Lupe Velez (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 14) / by Karina Longworth

Velez, Lupe_01.jpg

Listen to this epsiode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Mexican actress Lupe Velez was the victim of one of Anger’s cruelest invented stories. His fabrication of her manner of death lays bare a vicious racism in addition to Hollywood Babylon’s usual sexism. Today we will sort out the fact of Velez’s life from Anger’s fiction, and consider the star of the Mexican Spitfire series as comedienne ahead of her time.

Lupe Velez and Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927) Gaucho

Lupe Velez and Douglas Fairbanks in The Gaucho (1927) Gaucho

Lupe Velez with Johnny Weissmuller, 1934

Lupe Velez with Johnny Weissmuller, 1934

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 “Spanish Eyes” by Madonna.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Southern Flavors 3 - Martin Gauffin
Club Noir 2  - John Allen
Come Over To Me - Tommy Ljungberg
One Two Three 5 - Peter Sandberg
Yellow Leaves 5 - Peter Sandberg
Latin Passion - Håkan Eriksson
Amor De Danca 3 - Martin Carlberg
El Que Quiera Bailar 2 - Martin Landh
Unsolved - Mythical Score Society
Neblina 4 - Anders Göransson
A Time To Remember 3 - Martin Landh
Eventually Maybe - Oakwood Station

Studio publicity portrait of Lupe Vélez for film Mexican Spitfire, 1940.

Studio publicity portrait of Lupe Vélez for film Mexican Spitfire, 1940.

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.

Stills from Andy Warhol’s 1966 film LUPE starring Edie Sedgwick

Stills from Andy Warhol’s 1966 film LUPE starring Edie Sedgwick