1979: Bo Derek and 10 (Erotic 80s Part 2) /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The sleeper hit of late 1979 was Blake Edwards’s sex farce 10, a comedic vivisection of a male midlife crisis, which turned 23-year-old California girl Bo Derek into a controversial cultural phenomenon. Derek’s early fame was framed in the media through the lens of her marriage to John Derek, who was 30 years her senior and who she met when she was 16. Today we’ll talk about Derek’s reign as a sex-positive bombshell in a time of extreme double standards, 10’s strangely prescient understanding of toxic masculinity, and the problem of how to frame teenage sexuality for adult consumption. 

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Riding Lessons by Bo Derek

“Bo Derek”, People Magazine, December 24, 1979

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” Newsweek, October 15, 1979

“John Derek created a '9' in his own image and called her Bo: Bo Derek--The making of a 10” Jeff Silverman, Chicago Tribune, Nov 18, 1979

“Heating Up With John and Bo Derek by Henry Allen, Washington Post, January 29, 1980

“Agents Are Paid 10%, But Husbands Get More” by Judy Mann, Washington Post, January 30, 1980

“Bolero: An exclusive, on-location preview of –¡Caramba!--Bo Derek’s hot new movie. By David Lewin, US Magazine November 21, 1983.

“Fantasies Uncovered” by Pat H. Broeske, Peter H. Brown And Jim Pinkston, LA Times, Aug. 31, 1986 

“Bo Derek” by Hayley Phelan, Photographed by Stas Komarovski Interview Magazine, February 23, 2016

“Here's Why Kim Kardashian Crediting Her Fulani Braids To Bo Derek Is Problematic” by Samantha Callender, Essence.com, October 24, 2020

Please note: as an Amazon Associate Karina earns from qualifying purchases made when you click the links above. #ad

Bo and John Derek c. 1981

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Rumoi Night" - Kokura Station

"Pxl Htra" - The Fence

"Even Dreams of Beaches" - Resolute

"The Killjoy Brothers" - Kittyhawk

"Pxl Eventuat" - The Fence

"Four Cluster" - Fornax

"Vik Fence Haflak" - The Fence

"Vengeful" - Warmbody

"Tower of Mirrors" - TinyTiny Trio

"Pxl Cray" - The Fence

"Ion Cruiser" - Kokura Station

"Pxl Deter" - The Fence

"Readers Do You Read" - Chris Zabriskie

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Porno Chic and The Brief Heyday of X Ratings (Erotic 80s Part 1) /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Here in 2022, there is more public conversation about the nuances of human sexuality–and sexual abuse and harassment–than at any time in modern history. And yet, sex has all but disappeared from mainstream American movies, most of which would pass the sexual standard set by the strict censorship of the Production Code of the 1930s.

This season of You Must Remember This will explore the relatively brief period, beginning in the 1970s and ending around the end of the millennium, when Hollywood movies explored the sexual lives, mores and fantasies of adults with degrees of candor, realism and imagination not seen before or since. Why did genres like the erotic thriller, body horror, neo-noir and the sex comedy flourish in the 80s and 90s, what was happening culturally that made these movies possible and popular, and why did Hollywood stop taking sex seriously? 

This season will unfold in two parts: Erotic 80s, beginning today, and after a brief summer hiatus, Erotic 90s in the fall. Each episode will examine a single year, and one or more films that share a genre, a theme or a star, with topics ranging from the politics of porn, to the first camcorder sex tape scandal, to the sexualization of teens to Hollywood’s lingering fear of interracial coupling. Some of the stars and filmmakers whose work we’ll explore include Tom Cruise, Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts, Stanley Kubrick, Brian DePalma, and much, much more. 

In 1968, the Production Code gave way to the ratings system, and the brief legitimacy of the X-rated movie. Today we’ll focus on two massive, X-rated hits released within a year of one another in 1972-1973: Deep Throat, the first hardcore porn movie to become a mainstream blockbuster; and the international art film sensation Last Tango in Paris. Both of these hits were products of a male-centered sexual revolution, and both of their female stars later described making these movies as equivalent to being raped. We’ll talk about how both films gave Hollywood permission to intermingle sex and violence in the name of both profits and art, and how both have been reassessed as documents of violence against women.

Deep Throat at the Rialto Theater, Minneapolis, MN.

