Parsons scrapbooks, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Harriet Parsons, left, with Radie Harris, 1945 | Photo from the Harriet Parsons scrapbooks, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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Louella Parsons, Hollywood gossip columnist, with CBS-TV Producer, Martin Manulis and Harriet Parsons

Louella Parsons, Hollywood gossip columnist, with CBS-TV Producer, Martin Manulis and Harriet Parsons

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"The Bus at Dawn" by Holyoke

"Talltell" by Flatlands

"Pacing" by TinyTiny Trio

"House of Grendel" by Lemuel

"Levanger" by Lillehammer

"Laser Focus" by TinyTiny Trio

"The Crisper" by Confectionery

"Passages Interlude" by Demalion

"Line Exchange" by Marble Run

"Three Stories" by Skittle

"Cobalt Blue" by Marble Run

"Tarte Tatin" by Confectionery

Harriet Parsons c. 1978 | Photo by Steve Banks

Harriet Parsons c. 1978 | Photo by Steve Banks

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created, and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help I’m Stuck.  

Hedda Hopper and her son William Hopper | Photo from the CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Hedda Hopper and her son William Hopper | Photo from the CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (War! Episode 4) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper c. 1946 | Popperfoto/Getty Images

Hedda Hopper c. 1946 | Popperfoto/Getty Images

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

World War II begins to reveal the gulf between Louella’s conservative but essentially business-minded politics, and Hedda Hopper’s virulent right-wing fervor. These differences — and the glee with which Hopper would destroy lives to shore up political power and further her ideology  — come through loud and clear in the stories of two controversies: the casting of Gone with the Wind, and the paternity trial of Charlie Chaplin. Meanwhile, Louella shows her devotion to Hearst by using her power to cripple Citizen Kane. 

Lana Turner and Louella Parsons Radio Broadcast c. 1940s

Lana Turner and Louella Parsons Radio Broadcast c. 1940s

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources for entire season:

Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood: Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism by Jennifer Frost

The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons by Samantha Barbas

The Whole Truth and Nothing But by Hedda Hopper

From Under My Hat by Hedda Hopper

Tell it to Louella by Louella Parsons

The Powers That Be by David Halberstam

Hearst Over Hollywood: Power, Passion, and Propaganda in the Movies by Louis Pizzitola

The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst by David Nasaw

Dish by Jeannette Walls

Privileged Son: Otis Chandler And The Rise And Fall Of The L.A. Times Dynasty by Dennis Mcdougal

Hedda and Louella: A Dual biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons by George Eells


Sources specific to this episode:

“Joan Barry: The Most (In)famous Actress to Never Appear on Screen” by Matthew Mandarano, https://notesonafilm.com/

“Age of Consent Laws” by Stephen Robertson, University Of Sydney, Australia, https://chnm.gmu.edu/

“Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper Rivalry Ruined the Revelry” Time Magazine, 1941, https://time.com/

“How Leni Riefenstahl shaped the way we see the Olympics” by Nicholas Barber, August 2016, https://www.bbc.com/

“That Old Feeling: Leni's Triumph” by Richard Corliss Aug. 22, 2002, http://content.time.com/

“How 'America First' Got Its Nationalistic Edge” by Eric Rauchway, May 6, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/

“The Long History Behind Donald Trump's 'America First' Foreign Policy” by Lily Rothman, March 28, 2016, https://time.com/

“CRIME: Mann & Woman” Apr. 03, 1944, http://content.time.com/

The “Good” Conscientious Objector Lew Ayres by Joseph Connor, February, 2018, https://www.historynet.com/

“Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper Rivalry Ruined the Revelry” Time Magazine, 1941.png

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"The Bus at Dawn" by Holyoke

"Talltell" by Flatlands

"Pacing" by TinyTiny Trio

"House of Grendel" by Lemuel

"Levanger" by Lillehammer

"Laser Focus" by TinyTiny Trio

"The Crisper" by Confectionery

"Passages Interlude" by Demalion

"Line Exchange" by Marble Run

"Three Stories" by Skittle

"Cobalt Blue" by Marble Run

"Tarte Tatin" by Confectionery

Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Special thanks to Cole Escola who played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help I’m Stuck.  

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Feud, Episode 3) /  by Karina Longworth

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In 1938, washed-up actress Hedda Hopper is installed as a movie gossip columnist with the express purpose of puncturing the success of Louella and Hearst. But Hedda quickly establishes a voice of her own, revolutionary for its insistence on making movie gossip political. Once friends, Louella and Hedda become bitter rivals, egged on in their feud by a third party who sees Hedda as an ally in right-wing conservatism.

