MGM Stories Part Thirteen: Gloria Grahame

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Gloria Grahame arrived in Hollywood in 1944, after Louis B. Mayer personally plucked her from the New York stage, and changed her name. But Grahame was the rare actress who Mayer didn’t know how to turn into a star. Finally in 1947, Mayer gave up on Grahame and sold her contract to RKO, where she flourished as a femme fatale in film noir. Grahame's career would be marred by her compulsive plastic surgery, her increasingly eccentric on-set behavior, and gossip about her love life, which included marriages to both director Nicholas Ray, and his son, Tony. 

Sources:

Suicide Blonde: The Life of Gloria Grahame by Vincent Curcio

Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director by Patrick McGilligan

Grahame on the cover of LIFE Magazine

"Gloria Grahame: In praise of the naughty mind" by Donald Chase, Film Comment

"Fatal Instincts: The dangerous pout of Gloria Grahame" by Dan Callahan, Bright Lights Film Journal

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky and included a cameo by Noah Segan.

MGM Stories Part Twelve: Lana Turner

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Lana Turner, the legendary "Sweater Girl" was one of MGM’s prized contract players, the epitome of the mid-century sex goddess on-screen and an unlucky-in-love single mom off-screen who would burn through seven husbands and countless affairs. After nearly twenty years as a star not known for her acting prowess, Turner's career suddenly got interesting in the late 1950s, when the hits The Bad and the Beautiful, Peyton Place and Imitation of Life sparked a reappraisal of her talents. In the middle of this renaissance, Turner became embroiled in one of Hollywood history’s most shocking scandals: the murder of Turner’s boyfriend Johnny Stompanato at the hand of her 14 year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane.

Sources: 

The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger

Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth by Lana Turner

Detour: A Hollywood Story by Cheryl Crane with Cliff Jahr

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer Macnair

MGM Stories Part Eleven: David O. Selznick, Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

In 1941, David O. Selznick signed a young actress named Phylis, who was then married to actor Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train). Selznick renamed Phylis “Jennifer Jones,” and set to work turning her into a star, helping her to earn an Oscar for her first film under her new name. Selznick and Jones also began an affair, and Selznick’s romantic and professional obsession with Jones would result in the destruction of both of their marriages, as well as the creation of at least two movies transparently about Selznick’s passion for his star actress. But in a tragic echo of Selznick’s own film A Star is Born, as he threw his weight behind turning Jones into a star, Selznick himself lost his footing in Hollywood.

Special thanks to special guests Adam Goldberg (who reprised his role as David O. Selznick), Craig Mazin (who reprised his role as Louis B. Mayer), and Rian Johnson (who reprised his role as John Huston).

Sources: 

David Thomson, Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick

Paul Green, Jennifer Jones: The Life and Films

Robert Walker official fan site

Walker's New York Times obituary

MGM Stories Part Ten: David O. Selznick, The Mayers & Gone With the Wind

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

In 1930, after putting in time at MGM and RKO, Paramount executive David O. Selznick married Irene Mayer, the daughter of L.B. Mayer. Irene’s father would soon thereafter bring Selznick to MGM to fill in for an ailing Irving Thalberg, but MGM, in all its grandeur, was too small for Selznick’s dreams. He started his own independent studio, through which he created the original A Star is Born, the only Hitchcock movie to win Best Picture, and the biggest hit in the history of Hollywood, Gone with the Wind. Starring Adam Goldberg as David O. Selznick, and Craig Mazin as Louis B. Mayer.

Sources:

This episode was inspired by a post on our forum requesting the story of the love triangle between Selznick, actor Robert Walker and his wife, the future Jennifer Jones. As part of my research, I went to the BFI Library to read David Thomson's out-of-printShowman: The Life of David O. Selznick, and I became so engrossed that when the library closed I ended up ordering a used copy and carrying it with me on a trip from London to Los Angeles and back -- a commitment, because at 820 pages, even the paperback is heavy and hard to wedge into a carry-on. It was totally worth it. Thomson is a lot like his subject, in that neither is known for their ruthless ability to self-edit, but both put their passion out there in a way that I find fascinating. Thomson really made me feel the grand arc of Selznick's life and career, and after finishing his book, I realized I couldn't just tell the Jennifer Jones story -- I had to at least summarize at length the 30-something years of Selznick's life before he met his second wife. This is preamble became long enough to be it's own episode, so we'll get to Jennifer Jones next week. I guess I'm not great at self-editing, either.