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Rumoi Night" - Kokura Station

"Ion Cruiser" - Kokura Station

"Pxl Htra" - The Fence

"The Killjoy Brothers" - Kittyhawk

"Four Cluster" - Fornax

"Single Still" - Vermouth

"Levander Crest" - Reflections

"Readers Do You Read" - Chris Zabriskie

Last Tango in Paris, 1972

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy & Dino archive /  by Karina Longworth

This season, we look at the movies, music and lives of Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin. Singers, actors, TV stars and nightclub performers, Davis and Martin became rich and famous selling versions of mid-20th-century hipness as the biggest stars in the Rat Pack who weren’t Frank Sinatra. The standard-setter for masculine cool in the second half of the twentieth century -- as well as a nexus where Hollywood power, political power and mafia power came together -- the Rat Pack feels uniquely uncool today. As its mystique recedes, it’s the perfect time to begin to unpack its allure, and take a cold hard look at the art it produced.

But Sammy and Dino were both more than the Rat Pack, and examining their lives and careers in tandem reveals tons, about the evolution of racial attitudes from the beginning of the 20th century -- when Italians and Italian-Americans like Dean were widely considered to be non-white; about how Hollywood responded to, and influenced, changing ideas about masculinity and “the man” from World War II to Vietnam and beyond; and above all, about the differences and similarities between mainstream capitalism and underground criminal economies, which is laid bare by the intersection of the music industry and the mafia.

Episodes:

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 1: THE HUSTLE: Today, we’ll talk about Sammy and Dino’s childhoods and early years as entertainers -- years which formed their talent, their stage personas, and taught them their first lessons in the racket that was, and is, the music business. Both grew up in marginalized communities where they learned an ethos of success based on hustle. We’ll track both Dean and Sammy to major coming-of-age moments in the middle of World War II. Coming up in industrial Ohio as both a card dealer and a nightclub singer, Dean learns how and why the house always wins. As a child, Sammy joins his father’s touring dance act, and eventually becomes the main attraction -- before the war forces him to encounter racism at a level he’d never experienced before. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 2: MARTIN AND LEWIS, SAMMY AND MICKEY AND FRANK: Dean Martin meets and begins collaborating with Jerry Lewis. Martin and Lewis — an Italian and a Jew — become the most successful nightclub act in the country, and transition to Hollywood. Meanwhile, Sammy Davis Jr, determined to get the attention of the white entertainment world, starts working impressions of white stars into his act. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 3: NOTHING BUT A DOLLAR SIGN: In the first half of the 1950s, Martin and Lewis mint money as movie stars--and find unique ways to make their access to gangsters payoff--but stardom tears them apart. During this period, Sammy tries to prove himself to a Hollywood that still has little use for Black performers. Then, a horrible accident changes Sammy’s life--and changes his perceived value to the gate-keepers of the entertainment industry. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 4: MR. WONDERFUL: Sammy tests the power of his new celebrity, on Broadway and in Hollywood, where he stars in the most controversial movie musical with an all-Black cast of all time -- a movie which is still being suppressed today. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 5: A SERIOUS MAN: After the breakup of Martin and Lewis, Dino has to figure out how to stand on his own as a solo act. He ends up developing an on-stage persona as a happy drunk, while at the same time, developing a resume as a serious actor in some of the biggest hits of the late 1950s, such as Some Came Running and Rio Bravo, through which he emerged as a kind of icon for the white masculinity crisis of the 1950s. How did Dino pull this off, and why was his interest in being taken seriously so apparently short-lived? Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 6: THE RAT PACK: In the early 40s, both Dean and Sammy idolized Frank Sinatra. 20 years later, they became Sinatra’s cohorts in the Rat Pack, and, through Vegas gigs and increasingly disposable movies, the trio set a standard for grown men behaving badly that’s still influential today. In this episode, we’ll reveal what the Rat Pack’s Vegas shows were really like -- racist, homophobic, misogynist warts and all. We’ll also discuss the web of corruption linking these performers to the Mafia and the Kennedys, culminating in the death of an actress, and the death of the pretense that the Rat Pack racket was all innocent fun. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 7: YES I CAN: Released in 1965, Sammy Davis Jr.'s autobiography became an instant classic, one of the most dynamic celebrity memoirs ever published and a testament to Davis’s barrier-breaking success as a black man in America. But the story behind the book, which was conceived and developed by two white ghostwriters -- and the racial and sexual dynamics of Davis's life during the years leading up to its release, which included two marriages and one relationship with a white movie star which almost got him killed -- are even more fascinating. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 8: GENERATION GAP: In the mid-1960s, 47-year-old Dean Martin proves he's still got it by knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts, and by launching his long-running TV show, which brought a version of his nightclub act into America’s living rooms every week. But his middle-aged drunk schtick sours as the decade of hippies and Vietnam wears on. Sammy Davis Jr has his own challenges, living up to the expectations of a new generation of activists--and he only makes matters worse by embracing Richard Nixon. After disastrously dabbling with Motown, Sammy records “The Candy Man” -- a silly novelty single that he hated, but which ended up saving his career. Listen

