- 2 months ago
Classic Hollywood glittered on the surface, but behind the studio lights were scandals, cover-ups, and heartbreaking truths that stayed hidden for decades. From carefully fabricated backstories to abusive studio systems and long-buried family revelations, these classic movie secrets eventually surfaced and changed how we saw some of the biggest stars of the golden age. Which of these surprises shocked you most?
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00:00I'm a humbug.
00:01Oh, you're a very bad man.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06And today, we're revisiting the old Hollywood secrets
00:08that were hushed up by studio publicity departments
00:11or movie stars themselves.
00:13It is terrible.
00:15Well, we movie stars get the glory,
00:18I guess we have to take the little heartaches that go with it.
00:22Raymond Burr's backstory.
00:24Early Hollywood stars were often encouraged
00:26to live out exaggerated, if not wholly fabricated,
00:30origin stories, tailored, massaged,
00:32or invented whole cloth by studio publicity departments.
00:36What do you want from me?
00:41Your friend, the girl, could have turned me in.
00:44Why didn't she?
00:47What is it you want?
00:48A lot of money?
00:49I don't have any money.
00:51Perry Mason star Raymond Burr
00:53supplied much of his own colorful history.
00:55Stories of his time in the U.S. Navy
00:57and his short-lived marriage to a wife named Annette,
01:00who died in a 1943 plane crash,
01:03are largely believed to be his own invention.
01:05So now since last evening, not a sign of the wife.
01:07All right, now you tell me where she is.
01:09I don't know.
01:09What's she doing?
01:10Where is she?
01:11Maybe he's leaving his wife.
01:12I don't know.
01:13I don't care.
01:14It wasn't until after his death in 1993
01:16that his identity as a gay man was revealed.
01:19The invention of these stories was likely a cover
01:22for the truth that would have severely impacted
01:24and even ended his career.
01:26Now, what was the deal with you and Barbara there?
01:29Was there a, was a, you know what I mean?
01:32Was there a little, you know,
01:34any out-of-court settlements?
01:37If you had seen,
01:38if we had done a show on a daily basis,
01:41you probably would have seen a good deal more.
01:43Merle Oberon's ethnicity.
01:45I thought I knew them all.
01:46But this mood is something else again.
01:49Something that shuts me out completely.
01:51I didn't mean to.
01:53For all my attempts at frankness,
01:54I get half-expressed feelings and evasions.
01:58If diversity is lacking in Hollywood now,
02:00that was doubly true in the old days.
02:03So much so that Merle Oberon completely erased
02:05her South Asian heritage from her backstory.
02:08Oberon was born in India when it was under British rule,
02:11but only claimed British ancestry.
02:13Her mother was actually from Sri Lanka.
02:15I dreamt I went to heaven
02:16and that heaven didn't seem to be my home.
02:20And I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth.
02:23The angels were so angry,
02:25they flung me out into the middle of the heath.
02:27In 1930s Hollywood,
02:28she joined many other mixed-race actors
02:30in hiding her true origins.
02:32She gave her birthplace as Australia.
02:35Her secret was only revealed
02:36when the town she gave as her home, Tasmania,
02:39wanted to throw a celebration in her honor in the 1970s.
02:43Oh, Kathy.
02:45Kathy.
02:46I'm not the Kathy that was.
02:47Can you understand that?
02:48I'm somebody else.
02:49In her way, she was a trailblazer.
02:51She is the first person of Asian descent
02:54nominated for an Academy Award.
02:56Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy's relationship.
02:59The stars of Adam's Rib and Woman of the Year
03:01were one of Hollywood's most enduring couples.
03:04I can't quite figure you out.
03:05What are you trying to prove?
03:06Why am I here?
03:07Well, Sam, I...
03:08After all, you know,
03:09little Nermo could have driven you down here.
03:10Why did you ask me?
03:12Thought you might want to kiss me goodbye.
03:14Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
03:16were together for 26 years.
03:18This might fall under the category of an open secret,
03:21given that their electric chemistry
03:23was put on display as romantic leads in nine films,
03:26and all of Hollywood knew about it.
03:28First, there wasn't going to be a marriage
03:30unless we approved.
03:32Then we had one day to make up our minds.
03:34Now we have to spend hours
03:36entertaining somebody we never heard of.
03:38What the hell is coming off here?
03:39They were secretive with the public for several reasons.
03:42Tracy was married, and being a Catholic,
03:45only separated from his wife without ever divorcing.
03:48Despite his dying in their shared home,
03:51Hepburn didn't acknowledge the relationship openly
03:53until after Tracy's widow passed away.
03:55Answer me one question, will you?
03:57What is marriage? Tell me that.
03:59You tell me.
04:00All right, I will tell you.
04:01It's a contract. It's the law.
04:04Are you going to outsmart that
04:05the way you've outsmarted all other laws?
04:07Rock Hudson's sexuality.
04:09Handsome, masculine, and charismatic,
04:12Rock Hudson was the biggest male star of the 1950s.
04:15Rex.
04:16Hmm?