Other sources:

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

A Private View by Irene Mayer Selznick

City of Nets by Otto Friedrich

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky. Our research intern is Allie Gemmill. 

MGM Stories Part Nine: Spencer Tracy

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

When Spencer Tracy signed with MGM, he was a character actor better known for his problem drinking (and very public extramarital affair with Loretta Young) than for his movie hits. But the studio made him a star, and by the time Katharine Hepburn was looking for a male star who could play a prototypical American male opposite her very idiosyncratic persona, Tracy was the obvious choice. Tracy and Hepburn became one of the most legendary Hollywood couples of the century, on-screen and off, and their partnership helped to canonize both as important stars. But their personal relationship was complicated by his drinking and his relationships with other women -- including his wife.

Sources: 

The "most recent biographies" of Tracy and Hepburn mentioned in this episode are William J. Mann's Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn and James Curtis' Spencer Tracy: A Biography. The latter disputes the former, at least where the sex lives of its subjects are concerned. I'm honestly not sure what to believe about Tracy and particularly Hepburn's sex life, and I'm honestly not sure it really matters; what's more interesting to me is the ways in which stories/rumors/ideas about famous people circulate in the culture and become a part of their history, whether they're true or not. 

Other sources: Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir by Garson Kanin; Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman; and City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s by Otto Friedrich.

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky. Our research intern is Allie Gemmill. 

Special thanks to our special guests: Steve Zissis played Spencer Tracy; Kelly Marcel played Katharine Hepburn; and Craig Mazin returned as Louis B. Mayer. 

This episode is sponsored by Audible.com Go to Audible.com/remember for a free audiobook and a 30-day trial.

This episode is also sponsored by Squarespace. Start your website with no credit card required by going to Squarespace.com and using the offer code REMEMEBER. 

MGM Stories Part Eight: Eddie Mannix

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

In the new Hollywood satire from the Coen Brothers, Josh Brolin plays a studio "fixer" named Eddie Mannix. The real Eddie Mannix was a New Jersey-born reputed gangster who rose through the ranks at MGM to become the studio's general manager. His position required ensuring that the darker, more scandalous actions of MGM’s biggest names were kept hidden from the public and press at large. While devoting his career to protecting the personal lives of MGM’s employees, Mannix had his own colorful personal life: a chronic adulterer with a history of domestic violence, he married his mistress Toni, who went on to have a Mannix-endorsed affair with Superman star George Reeves, whose death under mysterious circumstances further complicated Mannix's legacy.

Sources:

There is a book on Eddie Mannix; it's called The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine. It includes quite a lot of conjecture and speculation, so I tried to only include in the episode information that could be found in at least one other source. In attempting to confirm details, I came upon archival articles which complicate matters by mixing apparent truth with clear inaccuracies or spin, such as this one about Mary Nolan's lawsuit against Mannix in which he is referred to as a "Hollywood director." In the episode, I did the best I could to sort out the most likely versions of the truth. 

Other sources:

Mary Nolan: Tragic Star by Eve Golden

David Stenn's original Vanity Fair article on Patricia Douglas (sadly not on Vanity Fair's actual site)

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, The Lady and the Death of Superman by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger

Giveaway: WHY SINATRA MATTERS by Pete Hamill

The second episode of You Must Remember This was about Frank Sinatra's album Trilogy, particularly the third part of that triple record, "The Future," which includes a song suite composed by Gordon Jenkins in which Sinatra imagines a visit to outer space. A key source in my research on that episode was Why Sinatra Matters, a book collecting writings on Old Blue Eyes by journalist Pete Hamill. You may remember a section of the podcast in which Sinatra, after a night at the bar, is riding home and wistfully musing on age. That comes straight from Hamill.

Why Sinatra Matters has just been re-issued by Little, Brown and Company, and I have five copies signed by the author to give away. They'll go to the first five people who tweet about the book and the Frank Sinatra in Outer Space episode of  You Must Remember This (@RememberThisPod). Note I say that the book will go to five people -- if it looks to my unsophisticated eyes like a spam or bot account is tweeting, that tweet will be disqualified. 