  • SAMMY AND DINO EPISODE 9: IS THAT ALL THERE IS?: Desperate to be seen as cool and not a relic of an earlier age in 70s America, Sammy gets into porn and drugs. A Rat Pack reunion gives him renewed purpose, but causes Dean to alienate himself further. As their time begins to run out, both Sammy and Dino are forced to contemplate what it was all for. By the late ‘90s, they’re both gone. We’ll try to sort out the incredibly murky legacies they left behind. Listen

Sammy and Dino Episode 9: Is That All There Is? /  by Karina Longworth

Frank Dean Sammy Together Again Together Again National Concert Tour, 1988

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Desperate to be seen as cool and not a relic of an earlier age in 70s America, Sammy gets into porn and drugs. A Rat Pack reunion gives him renewed purpose, but causes Dean to alienate himself further. As their time begins to run out, both Sammy and Dino are forced to contemplate what it was all for. By the late ‘90s, they’re both gone. We’ll try to sort out the incredibly murky legacies they left behind.

Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., 1974 Celebrity Roast

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources for the entire season:

Dino by Nick Tosches

Jerry Lewis In Person by Jerry Lewis and Herb Gluck

In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr. by Will Haygood

Yes I Can: The Autobiography of Sammy Davis Jr. by Sammy Davis Jr., Burt Boyar and Jane Boyar

Sammy: An Autobiography by Sammy Davis Jr. and Jane and Burt Boyar

Rat Pack Confidential by Shawn Levy

His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra by Kitty Kelley 

Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob by Matt Birkbeck

Sinatra: The Voice by James Kaplan

Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan

Memories are Made of This by Deana Martin

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot

Making Movies Black by Thomas Cripps

My Song by Harry Belafonte

Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro by Thomas Maier

My Lucky Stars by Shirley Maclaine

Sources specific to this episode:

The Other Hollywood by Legs McNeill

Ordeal by Linda Lovelace

“Actor, Athlete and Dashing Pilot, Dean Paul Martin Dies When His Jet Crashes on a Mountainside” by Ron Arias, People Magazine, April 13, 1987

“Yo, Is This Racist? Oscar Analysis: How Many People Had to Approve Billy Crystal in Blackface?” by Andrew Ti, Grantland.com, February 27, 2012 

“Howard Hughes changed Vegas” by Tim O’Reiley, Las Vegas Review-Journal, December 28, 2013 

“Inquiry reveals I.R.S. Master List” by Eileen Shanahan The New York Times June 21, 1975

“Black Supporters of President Under Fire” The New York Times, October 17, 1972

Please note: as an Amazon Associate Karina earns from qualifying purchases made when you click the clinks above. #ad

Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in 1976

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Lowball - Vermouth

Glass Stopper - Vermouth

Dakota - Unheard Music Concepts

Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod

Single Still - Vermouth

Spot Peter - The Sweet Hots

Our Only Lark - Bitters

Latecomer (Bass Face) - Cafe Nostro

Chaunce Libertine - Vermouth

On the Passing of Time - Kevin MacLeod

Luka 75 - Vermouth

Gra Landsby - Fjell

Chai Belltini - Vermouth

Cran Ras - Vermouth

The Big Ten - Warmbody

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy and Dino Episode 8: Generation Gap /  by Karina Longworth

Sammy Davis Jr. by Phillipe Halsman

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In the mid-1960s, 47 year-old Dean Martin proves he's still got it by knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts, and by launching his long-running TV show, which brought a version of his nightclub act into America’s living rooms every week.  But his middle-aged drunk schtick sours as the decade of hippies and Vietnam wears on. Sammy Davis Jr has his own challenges, living up to the expectations of a new generation of activists--and he only makes matters worse by embracing Richard Nixon. After disastrously dabbling with Motown, Sammy records “The Candy Man” -- a silly novelty single that he hated, but which ended up saving his career.

