Old Hollywood gossip & stories

[shellie]

I read a rumour once that James Dean didn't die in that crash at 24 but was horribly disfigured and went into hiding. I was fascinated by him at the time.

There have been a few stories over the years about him faking his death. One of the more recent claims was he fled to Canada where he was able to live for years without anyone knowing who he was until he died in 2018 at the age of 95 in a...yep, you guessed it car crash.

The Reelz show Autopsy: The Last Hours Of (which is really good) did an episode on him and the Medical Examiner who hosts the show got a hold of the autopsy and police reports. From what he read, he thinks James did survive the initial crash but was knocked unconscious. He said if it had happened today, the first thing the emergency services would have done was put his neck in a brace and he would likely have survived. Obviously, things were different back then so there was no support for his neck and things were made worse when the ambulance got into an accident with another car. The ME thought there was a huge chance the jolt from the accident and the delay from swapping info with the other driver was what actually killed him and not the initial crash.
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Oh how I adored Gene as a child. I'd watch Singin' in the Rain on VHS every single day. Debbie Reynolds and Cyd too Cyd in that green dress. Wowser.

Debbie Reynolds once said in an interview he was horrible to her during filming. As she said, she only had a few months to learn what Gene and Donald had been doing for years but he never gave her any allowances. He seemingly went to rehearsals and criticized everything she did, no matter how small and never once encouraged her. The dance for Good Morning took over fifteen hours to get right and by the end, she had to be helped back to her dressing room as her feet were bleeding and raw and needed a few days off to recuperate. What made it worse for her was he picked the very first take to put in the film so she felt she went through all that pain for nothing.

One time she had enough and escaped into a rehearsal room on the MGM set where they were filming and broke down. Fred Astaire who happened to be passing found her and after she told him what was wrong, he comforted her and said from what she told him, she was doing fine and offered to help her practice the routines.

Later in life, she seemed to relent and say that what he did made her a better performer. He himself also admitted he wasn't nice to her at the time and was surprised she still spoke to him.

 

[Libbylulu]

Anyone remember all the wonderful classic movies on BBC 2 Saturday afternoons? My mum was always so happy when my dad went out to watch the football and she had all these to herself

 

[Dollylovesshoes]

As someone who loved old Hollywood movies… the fashion… the glamour… the elegance.. the transatlantic accent..

It’s pretty demoralising when you scratch the surface and realise how corrupt, exploitive and generally shitty the industry was (and probably still Is?) The studio system was awful, the way women were traded like cattle (Lauren Bacall was threatened to have her career destroyed because she rejected the romantic advances of a director who was jealous of her involvement with Bogart).

most of the men I loved and thought were so debonair and handsome and charming, were utter shits.

Clark gable - potential rapist? Serial cheater
Bogart - a groomer, a drunk and abusive. And a cheater.
Errol Flynn - voyuer, statutory rapist, fascist and lied about sending aid to a war torn Spain to self promote.
Gene Kelly - abusive and a bully towards Debbie Reynolds
Marlon Brando - egomaniac who exploited his female costar in “last tango”
Mickey Rooney - cheated on his pregnant wife with an underage Elizabeth Taylor

it just goes on and on. Marilyn Monroe was supposed to have said Hollywood was like an overcrowded brothel

Also poor Judy Garland,given pills to keep her active,pills for sleep,pills to control her weight,terrible treatment..

 

[shellie]

it wasn’t an affair, Loretta was raped/date raped. She didn’t realise it at the time, it wasn’t until her daughter in law explained what date rape was that she understood that’s what happened between her and Clark Gable. She honestly believed it was up to women to fend off men’s sexual advances and it was therefore their personal failing if they didn’t succeed. That’s entrenched misogyny for you. You can be raped and go your whole life thinking it was your fault. Poor Loretta.

Gable was an asshole. He slept his way to the top, not caring if it was men or women then dumped their asses when he got what he wanted. There is a rumour he got into a crash and killed a guy but the fixers paid someone else to take the rap and there are rumours Loretta wasn't the only one he attacked either but back then everything was covered up.