Have fun, tweet safe, and thanks to Little, Brown for making the books available!

MGM Stories Part Seven: MGM's Children - Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

After Irving Thalberg’s death in 1936, Louis B. Mayer doubled down on "family entertainment" at MGM. To support this new wave of content, Mayer started signing younger and younger performers to groom into stars — training them in song and dance, creating a schoolhouse on the MGM lot to comply with state educational requirements, and keeping the kids chaperoned by publicists day and night. This episode will cover the differing experiences of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland -- best friends and screen partners who grew up together within MGM’s stable of child stars.

Special thanks to this episode's special guests -- Craig Mazin returned as Louis B. Mayer, and we are honored to welcome Dana Carvey as Mickey Rooney. 

This episode includes clips from the short film Every Sunday, and this segment from Broadway Melody of 1938.

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky

Sources:

Clarke, Gerald. Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. Delta, 2000

Eyman, Scott. Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.

Luft, Lorna. Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir. Gallery Books, 1999.

Rooney, Mickey. Life is Too Short. New York: Villard Books, 1991.

Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Golden Guys of MGM: Privilege, Power & Pain. Robson Books, 2004.

Zierold, Norman J. “The Mick” in The Child Stars. Coward-McCann, 1965.

MGM Stories Part Six: Jean Harlow

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

As part of the publicity campaign for his film Hell's Angels, Howard Hughes made Jean Harlow a star, branding her “The Platinum Blonde.” But after Hell's Angels, Hughes couldn’t figure out what to do with Harlow, so she ended up signing a contract with MGM, at the urging of Paul Bern, who became Harlow’s new impresario and husband. Despite the fact that Louis B. Mayer had dismissed her as just a “floozy,” Harlow had five years of super stardom at MGM. But during that time, Bern died under mysterious circumstances — as did Harlow herself, in 1937, at the age of 26

Sources:

Eyman, Scott. Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. Simon & Schuster, 2008 Kindle Edition.

Fleming, E.J. The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine McFarland & Co Inc, 2004. Kindle Edition.

Stenn, David. Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow Lightning Bug Press, 2000

MGM Stories Part Five: William Haines and Hollywood's First Openly Gay Marriage

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

The rare silent star who made a relatively smooth transition to sound films, William “Billy” Haines was one of the top box office stars of the late 1920s-early 1930s. Beginning in 1926, Haines started living with Jimmie Shields, and the two men became one of the most popular couples on the Hollywood social scene, facing little if any homophobia among the industry’s elite. But as times changed and the heat from the censors began to get hotter, MGM began to put pressure on Haines to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.

Very special thanks to Wil Wheaton, who played William Haines, and Craig Mazin, who reprised his role as Louis B. Mayer.

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky.

The primary source for this episode was William J. Mann’s biography of Haines, Wisecracker. Other sources consulted include:

Bret, David. Greta Garbo: A Divine Star. London: The Robson Press, 2012. Kindle Edition.

Bowers, Scotty. Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars. Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2013. Kindle Edition.

Chandler, Charlotte. Not The Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Kindle Edition.

Eyman, Scott Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. Simon & Schuster, 2008 Kindle Edition.

Eyman, Scott The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930 Simon & Schuster, 1997. Kindle Edition.

E. J. Fleming. The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine McFarland & Co Inc, 2004. Kindle Edition.

Golden, Eve. John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2013. Kindle Edition.

Photoplay, Jan-Jun 1927

MGM Stories Part Four: John Gilbert and Greta Garbo

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Rising romantic lead John Gilbert signed with MGM in 1924 and the next year he starred in King Vidor’s The Big Parade, the studio’s biggest hit of the silent era. That same year, Louis B. Mayer brought his new discovery to Hollywood: an enigmatic Swedish actress named Greta Garbo. Garbo and Gilbert starred together in the romantic melodrama Flesh and the Devil, and began a relationship in real-life, which was eagerly exploited by the still-fledgling Hollywood publicity machine. Gilbert’s career suffered from his contentious relationship with Mayer, and his increasing alcoholism, while Garbo’s star continued to rise. In 1933, Garbo made it a condition of her MGM contract extension that the studio cast Gilbert as her love interest in Queen Christina. Within three years, Gilbert was dead. Within ten years, Garbo’s career had taken a turn, too

Special thanks to special guest star Craig Mazin, reprising his role as Louis B. Mayer.