Dean Martin and the Golddiggers on the Dean Martin Show, c. 1972

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Calgary Sweeps - Vermouth

Chai Belltini - Vermouth

Gin Boheme - Vermouth

Gagool - Kevin MacLeod

Two Dollar Token - Warmbody

Glass Stopper - Vermouth

Thumbscrew - Sketchbook 2

Gaddy - Little Rock

Easy Listening in Jazz - Musique Libre de Droit Club

Lovers Hollow - Bitters

Chicken Steak - Truck Stop

Entrance Shaft 11 - The Depot

Latecomer (Bass Face) - Cafe Nostro

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy Davis Jr. and Richard Nixon, 1972

Sammy and Dino Episode 7: Yes I Can /  by Karina Longworth

Sammy Davis Jr. by Phillipe Halsman

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Released in 1965, Sammy Davis Jr.'s autobiography became an instant classic, one of the most dynamic celebrity memoirs ever published and a testament to Davis’s barrier-breaking success as a black man in America. But the story behind the book, which was conceived and developed by two white ghostwriters -- and the racial and sexual dynamics of Davis's life during the years leading up to its release, which included two marriages and one relationship with a white movie star which almost got him killed -- are even more fascinating.

Sammy Davis, Jr. and Loray White at their wedding, 1958 | Photo UNLV University Libraries

Harry Belafonte, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sammy Davis Jr. at the Broadway Answers Selma Benefit, 1965

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Chai Belltini - Vermouth

Alum Drum Solo - Azalai

Lowball - Vermouth

Guild Rat- El Baul

Cran Ras - Vermouth

Spot Peter - The Sweet Hots

Lowball - Vermouth

Entrance Shaft 11 - The Depot

Single Still - Vermouth

Chaunce Libertine - Vermouth

Our Only Lark - Bitters

Sammy Davis Jr. with his wife May Britt and their children, 1964 | Leonard McCombe The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy and Dino Episode 6: The Rat Pack /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In the early 40s, both Dean and Sammy idolized Frank Sinatra. 20 years later, they became Sinatra’s cohorts in the Rat Pack, and, through Vegas gigs and increasingly disposable movies, the trio set a standard for grown men behaving badly that’s still influential today. In this episode, we’ll reveal what the Rat Pack’s Vegas shows were really like -- racist, homophobic, misogynist warts and all. We’ll also discuss the web of corruption linking these performers to the Mafia and the Kennedys, culminating in the death of an actress, and the death of the pretense that the Rat Pack racket was all innocent fun.

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford in Ocean's 11 , 1960

Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra onstage, c. 1960s

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean Martin

Eee-O-Eleven - Sammy Davis Jr

Chai Belltini - Vermouth

Ranch Hand - Truck Stop

Gin Boheme - Vermouth

Entrance Shaft 11 - The Depot

Lowball - Vermouth

Flaked Paint - The Depot

Gibraltar - Unheard Music Concepts

Two Dollar Token - Warmbody

Laser Focus (Piano Improv) - TinyTiny Trio

Cab Ride - Pacha Faro

Guild Rat - El Baul

Alum Drum Solo - Azalai

JFK and Frank Sinatra, c. 1961

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy and Dino Episode 5: A Serious Man /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

After the breakup of Martin and Lewis, Dino has to figure out how to stand on his own as a solo act. He ends up developing an on-stage persona as a happy drunk, while at the same time, developing a resume as a serious actor in some of the biggest hits of the late 1950s, such as Some Came Running and Rio Bravo, through which he emerged as a kind of icon for the white masculinity crisis of the 1950s. How did Dino pull this off, and why was his interest in being taken seriously so apparently short-lived?

Dean Martin onstage at the Sands Copa Room, 1957

Marlon Brando, Dean Martin and Montgomery Clift in The Young Lions, 1958

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Kevin_MacLeod - Monkeys Spinning Monkeys

Calgary Sweeps - Vermouth

Laser Focus (Piano Improv) - TinyTiny Trio

Single Still - Vermouth

25 Peaceful Piano

60 Easy Listening in Jazz

Babble Babble Brook (Soft Horn) - High Horse

Luper - Sketchbook

The Big Ten - Warmbody

Ranch Hand - Truck Stop

Thule Racer - Glacier Quartet - Araby

Chai Belltini - Vermouth

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in Some Came Running, 1958

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Dean Martin in Rio Bravo, 1959

Sammy and Dino Episode 4: Mr. Wonderful /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Sammy tests the power of his new celebrity, on Broadway and in Hollywood, where he stars in the most controversial movie musical with an all-Black cast of all time -- a movie which is still being suppressed today.