04:17Don't you find me attractive?
04:20Why?
04:22Yes, ma'am. Of course.
04:25Well, then why haven't you ever...
04:27Ever what?
04:30I'm sorry, I feel so foolish.
04:32Though several of his co-stars and scandal sheet writers
04:35were in on his big secret,
04:37most of the American public had no idea he was gay
04:39until a People magazine article published in 1985.
04:43Two months later, Hudson passed away from complications of AIDS.
04:47Be together always.
04:48Till death do us part.
04:51Why'd you say that?
04:53Though his story ended tragically,
04:55his legacy turned out to be immensely important.
04:57His death brought attention to the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic.
05:01His many, many celebrity friends honored his legacy as a great actor
05:05and, most importantly, a great human being.
05:08It was Rock's own physician who said,
05:10Rock Hudson was the single most influential AIDS patient in history
05:14because he changed the way that the disease was perceived.
05:18Debbie Reynolds' Singing in the Rain experience.
05:20Creating one of the sunniest, funniest,
05:22and most innovative musical comedies of all time
05:25was no picnic for anyone.
05:28Lady, keep driving.
05:29Can you get out of here?
05:30Everything's all right. Just keep going.
05:31Can you get out of here or I'll call the police?
05:32Oh, no, don't do that. Just a few blocks.
05:34Don't hurt me.
05:34Don't worry. I'm not a criminal.
05:36I don't care what you...
05:37You are a criminal.
05:38I've seen that face someplace before.
05:40Singing in the Rain made punishing dance routines look effortless.
05:43No one knew that better than leading lady Debbie Reynolds.
05:47Who is this dame anyway?
05:49Oh, someone lofty and far above us all.
05:52She couldn't learn anything from the movies.
05:54She's an actress on the legitimate stage.
05:56Here's one thing I've learned from the movies.
06:01Only 19 when cast, Reynolds learned the hard way
06:05that Gene Kelly's well-practiced choreography
06:07was the result of painstaking rehearsals.
06:09Kelly grew frustrated with her lack of dance training
06:12and berated her until she cried.
06:14It took dance extraordinaire Fred Astaire
06:16to convince her that it would all be worth it
06:18once the movie was finished.
06:20You gotta do it, Kathy.
06:21This thing is too big.
06:22Of course she's got to do it.
06:23She's got a five-year contract with me.
06:24Get over to that microphone, Selden.
06:26You heard of Kathy, now do it.
06:28I'll do it, Don.
06:30I'll do it.
06:30But I never want to see you again.
06:32On or off the screen.
06:33Even Kelly owned up to his part many years later,
06:36admitting he was surprised his co-star still spoke to him.
06:39MGM's mistreatment of Judy Garland
06:41Although many, many contract players suffered
06:44under the studio boss's exacting and often abusive standards,
06:48Judy Garland's story has become almost legendary
06:50in all the worst ways.
06:52You ought to be ashamed of yourself,
06:55frightening him like that when he came to you for help.
06:58Silence, whippersnapper!
07:00The reality of her experience at MGM
07:03flew in the face of her happy-go-lucky screen persona.
07:05Garland was subjected to mandatory diets and pills
07:09to keep up the frenetic and punishing pace
07:11of the factory-like conditions of making movies
07:13in the 1930s and 40s.
07:15Where do you get your energy?
07:17The same place you do doll face.
07:18Just like vaudeville.
07:20Six a day.
07:20Seven on weekends.
07:30Hey, she's having the same as me.
07:32Orders from upstairs.
07:33Toward the end of her movie career,
07:35the public only knew that she was frequently ill
07:37to the point of losing roles.
07:39They had no real idea of how or why
07:42her substance use disorder came about.
07:44I can't be spread so thin.
07:47I'm just one person.
07:48I don't want to be rolled out like a pastry,
07:50so everybody get a nice big bite of me.
07:53I'm just me.
07:54I belong to myself.
07:56I can do whatever I damn well please.
07:58Stars coerced into terminating pregnancies.
08:01No, no, I won't let you take him.
08:03You go away.
08:05I won't bite you myself.
08:06Dorothy.
08:07You wicked old witch.
08:09Uncle Henry, I don't let him take you.
08:12Don't let her take him, please.
08:13Judy Garland, Gene Harlow, Lana Turner,
08:16Betty Davis, and Joan Crawford
08:18have more than their fair share in common.
08:20One lesser known commonality
08:22was that their studio bosses threatened
08:24that pregnancy would end their careers.
08:26I'll never forget it.
08:29Never as long as I live.
08:32She said,
08:33Mommy.
08:36And that was all.
08:39Oh, I loved her so much.
08:41Each of them was pressured
08:42into terminating pregnancies
08:44that would have put them out of commission
08:45for more time and money
08:46than the studios were willing to lose.
08:48Garland's own mother
08:50even joined MGM fixer Howard Strickling
08:52in convincing the Wizard of Oz star
08:54to see a studio-selected doctor
08:56when she became pregnant
08:57with husband David Rose's child.