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky.

This episode included a clip from the John Gilbert film His Glorious Night, pulled from Kevin Brownlow's incredible silent era documentary Hollywood. Hollywood is watchable in several installments on YouTube.

We are proud to welcome our new sponsor, Audible.com! Get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial at Audible.com/remember

Sources:

Basinger, Jeanine. Silent Stars. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 2012

Bret, David. Greta Garbo: The Divine Star. London: Robson Press, 2012. 

Conway, Michael; McGregor, Dion & Ricci, Mark. The Complete Films of Greta Garbo. New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1991.

Eyman, Scott Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer . Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. 2008

Eyman, Scott The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930 Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. 1998

Golden, Eve John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars (Screen Classics) The University Press of Kentucky. Kindle Edition. 2013

Krützen, Michaela. The Most Beautiful Woman on the Screen: The Fabrication of the Star Greta Garbo. Berlin: Peter Lang, 1992.

"Garbo's Last Days" by Michael Gross. New York Magazine, May 21, 1990

MGM Stories Part Three: Buster Keaton's Biggest Mistake

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

In 1928, silent comedy star Buster Keaton made what he would later call “the worst mistake of my career”: against the advice of fellow silent comedy auteurs like Charlie Chaplin, he gave up his independent production shingle and signed a contract with MGM. A vaudevillian who got his start working with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, by the late 1920s Keaton had established himself as a solo writer, director and star who was known for doing his own spectacular but reckless stunts. Keaton joined MGM with a promise from his friend Joe Schenck that nothing would change, only to find himself in his new situation demoted from artistic boss to employee of a corporation interested in protecting its investment above all. The lack of agency and ability to personally control the quality of his own work within the confines of Mayer’s studio drove Keaton to alcoholism, which further doomed his tenure at MGM. Keaton’s experience is perhaps the first major example of an indie filmmaker “selling out” to a big studio, only to be swallowed up by the system.

This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky.

Sources for this episode: 

My Wonderful World of Slapstick by Buster Keaton and Charles Samuels

Buster Keaton Oral History, Columbia Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

The Fall of Buster Keaton by James L. Neibaur

"Movie Classic" article about Keaton's "kidnapping" scandal

This episode includes clips of Keaton speaking, found at the following two sources:

So Funny it Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM, a documentary by Kevin Brownlow and Christopher Bird.

Keaton in conversation with Studs Turkel, September 1960. 

We also borrowed this clip from Sunset Boulevard:

MGM Stories Part Two: Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst and Citizen Kane

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Marion Davies is enshrined in memory as the gorgeous but questionably talented mistress of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst -- thanks in part to the depiction of a Davies-esque character in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. But Davies’ involvement with the much older Hearst both ensured she would have a movie career, and perhaps doomed Davies to ridicule and limited stardom. This episode will explore how Davies and Hearst hooked up, the mutually beneficial working relationship between Hearst and Louis B. Mayer, the souring of that relationship over MGM’s (mis)use of Davies and Mayer’s effort to block the release of Kaneon Hearst’s behalf

Special thanks to Larry Herold, who reprised his role as Orson Welles. This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky. Our research intern is Allison Gemmill. 

Sources for this episode:

Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman

The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution by Scott Eyman

The Times We Had: Life with William Randolph Hearst by Marion Davies

Marion Davies by Fred Guilles

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

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

This is Orson Welles by Peter Bogdanovich

Charles Manson's Hollywood Archive

Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski

In the summer of 2015, we did 12 episodes on Hollywood before, during and after the Manson family murders of Sharon Tate and at least half a dozen other Angelenos in August 1969. The series focused on Charles Manson as a late-60s version of the classic stereotype of a starstruck pilgrim who is drawn to Southern California out of their belief that they are destined to be famous. Charles Manson’s Hollywood explores what happened when this specific pilgrim turned out to be a career criminal and con artist, and the entertainment industry he crashed was at a crisis point which allowed him to get very close to some very famous and rich people — with obviously tragic consequences.