Hedda Hopper, 3rd from left, with Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames, Ann Harding in Holiday (1930)

Hedda Hopper, 3rd from left, with Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames, Ann Harding in Holiday (1930)

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Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Krok" by Simple Machines

"Pips and Boil" by Confectionery

"Crumpet" by Confectionery

"Heath" by Moon Juice

"Mr Mole and Son" by Love and Weasel

"One Quiet Conversation" by K2

"Pxl Htra" by The Fence

"Eggs and Powder" by Muffuletta

"Trenton Channel" by Reflections

"Respite" by Desert Kalimba

"Net and the Cradle" by Muffuletta

"Copley Beat" by Skittle

"Ewa Valley" by Cloud Harbor

Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s

Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole is an actor who appears on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris. 

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The First Lady, Episode 2) /  by Karina Longworth

Birthday party for WR Hearst, Louella Parsons 2nd from right | Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Birthday party for WR Hearst, Louella Parsons 2nd from right | Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In 1923, Louella Parsons signed a contract with William Randolph Hearst for nationwide syndication of the first major Hollywood gossip column. Parsons quickly built a brand based on protecting (and whitewashing) Hollywood’s interests, as well as Hearst’s, relentlessly promoting — and spying on — Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies. 

Louella Parsons c. 1920’s

Louella Parsons c. 1920’s

Louella Parsons, Marion Davies, Beltran Masses, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino c. 1920s.png

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Myrian" by Arc and Crecent

"FasterFaster Brighter" by Ray Catcher

"Vernouillet" by The Sweet Hots

"Jeramiah's Suit" by Rayling

"Capering" by Calumet

"The Silver Hatch" by Rayling

"Pastel de Nata" by Orange Cat

"Unfolding Plot" by Ray Catcher

"Floating Whist" by Aeronaut

"Pavement Hack" by Arc and Crecent

"Chase and We Follow" by Ray Catcher

"Dirty Wallpaper" by Lemuel

"Norvik" by Lillehammer

Gloria Swanson, Louella Parsons, and Mary Pickford

Gloria Swanson, Louella Parsons, and Mary Pickford

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. 

Thanks to writer Rachel Syme who spoke to Karina about Sheila Graham.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

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Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper (Small Town Girl, Episode 1) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopperand Louella Parsons.jpg
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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

From the anonymous tips posted on Deux Moi to the streams of annotated paparazzi shots that fill the Daily Mail, today’s celebrity gossip -- democratized, based on technological surveillance -- looks completely different than it used to, when non-famous people could only go “behind the scenes” if led by authoritative guides. How did we get here?

This season on You Must Remember This, we’re going to go back about a hundred years, to the very beginning of the idea of going “behind the scenes,” to talk about the two powerful women who invented and dominated Hollywood gossip as it was known in the 20th century: Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Parsons and Hopper were both self-made women, single moms from middle America who shattered the glass ceiling; they were also small-minded, self-obsessed bigots who used their power to persecute outsiders, police sexuality, and ensure that the rich, powerful people who made movies lived in fear. Through stories of these women, their rivalry with one another and their incestuous relationships with the institutions and powerful men that controlled media, the movies and even federal law enforcement, we’ll track the evolution of gossip over the course of a century. 

Both Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper worked for papers created by charismatic barons whose publications were nakedly corrupt, totally biased -- and absolutely mainstream. Once we get a feel for this media climate, we’ll trace Louella’s early years of struggle and reinvention on the road to her pioneering bylines, and, finally, her role in canonizing The Birth of a Nation -- the most viciously racist Hollywood blockbuster of all time. 

louella-parsons-talking-on-phone-bettmann.jpg
the-birth-of-a-nation-1915-us-1921-reissue-lobby-card.jpg

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Intelligent Galaxy"

"Faster Does It"

"Rite of Passage"

"Base Camp" by K2

"Dirty Wallpaper" by Lemuel

"Capering" by Calumet

"Floating Whist" by Aeronaut

"Donnalee" by Bitters

"Guild Rat" by El Baul

"Our Only Lark" by Bitters

"Scraper" by Grey River

"Mknt" by Simple Machines

"Myrian" by Arc and Crecent

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. 

This episode featured a special appearance by James Gray. 