What really boils my piss is the whole 'Carole was the love of his life' thing which was BS. He still cheated on her and is partly to blame for her dying. According to the book Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3, he was the one who was supposed to go on the war bonds trip but they got into it over her finding out he had cheated and they had an argument with him walking out on her, refusing to go so she did instead. Seemingly more than once on the trip, she tried to get in touch with him but he ignored her, and then the news got to her about him and Lana Turner getting it on while filming. She knew about his cheating and turned a blind eye for the most part but if it got serious, she stepped in and I can't remember off hand who it was but on one occasion pulled the woman up on set. Lana later denied it but many said they did sleep together.

When she found out about Lana, Carole wanted home ASAP and managed to fix it so she could fly home. Her mother who was into numerology didn't want to because she said the number of the plane was unlucky and wanted to take the train which they were supposed to do, they flipped a coin and Carole won. The plane crashed killing Carole, her mother, Clark's agent and many others including soldiers.

There are so many stories about him becoming a shell of the man he was when he died and many who knew him said it was because he felt guilt over the way he had treated her but it didn't really change him as he continued to cheat even when he remarried twice more. As for her being the love of his life...that is disputed as well and many point to Joan Crawford who he carried on with before and after Carole but because they were so alike, they would never have been able to have a proper relationship so carried on right until he died.

Sorry for the essay but it really does annoy me how so many still think of him as this great guy and perfect gentleman when he was far from it.
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Judy was the image of Gable

Yep, she had to constantly put hats on her as she had Clark's ears. From what I remember, they met once and she wasn't really impressed.

 

[Clovis]

Love Thelma, she always brightens up an old film with her cutting one liners. This is my favourite from All About Eve, I often use it when commenting on one of Jack Monroe's tall tales:

She holds the record for the most Oscar nominations in the supporting category, six times with no win.

 

[LaBlonde]

It's rumoured that Miller died in a Paris brothel and Niven (who was the Officer overseeing the band's arrangements) helped cover up his death.

No bad rumours about David Niven other than that. The best story was about his wife who was a nasty alcoholic shrew, who taunted Niven in his final years. At Nivens funeral, she was so drunk, she started shouting that she was glad Niven was dead, when the usually urbane Roger Moore told her to 'Get in the fucking car and shut up'.

roger moore - still somehow classy even when cursing

didn’t niven’s first wife die in a really sudden and tragic way too? (i’m thinking she hit her head during a party game but i can’t remember).

i always loved that there was a huge wreath at his funeral from the staff at heathrow in recognition of how kind and what a gentleman he always was to the staff there.
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It's rumoured that Miller died in a Paris brothel and Niven (who was the Officer overseeing the band's arrangements) helped cover up his death.

No bad rumours about David Niven other than that. The best story was about his wife who was a nasty alcoholic shrew, who taunted Niven in his final years. At Nivens funeral, she was so drunk, she started shouting that she was glad Niven was dead, when the usually urbane Roger Moore told her to 'Get in the fucking car and shut up'.

i just read another article about how awful his second wife was and how much roger moore in particular hated her and saw this:

“The Mail also reports that in a 1970 interview at London’s Connaught Hotel, she repeatedly interrupted and corrected his version of events, adding: "I’ve heard all these stories a thousand times and they bore me to death."

David replied: "Then please go away and die, darling."

 

[FrostyChops]

She was. I'm not convinced her relationship with Burton was a great love story. They sound more like 2 addicts that enabled each other.

 

[LaBlonde]

I think it’s also because even though they had plastic surgery in that area they still kept their unique features and they didn’t have those silly turkey teeth. Any nips and tucks were more refined and less obvious.
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Leave Her to Heaven is one of my favourite films. Young Vincent Price 🩷
I saw these photos of her on a YouTube video and I’m not 100% sure if it’s her because they wouldn’t look out of place in a beauty ad from the 90s. Never seen them before.
View attachment 2376253

it’s one of my favourites too! she was so so beautiful (and i loved that she had a slight overbite! like you say, it’s wonderful seeing how these actresses kept their unique features when nowadays they would surely be “fixed”). the left photo certainly looks like her to me, unsure about the right!

the saddest and maybe most infamous thing about gene t is that she contracted rubella from a fan who snuck out of a medical bay to meet her during an army bases tour. she was pregnant at the time and the virus meant her baby daughter was born with severe disabilities and was institutionalised for her entire life. howard hughes paid for her medical expenses.

the fan then met her again much later and apparently said “i knew i was contagious and had to stay with the medics but i just had to come and meet you!” and i don’t know how she didn’t slap her tbh.