08:59Three weeks.
08:59She can have three weeks,
09:01but she better be back here in shape.
09:04You hear me?
09:05These are contractual matters here.
09:07Legal matters.
09:08Hidden by publicity departments,
09:10it took decades for the truth to come out.
09:12Joan Crawford, Mommy Dearest.
09:14Get out, Vita.
09:17Get your things out of this house right now
09:19before I throw them into the street
09:20and beating you with them.
09:21Get out before I kill you.
09:23Christina Crawford's memoir
09:24was made infamous
09:25by the campy 1981 film adaptation
09:28starring Faye Dunaway.
09:29The story of her upbringing
09:30by adoptive mother Joan Crawford
09:32created a scandal.
09:34As usual, she has the last word.
09:44Does she?
09:45Christina Crawford waited
09:46until her mother's death in 1977
09:48to publish her own memoirs,
09:50a story nearly four decades in the making.
09:53Tales of wire hangers.
09:55Compulsive behaviors
09:56and violent episodes
09:57work to shatter the reputation
09:59of one of Hollywood's
10:00most enduring screen goddesses.
10:02No wire hangers!
10:08What's wire hangers doing
10:10in this closet
10:11when I told you
10:12no wire hangers ever?
10:16Crawford was not the only
10:18Golden Age star
10:18whose child wrote a tell-all.
10:20Bing Crosby's sons
10:21told stories of
10:22a horrific childhood
10:23that forever put a dent
10:24in their father's
10:25squeaky clean moralistic image.
10:27I have something to tell you, sister,
10:29that isn't going to be easy.
10:31Clark Gable
10:31and Loretta Young's
10:32secret child.
10:33For 31 years,
10:35Judy Lewis knew
10:36her mother was keeping
10:37a secret from her.
10:38She was
10:39at the beginning
10:40of the height of her career
10:42and I was
10:43a liability to her.
10:45She took a terrible risk
10:47bringing me into her home
10:48as her child.
10:49I had my father's ears.
10:52Enormous ears.
10:53She long suspected,
10:55but waited until
10:56actor Clark Gable's death
10:57to finally press her mother
10:58on whether or not
10:59he was her real father.
11:01It was then
11:02that actress Loretta Young
11:03admitted that Gable
11:04was, in fact,
11:05Judy's biological father.
11:06I'll be seeing you.
11:12You'll be seeing me.
11:18I'll be seeing you too.
11:22Every day and every night
11:23and every minute.
11:24Young, who had a reputation
11:25as one of Hollywood's
11:26most virtuous actresses,
11:28was deeply ashamed
11:29of the fact.
11:30The story apparently
11:31was not one of
11:32forbidden backstage romance,
11:33but something much darker.
11:35Young's descendants
11:36later alleged
11:37that Lewis was conceived
11:38through an act of misconduct
11:40on Gable's part.
11:41No!
11:42No!
11:42Put me down!
11:43Put me down!
11:44I can't pull!
11:45I've got to see!
11:45Put me down!
11:46Alfred Hitchcock
11:47in Tippy Hedron.
11:48Much has been made
11:49of the master of suspense
11:50and his preference
11:51for leading ladies
11:52who were blonde
11:53and sophisticated.
11:54I think you're a louse.
11:55I am.
11:56Good day, Miss Dammond.
11:58Madam.
12:00And I'm glad
12:01you didn't get
12:02your lovebirds.
12:03Oh, I'll find something else.
12:04Tippy Hedron
12:05had only starred
12:06in commercials
12:06before Hitchcock
12:07plucked her from obscurity
12:08to star in The Birds.
12:10He sought to mold her
12:11into his image
12:12of a perfect star.
12:13I started to cry.
12:14I mean, I would just,
12:15his big tears
12:16were welled up
12:17because I didn't expect that.
12:18I really didn't expect that.
12:21And, um,
12:22I looked at Hitch
12:23and he was a little
12:24watery in Alma
12:26and I even,
12:27Lou Wasserman,
12:28this big movie mogul.
12:30I mean,
12:31he had one little tear
12:32coming down here.
12:32Their professional relationship
12:34didn't stay professional
12:35for long.
12:36Hedron has maintained
12:37for years
12:38that Hitchcock
12:38made unwanted
12:39sexual advances
12:40and when she didn't comply,
12:42he made her life hell.
12:43I loathe you.
12:45You have no manners,
12:46you're arrogant
12:47and conceited
12:48and I wrote you a letter
12:49about it, in fact.
12:50But I tore it up.
12:52What did it say?
12:53None of your business.
12:55They made only
12:56two movies together,
12:57but he locked her
12:58in a contract
12:58that made her unavailable
12:59to do movies
13:00with anyone else.
13:01The story received
13:02renewed attention
13:03in the 2010s,
13:04five decades after.
13:06It is oppressive
13:11and frightening
13:13and, um,
13:16and you find out
13:17that you've been followed.
13:18Which of these
13:19Hollywood secrets
13:20had you heard before?
13:21Let us know
13:21in the comments.