Episodes:

• What We Talk About When We Talk About the Manson Murders, Episode 1: What was going on in the show business capital that made Manson seem like a relatively normal guy? We'll lay out the basic facts of who was killed, and how, in order to begin to explain how these unthinkable crimes fit in to the tapestry of one of the most tumultuous times in Hollywood history. [Listen]

• Charlie Manson Finds His Family, Episode 2: Tracing Charles Manson's life from his birth, through multiple stints in reform schools and prisons, and finally to San Francisco circa 1967, where Manson began to try out his guru act on the local hippie kids, and started to form the "family" that he'd eventually migrate with to Los Angeles. [Listen]

• The Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson and Manson the songwriter, Episode 3: After bringing his family to Los Angeles so he could look for a record deal, Charlie Manson befriended Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, and used the drummer to gain credibility in the music Los Angeles scene. In this episode we’ll talk about Charlie Manson’s arrival in Los Angeles in 1967 with designs on spreading his gospel through rock n’ roll, and explain how The Beach Boys came to record a song written by Charles Manson. Finally, we’ll talk about how Wilson suffered in the years following his association with Manson, leading up to his own untimely death. [Listen]

• The Beatles, The White Album and Spahn Ranch, Episode 4: After wearing out his welcome at Dennis Wilson’s house, Manson moves his family to Spahn Ranch, a dilapidated Western movie set where the cult starts preparing for “Helter Skelter,” Manson's made-up apocalypse inspired by The Beatles. [Listen]

• Doris Day and Terry Melcher, Episode 5: Charles Manson became convinced his best chance at rock stardom was impressing Terry Melcher, a record executive who had made stars out of The Byrds, and who was also the son of one of old Hollywood's most wholesome, carefree Establishment stars, Doris Day. Terry and his girlfriend, Candice Bergen, had long lived at 10050 Cielo Drive, and sublet the house to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate months before the murders. [Listen]

• Kenneth Anger and Bobby Beausoleil, Episode 6: The first person to go to jail for a Charles Manson-associated murder was Bobby Beausoleil, a charismatic would-be rock star who had put in time as a muse to Kenneth Anger -- child actor-turned-occultist experimental filmmaker, and author of the first bible of embellished celebrity scandal, Hollywood Babylon. [Listen]

• Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring, Epsiode 7: In the first of two episodes about the Manson Family’s most famous victim, we’ll trace actress Sharon Tate’s early years, her romance with celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring, and the on-set affair that changed the course of Tate’s life and career. Plus: sex, drugs, haunted houses, Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen. [Listen]

• Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski, Episode 8: While trying to launch her own acting career, Tate fell in love with, and eventually married, Roman Polanski, the hotshot Polish filmmaker who had his first massive American hit in the summer of 1968, Rosemary’s Baby. Tate and Polanski were often described as Hollywood’s “it” couple during their brief marriage, but behind the scenes their relationship was complicated by his infidelities, and her struggles to prove herself as an actress in films like Valley of the Dolls. [Listen]

• August 8-10, 1969, Episode 9: Over the course of a single weekend, half a dozen hippies massacred seven people. This episode includes disturbing details about very violent crimes. [Listen]

• Roman Polanski After Sharon Tate, Episode 10: Roman Polanski was in London the night his pregnant wife was murdered in their home. He returned to Los Angeles, devastated, to find himself wanted for questioning in a crime which the LAPD, initially, had no idea how to solve. The next decade of Polanski's life would be a rollercoaster, hitting heights like his masterpiece Chinatown, and lows like his rape of a 13-year-old girl and subsequent exile from the US. [Listen]

• Death Valley ‘69, Episode 11: After the murders, Manson moved his family to the depths of the California desert. There, even before they were finally apprehended by the law, their utopia started to fall apart. Hollywood was in the process of being changed by Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider, a film shot partially in the same desert where Manson was now hiding. The Family and their flight to Death Valley -- and the impossible dream of the 60s revolution in general -- was soon thereafter unwittingly reflected in Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni's attempt to make a Hollywood studio film, Zabriskie Point, starring Hopper's future wife. [Listen]

