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Post by cineclassics on Apr 16, 2023 21:11:12 GMT
Does anyone know if there is a compilation of Hedda Hopper's gossip columns that she wrote over several decades? I think it would be very interesting to be able to read her columns, which were highly controversial and in many cases, influential.
I've also searched for a comprehensive list of Robert Osborne's writings when he wrote for the Hollywood Reporter, but have been unsuccessful. I can't imagine I'm the first to think these two book ideas would have market value.
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Post by topbilled on Apr 17, 2023 2:23:25 GMT
Before a lot of newspapers put up pay walls on the internet, I would look up some of Hedda's columns because they were fun to read. The L.A. Times had them all, and I think they probably still do, but I don't have a subscription to the L.A. Times online.
Other smaller papers across the country would have them, but they were hit or miss, not always published with consistency...but as I said, a lot of those papers have pay walls now.
Anyway, there were a few of her columns that I really enjoyed, because they revealed certain things and they had historical value so I summarized them on my blog. I haven't looked at them in a while, I did at least two or three of them.
So I will find them, see if they are any good and worth sharing here, so some of our readers can get an idea of how Hedda's column was written.
One thing I should add is that on the AFI website, there are often comments in the notes section of the movies. In the notes section there will be mentions of title changes, casting changes, publicity items and so forth. The AFI website will usually preface it by saying 'according to published sources, yada yada yada...' And 95% of the time, the published source they are referring to is an item in Hedda's column before the movie was made, without giving her proper credit...probably because they don't want to admit they are using 'gossip' as a source.
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Post by topbilled on Apr 17, 2023 15:04:25 GMT
Hats off to Hedda, Part 1
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood debuted in the Los Angeles Times on Valentine’s Day in 1938. There was a huge build-up for her as a new columnist covering the motion picture industry.
No doubt Hedda was selected for the job, because she had begun as an actress years earlier and since 1916 had appeared in dozens of films. Because of these roles, she had cultivated relationships with many producers, directors and famous costars. Also, her son was starting as an actor around this time, and she was in touch with what he and his generation were experiencing in the pursuit to make it big in Hollywood. So it goes without saying Hedda Hopper had her finger on the pulse in 1938 and was well connected.
Of course, her new job would mean she had to cut down on acting roles. It also meant she would be competing with Louella Parsons for all the latest scoops and inside information. Louella had been working in a similar capacity for Hearst and his publications for quite a few years.
After Hedda established herself with the daily newspaper column, she did act on screen less frequently– and when she managed to turn up, it was often in a smaller part (like for DeMille in REAP THE WILD WIND). Or she would do a cameo role playing herself.
While she certainly enjoyed appearing on screen, she derived great satisfaction from her writing career. During the nearly three decades her column was published, she wielded enormous influence in Hollywood. Hedda was considered a glamorous ‘den mother’ of sorts, probably regarded much differently than Louella who did not have Hedda’s dramatic style and personality.
While penning her gossip column, Hedda kept busy with several regular radio programs. The title may have changed depending on which company was sponsoring it at any given time, but for all intents and purposes, it was mostly The Hedda Hopper Show.
Tomorrow, I am going to take my hat off to Hedda and look at one of her early columns from 1939.
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Post by sepiatone on Apr 17, 2023 15:19:59 GMT
It was always my understanding that if for whatever reason Hedda Hopper didn't like an actor or actress personally, then she'd pan the person's movie or their performance in it out of hand, regardless the level of it's quality. And the same with directors or even producers for that matter.
And I've also always heard Louella Parsons was pretty much the same. Your posting some of her columns might help clear up what's fact or fiction.
Sepiatone
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Post by dianedebuda on Apr 17, 2023 18:13:02 GMT
I'm looking forward to getting a small taste of what she wrote. Probably not that interested in a marathon though. 😄
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Apr 17, 2023 20:59:30 GMT
A little off topic but interesting character notes on both....
Captain of Her Soul - The Life of Marion Davies by Lara Gabrielle has a few touching and troubling anecdotes about Hedda and Louella.
After Marion died, Hedda was going to publish a book based of private letters from Hearst to Marion she claimed to have obtained. Bill Hearst Jr. threatened litigation and the project was abandoned.