Sammy Davis Jr. in "Mr Wonderful". From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources for the entire season:

Dino by Nick Tosches

Jerry Lewis In Person by Jerry Lewis and Herb Gluck

In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr. by Will Haygood

Yes I Can: The Autobiography of Sammy Davis Jr. by Sammy Davis Jr., Burt Boyar and Jane Boyar

Sammy: An Autobiography by Sammy Davis Jr. and Jane and Burt Boyar

Rat Pack Confidential by Shawn Levy

His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra by Kitty Kelley 

Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob by Matt Birkbeck

Sinatra: The Voice by James Kaplan

Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan

Memories are Made of This by Deana Martin

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot

Making Movies Black by Thomas Cripps

My Song by Harry Belafonte

Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro by Thomas Maier

My Lucky Stars by Shirley Maclaine

Sources specific to this episode:

“David Geffen, Samuel Goldwyn and the Search for the “Holy Grail” of Missing Movies” by Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, February 23, 2017

“This Day in Jewish History | 1990: Sammy Davis Jr., Famous Convert to Judaism, Dies” by David B. Green, haaretz.com, May 16, 2013

“The Complex History and Uneasy Present of ‘Porgy and Bess’” by Michael Cooper, September 19, 2019

“Porgy and Bess at the Met” by By Joseph Horowitz, The American Scholar, October 9, 2019

Jule: The Story of Composer Jule Styne by Thomas Taylor

Dorothy Dandridge by Donald Bogle

Preminger: An Autobiography by Otto Preminger

This Life by Sidney Poitier

Please note: as an Amazon Associate Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Sammy Davis Jr. and Eartha Kitt in Anna Lucasta, 1958

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Via Verre (Comping Run) - The Sweet Hots

Lowball - Vermouth

Cran Ras - Vermouth

Calgary Sweeps - Vermouth

Gin Boheme - Vermouth

Luper - Sketchbook 2

Watercool Quiet - Calumet

Our Only Lark (Rhythm Leader) - Bitters

Luka 75 - Vermouth

Single Still - Vermouth

Porgy and Bess, 1959

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy and Dino Episode 3: Nothing But a Dollar Sign /  by Karina Longworth

Sammy Davis Jr. dancing shot by Phil Stern, mid-1950s

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In the first half of the 1950s, Martin and Lewis mint money as movie stars--and find unique ways to make their access to gangsters payoff--but stardom tears them apart. During this period, Sammy tries to prove himself to a Hollywood that still has little use for Black performers. Then, a horrible accident changes Sammy’s life--and changes his perceived value to the gate-keepers of the entertainment industry.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in publicity portrait for the film 'You're Never Too Young', 1955. Photo by Paramount/Getty Images

Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in Artists and Models, 1955

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Luca 75” by Vermouth
"Chase and We Follow” by Ray Catcher
"Late Comer” by Cafe Nostro
"Jat Poure" by The Sweet Hots
"Pacing” by TinyTiny Trio
"Gin Boheme” by Vermouth
"Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" by Kevin MacLeod
"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth
"Laser Focus (Piano Improv)" by TinyTiny Trio
"Doghouse" by Warmbody
"Impromptu in Quarter Comma Meantone" by Kevin MacLeod
"Single Still" by Vermouth
"Faster Does It" by Kevin MacLeod

Sammy Davis, Jr with Jacques Sernas, Marilyn Monroe, photographer Milton H Greene and jazz musician Mel Torme at the Crescendo Club, 1954. | Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy and Dino Episode 2: Martin and Lewis, Sammy and Mickey and Frank /  by Karina Longworth

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, 1949 | Ralph Morse Time & Life Pictures Shutterstock

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Dean Martin meets and begins collaborating with Jerry Lewis. Martin and Lewis — an Italian and a Jew — become the most successful nightclub act in the country, and transition to Hollywood. Meanwhile, Sammy Davis Jr, determined to get the attention of the white entertainment world,  starts working impressions of white stars into his act. 