• The Manson Family on Trial, Episode 12: The trials of the Manson family became a kind of public theater which a number of current and future filmmakers found themselves caught up in. Joan Didion bought a dress for a Manson girl to wear to court, Dennis Hopper visited Manson in prison, and a young John Waters attended the trial and took inspiration for his legendary film, Pink Flamingos. [Listen]

MGM Stories Part One - Louis B. Mayer vs. Irving Thalberg (YMRT #56)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Welcome to the fifth season of You Must Remember This! This season, called MGM Stories, is going to tell 15 tales about people who worked at the same movie studio over the course of five decades and counter-culture-hastened decline.

Established in 1924, MGM was the product of a merger of three early Hollywood entities, but the only person working there who got to have his name in the title was studio chief Louis B. Mayer. For the first dozen years of its existence, Mayer’s influence over the company would be at least matched by that of producer Irving Thalberg, who was perceived as the creative genius to Mayer’s bureaucrat. This episode will trace the rise of MGM through the 1920s and early-mid 30s, covering Mayer’s long-evolving working relationship with Thalberg, the creation of the MGM “star factory” identity and unique power within the community of Hollywood, and the in-fighting which would end with Mayer poised to seize his crown as the most powerful man in Hollywood.

Special thanks to Dan Saraceni and Liz Lui, who contributed ideas that inspired this episode in our forum, and Craig Mazin (screenwriter and co-host of the Scriptnotes podcast), who guest stars as Louis B. Mayer. This episode was edited by Henry Molofsky, and our research intern is Allison Gemmill. The outro music to this ep is "We're a Happy Family" by The Ramones.

As you may have noticed, the podcast has a new distribution partner, Panoply. You can find the whole family of Panoply podcasts at itunes.com/panoply. If you subscribe to the show on iTunes, it should feel like nothing has changed, but if you have any problem finding or listening to episodes, please contact me using the link at the top of the page. 

This season, as promised, was inspired by suggestions made by our listeners on our Forum. As the season continues, we'll be contacting listeners whose ideas influenced specific episodes. This season, which will last until the end of 2015, is fully scheduled, but you can continue to use the Forum to suggest ideas for future seasons, and also to discuss this current season or past episodes with other listeners. 

The primary sources for this episode were Lion of Hollywood by Scott Eyman, The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger, and a number of oral histories accessed at Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript archive, including the recollections of Dore Schary, Anita Loos, and Sheilah Graham.

If you're new to our show, check out our four previous seasons -- including the series Star Wars and Charles Manson's Hollywood - on iTunes.

You Must Remember This is now part of Panoply!

Exciting news: The fifth season of You Must Remember This debuts tomorrow, and it will be distributed by Panoply, the podcast network associated with Slate.com! I’ve been an occasional contributor to Slate for years (I reviewed the new Sue Mengers bio last week), and I’ve been listening to Slate podcasts for years and I think Panoply is going to be a really good fit for You Must Remember This.

If you subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, you shouldn’t have any interruption in your subscription, but if you have any problems, let me know. If you have been getting the podcast from Infinite Guest, please subscribe in iTunes or start streaming the episodes from the podcast's blog and/or Panoply.fm

If you have questions or want to talk to me about the show, our new home or our new season, use the contact link above. 

Charles Manson's Hollywood, Part 12: The Manson Family on Trial

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

The trials of the Manson family became a kind of public theater which a number of current and future filmmakers found themselves caught up in. Joan Didion bought a dress for a Manson girl to wear to court, Dennis Hopper visited Manson in prison, and a young John Waters attended the trial and took inspiration for his legendary film, Pink Flamingos. 

Show Notes:

Welcome to the final episode of our ongoing series, Charles Manson's Hollywood. As we speak, we are working on putting together our next, non-murdery season. It will begin some time in September -- follow us on Twitter for updates. 

This episode featured contributions from Moises Chullian, who played Richard Nixon; and, of course Nate DiMeo, concluding his run as Charles Manson. Special thanks to all of our guests on this series, including Wiley Wiggins, Max Linsky, TS Faull, Sam Zimmerman, Noah Segan and Ram Bergman.