 

[Chita]

Sinatra paid all of Sammy Davis Jr. medical bills and paid for the funeral, as Sammy had lost all his money. Apparently, he also supported Sammy's widow financially.

One of many he paid for.
Like George Michael, Sinatra was discreet about his generosity and the truth came out after he'd died and the people who benefited from it made it public.

 

[FenellaTheWitch]

I was watching an old film the other night, Murder By Decree. It starred the lovely Christopher Plummer and the one I adore, James Mason.

No one talks about him enough!! Very underrated. Not many people remember he was in the original A Star Is Born with Judy Garland. Another one who is buried in Switzerland.

NB ... I adore him and Gregory Peck. I definitely have a type.

 

[Clovis]

I loved that Mariska Hargitay requested that her Hollywood Walk of Fame star be placed next to her mother's.

 

[Jelly Bean]

Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor on the set of A Place in The Sun.

Oh my goodness he was such a good looking man.

 

[HockyRorror]

Charlie Chaplin was a right cunt.

Charlie Chaplin Was a Sadistic Tyrant Who Fucked Teenage Girls

Although the British actor and director was beloved for his slapstick comedy, Charlie Chaplin was a selfish, raging megalomaniac who treated his children and teenage wives with relentless cruelty.

www.vice.com

 

[rubysdeadfly]

Watched whatever happened to Baby Jane (its on BBC iplayer atm) for the first time last night and I genuinely think Bette Davis gave the best acting performance I have ever seen, I really could not stand her at some points but felt such a deep sadness for what was basically a little girl in a grown woman's body. Joan Crawford was incredible as well, they bounce off each other so well

 

[LaBlonde]

Yes! Very much so.

Happy Sunday everyone.
Here is Marlon Brando with a sausage dog for you.

View attachment 2484463

thank you!

i know he had tremendous issues and wasn’t a great person but, my god, young marlon brando might have been one of the hottest men to ever live. we had to watch a streetcar named desire in year 10 english and i was forever changed.

 

[JoanieDee]

I haven’t been on Tattle for months but glad to see everyone’s still enjoying my thread! Thoroughly enjoying reading all the posts.

 

[Jelly Bean]

I watched an old Parky interview with David Niven tonight from 1975. As usual a wonderful storyteller but he also said something very interesting about Hjordis - interesting in light of what we now know about her.
Parky asked about strains on the marriage being a Hollywood couple.
DN said Hjordis was an incredibly beautiful woman and always used to being the centre of attention. She found it difficult walking into a room, with a less attractive man (in her eyes), and then nobody looking at her but at him, as he was the Hollywood star. She resented it deeply and left him for four months because of it.
He told this anecdote quite sadly though charmingly. And knowing what a horror she was it almost seems, with hindsight, a bit of a cry for help.

 

[CherryAcid]

James Mason had the most lovely voice. Speaking of voices, George Sanders had a voice like velvet.

 

[Blurp]

Another film idol that intrigued me was Jayne Mansfield,I read years ago that she had very high IQ very intelligent but she hid it and played the dumb blonde.
Mansfield is often revered as the "smartest dumb blonde in Hollywood." She had an I.Q. of 149, could speak five languages, and played the violin and piano. However she was aware the public didn't care. "They're more interested in 40-21-35," she said.30 Jan 2019

She was also the mother of Mariska Hargitay from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Mariska has a scar on one side of her head from the car accident which killed her mother; her brothers had minor injuries.

 

[CherryAcid]

Did anyone watch Feud? Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's rivalry is the stuff of legends.