With W.R.'s death, friends whose livelihoods no longer depended on being part of the Hearst-Davies circle unceremoniously stopped contacting Marion, including people who had been fixtures for decades. Louella Parsons was among them.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Apr 18, 2023 13:08:57 GMT
I'm looking forward to getting a small taste of what she wrote. Probably not that interested in a marathon though. 😄 You could check out her 1964 book The Whole Truth and Nothing But, which she wrote before her death in 1966. I gave away my copy but I remember it's somewhat of a greatest hits (ie: grudges) package, recapping some of her former reporting about stars like Brando, Monroe and especially Elizabeth Taylor, who was hot right then because of the scandal around Cleopatra. I think she was always conscious of her audience so she concentrated on stars who were still fresh in their minds, without a lot about the 1930's and 40's. She did manage to dredge up The House Unamerican Activities Committee, of which she was a fan, and tried to nail a few coffins back shut for people who were beginning to emerge from under that blight. There are also tales about wrangling with studio bosses; at her height she had a lot of sway and could severely damage the careers of actors who went against her by going straight to their boss. She was like Hollywood's schoolmarm with a real nasty streak, but always tried to present herself as a gracious lady in public, so you have to read anything she wrote with a grain of salt, in my apparently not very humble opinion.  |
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Post by topbilled on Apr 18, 2023 13:50:22 GMT
Hats off to Hedda, Part 2
Today, I am taking my hat off to Hedda Hopper and looking at one of her earlier columns. This one was originally published by the Los Angeles Times on Monday January 16, 1939. I thought it would be interesting to summarize what she wrote and add a bit of modern perspective:
Today Hedda is reporting that producer David Selznick made his decision to cast Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara. Hedda received a call from one of Selznick’s employees a minute after the producer picked Leigh. It is also reported that Leslie Howard was chosen to play Ashley.
Hedda does not seem at all pleased about this news. At first, she compares the situation to Helen Hayes playing Queen Victoria. That’s right. She says if an American can play an Englishwoman, then it follows that an Englishwoman should be able to play an American. Clearly she has reservations about this Englishwoman (Leigh) playing this particular American (Scarlett). She says that Vivien Leigh apparently did not want the role in the beginning, and who knows how true that statement may be.
In the next section of the column (the whole column is devoted to the casting announcement), she expresses concerns with Selznick’s judgment. First, she points out that it took two years for him to reach this decision and that many times producers make mistakes. To support her views, she quotes a source who insists Hollywood producers are sometimes irrational.
Hedda supports the source’s assertion that Vivien Leigh is not only British, but she’s an unknown. Most people have only seen her play a villain in MGM’s A YANK AT OXFORD, which was made in England a year earlier. The source (and Hedda) believe Miss Leigh lacks experience in U.S. theatres and film studios. Then Hedda says the casting of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara is an insult to American actresses (she is one herself), and it is also an insult to American audiences who have read the book and envision one of their own playing the part on screen.
Hedda concludes the column by suggesting movie patrons will stay away in protest. I can only imagine the phone call she received from Selznick and his people the minute this column hit the newsstands. But of course Selznick and Leigh would prove Hedda wrong, going on to win Oscars. Here is a victorious photo of them with Oscar in front of an American flag.
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Post by sepiatone on Apr 18, 2023 16:08:36 GMT
Seems to me( based on limited exposure) that Hollywood columnists like Hopper, Parsons, Rona Barrett and Shirley Eder already have fixated opinions about certain things and steadfastly refuse to see things without their own brand of tunnel vision. It's no secret that both Hopper and Parsons wrote scathing reports about CITIZEN KANE, based not on the movie itself, but more on the Kane character's parallel to William Hearst, a connection the general public would have never made otherwise. But for a well regarded gossip columnist, getting brownie points with a powerful news mogul like Hearst is something to aim for. and in parsons' case, brown nosing the boss is usually a good move.  Sepiatone |
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Post by topbilled on Apr 18, 2023 19:05:39 GMT
I have two other ones I will share...
One is a summary of a column she wrote in 1946, which chronicles a night she spent at the Cocoanut Grove. And another one is a summary of a column she wrote in 1947 that focuses on RKO's then-hot-new leading man Robert Mitchum.
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Post by NoShear on Apr 18, 2023 19:19:23 GMT
Does anyone know if there is a compilation of Hedda Hopper's gossip columns that she wrote over several decades? I think it would be very interesting to be able to read her columns, which were highly controversial and in many cases, influential. I've also searched for a comprehensive list of Robert Osborne's writings when he wrote for the Hollywood Reporter, but have been unsuccessful. I can't imagine I'm the first to think these two book ideas would have market value. Along the line of TopBilled's mention of the Los Angeles Times columns, cineclassics, you could try online microfilm searches. If you don't want to pay for the service, you can get some short-term satisfaction for a free week's worth, and the old movie ads are fun to view as well... |
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Post by topbilled on Apr 19, 2023 17:52:19 GMT
Hedda's column-- 3/22/1946
Today, I am looking at one of Hedda’s columns that was written not long after the war had ended. This one was originally published by the Los Angeles Times on March 22, 1946. I thought it would be interesting to summarize the items she wrote and add a bit of modern perspective:
Hedda is having dinner with MGM’s Robert Walker and his brother at the Cocoanut Grove. Walker’s brother is a major in the military who served several years in the war.