Other sources for this episode include:

Charles Manson's trial testimony

Manson family ties

Charles Manson's fiancee wanted to marry him for his corpse

The episode also includes a clip from the Dennis Hopper film American Dreamer, which you can watch on YouTube, and one from Jann Wenner's December 1970 interview with John Lennon, which Rolling Stone has made available as a podcast.

Donate to You Must Remember This

Several listeners have emailed or used Twitter or our Forum to ask if there is a way to donate to the podcast. Now there is! 

The above button will take you to PayPal, where you can choose how much you'd like to donate to the show and make the payment securely. Any amount is appreciated, and all funds will go to helping to pay for research and production assistance for the show. If you have any questions or comments, please email Karina at karina at vidiocy dot com.

Thanks for your support!!! 

Charles Manson's Hollywood #11: Death Valley '69

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

After the murders, Manson moved his family to the depths of the California desert. There, even before they were finally apprehended by the law, their utopia started to fall apart. Hollywood was in the process of being changed by Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider, a film shot partially in the same desert where Manson was now hiding. The Family and their flight to Death Valley -- and the impossible dream of the 60s revolution in general -- was soon thereafter unwittingly reflected in Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni's attempt to make a Hollywood studio film, Zabriskie Point, starring Hopper's future wife. 

Show Notes:

Special thanks to this week's special guests: Nate DiMeo reprised his role as Charles Manson, and we were lucky to have Max Linsky, of Longform.org and the Longform Podcast, playing Mel Lyman. 

The base list of sources for this series can be found here. The second half of this episode, about Mel Lyman and Zabriskie Point, is indebted to a whole different set of sources:

The Lyman Family's Holy Siege of America by David Felton, Rolling Stone, December 23, 1971

The Sorry Life and Death of Mark Frechette by Dave O'Brian, Rolling Stone, November 6, 1975

Once-Notorious '60s Commune Evolves Into Respectability: After 19 Years the Lyman Family Prospers as Craftsmen and Farmers.LA Times, August 4, 1985

Return to Zabriskie Point: The Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin Story, by Sam Tweedle, Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict

See also: the "four obscene words" editorial in Avatar; and the trailer for Zabriskie Point.

This episode is titled after the Sonic Youth song "Death Valley '69," which, as Kim Gordon explains in her memoir Girl in a Band, was partially inspired by the Manson family. I included a few other Sonic Youth songs just for their vibe; Gordon tells stories about many of them in her book. I particularly like the story about how "Halloween" was inspired by Henry Rollins.

The final song in this episode before the end credits was composed and submitted by YMRT listener Blake Godfrey. If you'd like to submit your music for consideration for use in a future episode, the best way to do that is by sending Karina a link to your stuff on Soundcloud or whatever streaming thing you prefer. 

Episode breakdown:

Intro: "Album Tag Song" by Dennis Wilson; "Modern Heavy Rock Guitar Top Line" royalty free loop

Woodstock: "Mellow Music Theme Instrumental" royalty free track

Spahn Ranch raided by Straight Satans and police: "Southern Rhythm Guitar" GarageBand loop

Shorty Shea's murder: "Psychedelic 6 Guitars Soundscape Mystery" royalty free track

Barker Ranch, Easy Rider connection: "Dark Melodic Metal Guitar Loop 1 Long" royalty free loop; "Death Valley '69" by Sonic Youth

Linda Kasabian leaves the Manson Family: "70s Acid Trip 2 Guitar Loop" royalty free loop

The Manson Family in the desert, preparing for Helter Skelter and searching for the Bottomless Pit; Juan Flynn; Danny DeCarlo's defection; Barbara Hoyt and Kitty Lutesinger want to leave; Barbara and Sherrie leave; Sherrie Doe's body is found: "Halloween" by Sonic Youth

Manson vs. Scientologist prospector Crockett; Juan Flynn's defection: "Stranger on a Train": by Sonic Youth

Hard times in the desert force Manson to beg from Gregg Jakobson; Charlie cracks the whip; the earth mover fire;: "Because Coda" by Sonic Youth

Rangers question Crockett about Manson Family; Crockett freaks out; Rangers find Tex Watson's Toyota: "Halloween" by Sonic Youth