Sammy Davis, Jr. c. early 1950s | Getty Images

Jerry Lewis Holding Dean Martin and Jeanne Biegger's Son

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Single Still" by Vermouth
"Single Still (No Trumpet)" by Vermouth
"Black Out" by Royalty Free Music World
"Via Verre (Comping Run)" by The Sweet Hots
"Cobalt Blue" by Marble Run
"Our Only Lark (Rhythm Leader)" by Bitters
"Cran Ras" by Vermouth
"Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" by Kevin MacLeod
"Trompette (Blues, New Orleans Music)" by Musique Libre de Droit Club
"Doghouse" by Warmbody
"Chaunce Libertine" by Vermouth
"Starlight" by Royalty Free Music World
"Janitor" by Union Hall
"FasterFasterBrighter" by Ray Catcher

Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. c. 1950s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Sammy and Dino Episode 1: The Hustle /  by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This season, we look at the movies, music and lives of Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin. Singers, actors, TV stars and nightclub performers, Davis and Martin became rich and famous selling versions of mid-20th-century hipness as the biggest stars in the Rat Pack who weren’t Frank Sinatra. The standard-setter for masculine cool in the second half of the twentieth century -- as well as a nexus where Hollywood power, political power and mafia power came together -- the Rat Pack feels uniquely uncool today. As its mystique recedes, it’s the perfect time to begin to unpack its allure, and take a cold hard look at the art it produced.

But Sammy and Dino were both more than the Rat Pack, and examining their lives and careers in tandem reveals tons, about the evolution of racial attitudes from the beginning of the 20th century -- when Italians and Italian-Americans like Dean were widely considered to be non-white; about how Hollywood responded to, and influenced, changing ideas about masculinity and “the man” from World War II to Vietnam and beyond; and above all, about the differences and similarities between mainstream capitalism and underground criminal economies, which is laid bare by the intersection of the music industry and the mafia.

Today, we’ll talk about Sammy and Dino’s childhoods and early years as entertainers -- years which formed their talent, their stage personas, and taught them their first lessons in the racket that was, and is, the music business. Both grew up in marginalized communities where they learned an ethos of success based on hustle. We’ll track both Dean and Sammy to major coming-of-age moments in the middle of World War II. Coming up in industrial Ohio as both a card dealer and a nightclub singer, Dean learns how and why the house always wins. As a child, Sammy joins his father’s touring dance act, and eventually becomes the main attraction -- before the war forces him to encounter racism at a level he’d never experienced before.

Sammy Davis Jr., Hamtree Harrington, and Ethel Waters in Rufus Jones for President (1933)

Young Dino Crocetti and his brother, c. 1920’s/30’s

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Low Horizon" by Kai Engel

"Calgary Sweeps" by Vermouth

"Cab Ride" by Pacho Faro

"Luka 75" by Vermouth

"Cran Ras" by Vermouth

"Cach" by Pacho Faro

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

"Faster Does It" by Kevin MacLeod

"Doghouse" by Warmbody

"Via Verre (Comping Run)" by The Sweet Hots

"Au Coin De La Rue" by Marco Raaphorst

"Late Comer (Bass Face) by Cafe Nostro

"02 Main Stem" by U.S. Army Blues

"Black Out" by Royalty-Free Music World

Sammy Davis Jr. in the Will Mastin Trio, c. 1950’s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Young Dean Martin headshot

GOSSIP GIRLS ARCHIVE /  by Karina Longworth

From the anonymous tips posted on Deux Moi to the streams of annotated paparazzi shots that fill the Daily Mail, today’s celebrity gossip -- democratized, based on technological surveillance -- looks completely different than it used to, when non-famous people could only go “behind the scenes” if led by authoritative guides. How did we get here?

This season on You Must Remember This, we’re going to go back about a hundred years, to the very beginning of the idea of going “behind the scenes,” to talk about the two powerful women who invented and dominated Hollywood gossip as it was known in the 20th century: Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Parsons and Hopper were both self-made women, single moms from middle America who shattered the glass ceiling; they were also small-minded, self-obsessed bigots who used their power to persecute outsiders, police sexuality, and ensure that the rich, powerful people who made movies lived in fear. Through stories of these women, their rivalry with one another and their incestuous relationships with the institutions and powerful men that controlled media, the movies and even federal law enforcement, we’ll track the evolution of gossip over the course of a century.