This is a publicity-related dinner, as most of Hedda’s meals with stars would be. The purpose is to introduce Miss Photo Flash of 1946, Shirley Molohon, to the Hollywood scene. Walker is Molohon’s favorite actor, and she personally requested that Hedda set up a date with him.
During dinner at the Grove, Hedda sees Howard Hughes on the dance floor. He has a new starlet on his arm. Miss Photo Flash has absolutely no idea who Howard Hughes is, which Hedda finds charming but naïve. On Sunday Miss Photo Flash will get a chance to tour MGM when she meets Robert Walker for another date. It doesn’t sound like Hedda will be part of that.
Speaking of MGM, Hedda says the studio has shelved something called ‘Frankie from Frisco’ due to objections over the subject matter.
Hedda also uses some space in her column to talk about the latest romantic business going on in town. She says she bumped into Sterling Hayden who insists he is not engaged to some unnamed actress. He just returned from skiing in Nevada, but he’s being tossed out of his hotel. Hedda thinks that it won’t be long before Hayden finds a new home and a new gal.
Meanwhile, Hedda takes pains to tell readers that Jane Withers is involved with John Dall. Dall recently appeared in The Hasty Heart on Broadway. He’s returned to the west coast to do the play in Los Angeles. Jane supposedly met Dall at the airport to resume relations with him, even though he was also dating some girls in New York. Of course, Dall's gay and Hedda mentions nary a word about that. Don’t feel sorry for Jane Withers, though! She will marry producer William Moss in 1947 and go on to have five children.
Hedda also has a few words to print about Lionel Barrymore. He is said to really want to play FDR in a film about the atomic bomb. Though Hedda doesn’t say it, this would be THE BEGINNING OR THE END, which MGM would release almost a year later in 1947. Hedda says Barrymore just nabbed the part, but he’ll soon lose it. Godfrey Tearle wound up playing FDR, because Roosevelt’s family would not approve Barrymore’s casting and MGM had no choice but to find someone else more suitable.
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Post by cineclassics on Apr 19, 2023 22:50:57 GMT
Fascinating stuff TopBilled, thank you!
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Post by topbilled on Apr 19, 2023 23:01:13 GMT
Fascinating stuff TopBilled, thank you! |
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Post by topbilled on Apr 19, 2023 23:08:45 GMT
Hedda Hopper interviews new star Robert Mitchum
This was a column Hedda wrote and published on March 23, 1947. She conducted an interview with actor Robert Mitchum, who just achieved stardom in the hit film PURSUED. And as you will see below, he was not an overnight sensation. Here are the main points:
Hedda starts by saying Mitchum did seven pictures in rapid succession but that he only made $2200 in 1946, which is paltry sum for a movie star. Mitchum’s first film was back in 1943. Hedda goes on to describe the hardships the actor and his wife experienced when they moved out west, so he could begin a movie career.
Supposedly, the Mitchums had just $26 to their name when they arrived in California. They lived in a chicken coop in his mother’s backyard. Mitchum told Hedda they wound up eating all the chickens. His wife was pregnant, and they eventually moved out of the chicken coop and on to his mother’s front porch. That’s how broke they were.
Mitchum’s luck changed when he was cast in a few Hopalong Cassidy films. But Hedda says his big break came when he was hired to do 1945’s THE STORY OF G.I. JOE. It was his first role of real distinction, causing critics (and casting directors) to take notice. When Hedda interviewed Mitchum for her column, he said he was now under contract at RKO, but the studio shared his contract with David Selznick.
Selznick had loaned him to Warners for PURSUED, and he had also been loaned to MGM for two pictures– one of them was playing Robert Taylor’s brother in UNDERCURRENT (he did not get along with leading lady Katharine Hepburn); and the other was with Greer Garson for George Cukor’s DESIRE ME. Cukor ended up walking off the film, and L.B. Mayer ordered many retakes, which Mitchum complained about to Hedda. So he did not have an enjoyable experience on either of those MGM films.
Near the end of the column, Hedda quotes Mitchum as saying he likes acting, but he doesn’t want to do it all his life. The ironic thing is that Robert Mitchum would try to retire from films several times in his lifetime, but he was always drawn back to doing another project. His last one was a telefilm that was broadcast in 1997, the year he died at age 79.
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