Charlie tells Tex to shoot the Rangers; Tex defects; Kitty and Stephanie escape; the first raid on Barker Ranch; "Devastation and Revenge" by Kevin MacLeod

Charlie thinks he's escaped arrest; second raid on Barker Ranch; cops find Manson hiding in a cabinet; Charlie tries to talk his way out of arrest by invoking Helter Skelter; Kitty tells the police everything she knows; Susan talks to investigators about Gary Hinman; Susan spills to her jailhouse roommates; Virginia and Ronnie decide to snitch; Danny DeCarlo talks; LAPD announces they've cracked the Tate case: "Remembering Past Everything" by Pipe Choir

Zabriskie Point plot connections to the Manson Family: "Stormy Moods Orchestra" by Apache Tomcat

Zabriskie Point as doomed production; casting of Daria Halprin and Mark Frechette; Mel Lyman, the Fort Hill Community; Avatar Magazine and first amendment battles: "Railroad's Whiskey Co" by Jahzzar

Daria Halprin marries Dennis Hopper; Mark Frechette robs a bank; Frechette dies in prison; similarities between Lyman and Manson; future of Fort Hill; Manson's letter to Lyman"A Memory Starts" by Blake Godfrey

End Credits: "Pop Rock Guitar Rhythm Loop" royalty free loop

Outro: "Expressway To Yr Skull" by Sonic Youth

Charles Manson's Hollywood #10: Roman Polanski After Sharon Tate

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Roman Polanski was in London the night his pregnant wife was murdered in their home. He returned to Los Angeles, devastated, to find himself wanted for questioning in a crime which the LAPD, initially, had no idea how to solve. The next decade of Polanski's life would be a rollercoaster, hitting heights like his masterpiece Chinatown, and lows like his alleged rape of a 13 year old girl and subsequent exile from the US.

Show Notes:

Special thanks to Ram Bergman, making his final appearance as Roman Polanski.

The base list of sources for this series can be found here. This episode primarily draws from the books Roman by Roman Polanski, The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans, and The Girl by Samantha Geimer, as well as Julian Wasser's memories of photographing Polanski at Cielo Drive and several interviewswith Samantha Geimer. 

Episode breakdown:

Intro: "Album Tag Song" by Dennis Wilson; "Modern Heavy Guitar Top Line" royalty free track

Altamont: "Under My Thumb" by The Rolling Stones

Roman Polanski's return to Los Angeles; his temporary home, Julie Andrews' dressing room; the rumors that the murder victims did something to deserve it; Polanski's detective work; Polanski leaves Los Angeles; Polanski hangs out with schoolgirls in Switzerland, justifies his prediliction for teenagers: "Snow Drop" by Kevin MacLeod

Playboy's production of Macbeth; the X-rated What?; Polanski's Roman commune: "OLPC" by Marco Raaphorst

Problems with the screenplay for Chinatown: "Zenda" royalty free track

Polanski's battles with Robert Towne; Chinatown as the ultimate 70s film; Polanski returns to Rome, starts dating Natassja Kinski; edits French Vogue; the trend of sexy photographs of young girls in European fashion magazines; Polanski meets Samantha Geimer: "Stormy Moods Orchestra" by Apache Tomcat

Polanski's first photoshoot with Samantha; Samantha thought of herself as a child who was following directions from an adult who could make her famous: "Family Tree" by Jahzzar

Polanski's second photoshoot with Samantha; differing recollections of conversation about Samantha's sexual experience; Samantha agrees to go to Jack Nicholson's house: "Pretty Mellow Clean Guitar" royalty free loop

Shooting photos at Jack Nicholson's house: "Oxygen Garden" by Chris Zabriskie

What happened after the photoshoot; Roman takes Samantha home and smokes pot with her mom; Polanski is surprised to be arrested for rape; both accuser and accused are tried in the media; Polanski accepts plea deal and then flees the country; Polanski's Tess: Samantha Geimer publicly forgives Polanski; Polanski apologizes to Samantha: "For Better or Worse" by Kai Engel

End Credits: Panorama Synth Pad GarageBand Loop

Outro: "School Girl" by Dennis Wilson