Episodes:

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (SMALL TOWN GIRL, EPISODE 1): Both Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper worked for papers created by charismatic barons whose publications were nakedly corrupt, totally biased -- and absolutely mainstream. Once we get a feel for this media climate, we’ll trace Louella’s early years of struggle and reinvention on the road to her pioneering bylines, and, finally, her role in canonizing The Birth of a Nation -- the most viciously racist Hollywood blockbuster of all time. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (THE FIRST LADY, EPISODE 2): In 1923, Louella Parsons signed a contract with William Randolph Hearst for nationwide syndication of the first major Hollywood gossip column. Parsons quickly built a brand based on protecting (and whitewashing) Hollywood’s interests, as well as Hearst’s, relentlessly promoting — and spying on — Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (THE FEUD, EPISODE 3): In 1938, washed-up actress Hedda Hopper is installed as a movie gossip columnist with the express purpose of puncturing the success of Louella and Hearst. But Hedda quickly establishes a voice of her own, revolutionary for its insistence on making movie gossip political. Once friends, Louella and Hedda become bitter rivals, egged on in their feud by a third party who sees Hedda as an ally in right-wing conservatism. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (WAR! EPISODE 4): World War II begins to reveal the gulf between Louella’s conservative but essentially business-minded politics, and Hedda Hopper’s virulent right-wing fervor. These differences — and the glee with which Hopper would destroy lives to shore up political power and further her ideology — come through loud and clear in the stories of two controversies: the casting of Gone with the Wind, and the paternity trial of Charlie Chaplin. Meanwhile, Louella shows her devotion to Hearst by using her power to cripple Citizen Kane. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (THE QUEER, FEMALE FILM PRODUCER YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF, EPISODE 5): Louella’s daughter, Harriet Parsons, became a groundbreaking female film producer at a moment in history in which virtually all mainstream filmmakers were male. She was also a lesbian, at a time when being openly gay was unacceptable in Hollywood -- and, in much of America, illegal. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (WITCH HUNT, EPISODE 6): During an era in which Hollywood and Washington are shakily aligned in the witch hunting of actual and reputed socialists, Louella struggles to maintain her position as cheerleader for the status quo, while Hedda grabs a torch and tries to burn it all down, using celebrity gossip to further the racist, xenophobic interests of the FBI. There’s also a new competitor in town, who at once subversively spoke to and for Hollywood’s gay community, while also deflecting attention from his own sexuality by attacking others. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (SEX AND SHAME IN THE 1950S, EPISODE 7): The 1950s were a decade of massive contradictions in terms of national and cultural attitudes towards sex. As Louella Parsons struggled to keep up with these rapid changes -- and to compete with her bolder, bitchier rival Hedda Hopper -- she reflected and steered the sexual panic through her coverage of two stories: Rita Hayworth’s marriage to a Muslim prince, and Ingrid Bergman’s “illegitimate” pregnancy. Plus: the emergence of Sheilah Graham, the international woman of mystery who would eventually beat the gossip girls at their own game. Listen

  • LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (INTERRACIAL PANIC AND CONFIDENTIAL, EPISODE 8): Appalled by rock n’ roll and its racial and sexual implications, Hedda and Louella find themselves in further danger of obsolescence when the gossip game is turned upside down by CONFIDENTIAL Magazine. Listen

  • GOSSIP GIRLS: LOUELLA PARSONS AND HEDDA HOPPER (THE QUEENS ARE DEAD, EPISODE 9): The Hollywood studio system begins to crumble, and Louella and Hedda decline and fall, too. But just as a new generation of filmmakers rises from the ashes and reinvents the movie business, so too does gossip find new life in a new look. We’ll end our season by talking about a woman who was the antithesis of Louella and Hedda -- liberal, Jewish, sexually forward, and so unwilling to play the industry’s games that she may have ensured the death of the gossip columnist as star. Listen

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Queens Are Dead, Episode 9) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The Hollywood studio system begins to crumble, and Louella and Hedda decline and fall, too. But just as a new generation of filmmakers rises from the ashes and reinvents the movie business, so too does gossip find new life in a new look. We’ll end our season by talking about a woman who was the antithesis of Louella and Hedda -- liberal, Jewish, sexually forward, and so unwilling to play the industry’s games that she may have ensured the death of the gossip columnist as star. 

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Louella Parsons, Victor Mature and Rita Hayworth at the Cocoanut Grove, c. 1940s

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Barge" by Grey River

"Bellow's Hull" by Reflections

"Jumbel" by Muffuletta

"One Quiet Conversation" by K2

"Walking Shoes" by Skittle

"Trenton Channel" by Reflections

"Unfolding Plot" by Ray Catcher

"Stale Case" by Darby

"Gale" by Migration

"Via Verre" by The Sweet Hots

"Mr Mole and Son" by Love and Weasel

"Vik Fence Lardha" by The Fence

"Base Camp" by K2

"Flashing Runner" by Resolute

"Ether Variant" by Reflections

"Intelligent Galaxy" by The Insider

"Passing Fields" by Quantum Jazz

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949 | LIFE Magazine

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help, I’m Stuck.