This season is edited and mixed by Evan Viola.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

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We received the following episode correction from listener Bridget Visser:

In the episode, it is asserted that pioneering journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran, aka Nellie Bly, married a millionaire and then used her marital wealth and connections to break into the journalism profession. While it is true that Cochran did eventually marry a millionaire, she did not meet him until well after she was already an established and internationally famous journalist.

Cochran started writing for the New York World in 1887. That same year she went undercover in a female mental institution for 10 days. The series of exposés she wrote about that experience were sensational and they made her a nationally famous household name in the US. Then, in 1889 she raced another female reporter around the world in 72 days (and won), which made her internationally famous. However, she did not even meet her husband, millionaire Robert Seaman, until years later in 1895 (she married him shortly thereafter). Also, after years of being paid significantly less than her male peers, she attempted to use this marriage to retire from journalism altogether. This, for various reasons, did not work in the long term and she did get back into journalism eventually. But, that is a long story.

While Cochran definitely did have privilege as a middle-class white woman, she certainly did not have the advantages of a millionaire's wife when she was starting out in her career. She was almost entirely a self-made success and I think that is an important distinction. How she actually broke into journalism is another long story, but essentially much of it came down to persistence, charisma, stubbornness, fearlessness, cleverness and grit.

SOURCE: Nellie Bly: Daredevil. Reporter. Feminist  by Brooke Kroeger, Kindle Edition

Maureen O'Hara and the Confidential Magazine Trial (Fake News: Fact-Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 18) /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this epsiode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In part two of our two-parter on the demise of the biggest and most pernicious tabloid of the 1950s, we’ll explore what happened after the magazine’s claim that redheaded star Maureen O’Hara was caught having sex at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. O’Hara positioned herself the “Joan of Arc” of Hollywood, single-handedly defending a cowardly industry against the existential threat posed by Confidential. As we’ll see, this is one story where the Kenneth Anger version is more credible than the version related by one of the subjects.

Maureen O'Hara in Modern Screen Magazine, 1947

Maureen O'Hara in Modern Screen Magazine, 1947

Maureen O'Hara in Confidential Magazine, March 1957

Maureen O'Hara in Confidential Magazine, March 1957

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Like a Prayer” by Madonna.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Yellow Leaves 5 - Peter Sandberg
Club Noir 2  - John Allen
Unsolved - Mythical Score Society
Southern Flavors 3 - Martin Gauffin
One Two Three 5 - Peter Sandberg
Tomorrow I'll Be Gone - Franz Gordon
City Fashion 3 - Björn Skogsberg 
In The Lounge 02 - Lars Olvmyr
Eventually Maybe - Oakwood Station

Maureen O'Hara, at the Confidential Magazine trial, 1957

Maureen O'Hara, at the Confidential Magazine trial, 1957

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editor: Cameron Drews.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

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Mabel Normand (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 5) /  by Karina Longworth

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A frequent co-star of Roscoe Arbuckle’s, Mabel Normand was the definitive female screen comedienne of her generation. But it wasn’t her association with Arbuckle that brought Normand’s career to an abrupt close and her life to an early end. Today we’ll interrogate Hollywood Babylon’s claim that Normand was a cocaine addict, explore Normand’s involvement in various scandals which did more damage than drugs, and talk about the disease that led to her early death.

SHOW NOTES  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

Goldwyn: a Biography by A. Scott Berg

Mabel: Hollywood’s First I Don’t Care Girl by Betty Harper Fussell

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin

“Mickey (1918)” by Roger Fristoe, tcm.com

“Mabel Normand: Her Great-Nephew’s Memoir” by Stephen Normand, themabelnormand.com

Mabel Normand, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, c. 1915

Mabel Normand, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, c. 1915

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Underground Movies” by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsen

My Simple Thing 3 - Peter Sandberg

Pesado Manouche 3 - John Ahlin

Mississippi Ramble 1 - Martin Gauffin

Kansas City Flashback 2 - Magnus Ringblom

One Two Three 1 - Peter Sandberg

Jazz and Blue Piano 1 - Jonaton Jarpehag

Mickey (1918) - Harry Williams (lyrics) & Neil Moret (music)

Victoria’s Vintage Pearls 2 - Peter Sandberg

Black and White - Magnus Ringblom Quartet

My Simple Thing - Peter Sandberg

Mack Sennett Studios

Mack Sennett Studios

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Fred Savage.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by edited by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.