Entertainment Tonight.png

Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (Interracial Panic and Confidential, Episode 8) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959
​

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Appalled by rock n’ roll and its racial and sexual implications, Hedda and Louella find themselves in further danger of obsolescence when the gossip game is turned upside down by CONFIDENTIAL Magazine.

Confidential_November_1955.jpg
Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons at Party for Sophia Loren at Romanoff's with Conchita Pignatelli, 1957 | LIFE Magazine

Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons at Party for Sophia Loren at Romanoff's with Conchita Pignatelli, 1957 | LIFE Magazine

Nat King Cole and Louella Parsons | Photo by Douglas Robert from the Shades of L.A. Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Nat King Cole and Louella Parsons | Photo by Douglas Robert from the Shades of L.A. Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Single Still" by Vermouth

"Lowball" by Vermouth

"Borough" by Molerider

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

"Vernouillet" by The Sweet Hots

"Spot Peter" by The Sweet Hots

"Gaddy" by Little Rock

"Calisson" by Confectionery

"Tessalit" by Azalai

"True Blue Sky" by Bitters

"Cran Ras" by Vermouth

"Holo" by Grey River

James Dean and Hedda Hopper c. 1950s

James Dean and Hedda Hopper c. 1950s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help, I’m Stuck. Writer Rachel Syme spoke to Karina about Sheila Graham. 

The-Moon-Is-Blue-images-a14b681a-b865-41cc-997d-a38ddb6a31a.jpg

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (Sex and Shame in the 1950s, Episode 7) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959

Hedda Hopper and Ingrid Bergman, 1959

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The 1950s were a decade of massive contradictions in terms of national and cultural attitudes towards sex. As Louella Parsons struggled to keep up with these rapid changes -- and to compete with her bolder, bitchier rival Hedda Hopper -- she reflected and steered the sexual panic through her coverage of two stories: Rita Hayworth’s marriage to a Muslim prince, and Ingrid Bergman’s “illegitimate” pregnancy. Plus: the emergence of Sheilah Graham, the international woman of mystery who would eventually beat the gossip girls at their own game.

Sheila Graham.png
Louella Parsons, Victor Mature and Rita Hayworth at the Cocoanut Grove, c. 1940s

Louella Parsons, Victor Mature and Rita Hayworth at the Cocoanut Grove, c. 1940s

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Single Still" by Vermouth

"Lowball" by Vermouth

"Borough" by Molerider

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

"Vernouillet" by The Sweet Hots

"Spot Peter" by The Sweet Hots

"Gaddy" by Little Rock

"Calisson" by Confectionery

"Tessalit" by Azalai

"True Blue Sky" by Bitters

"Cran Ras" by Vermouth

"Holo" by Grey River

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949 | LIFE Magazine

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949 | LIFE Magazine

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help, I’m Stuck. Writer Rachel Syme spoke to Karina about Sheila Graham. 

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (Witch Hunt, Episode 6) /  by Karina Longworth

Louella Parsons, 1953 | Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Louella Parsons, 1953 | Photo from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection via the Los Angeles Public Library

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

During an era in which Hollywood and Washington are shakily aligned in the witch hunting of actual and reputed socialists, Louella struggles to maintain her position as cheerleader for the status quo, while Hedda grabs a torch and tries to burn it all down, using celebrity gossip to further the racist, xenophobic interests of the FBI. There’s also a new competitor in town, who at once subversively spoke to and for Hollywood’s gay community, while also deflecting attention from his own sexuality by attacking others.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Hedda Hopper | The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Hedda Hopper | The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images

Louella Parsons and L.B. Mayer | Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Louella Parsons and L.B. Mayer | Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Gary Cooper at the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Washington, DC, October 24, 1947 | Photo Via Getty Images

Gary Cooper at the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Washington, DC, October 24, 1947 | Photo Via Getty Images

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"The Records" by Union Hall

"Undercover Vampire Policeman" by Chris Zabriskie

"Chai Belltini" by Vermouth

"Cocoon Transit" by Origami

"Gin Boheme" by Vermouth

"Where it All Happened" by Cold Case

"Roadside Bunkhouse" by Truck Stop

"I Knew a Guy" by Kevin MacLeod

"ZigZag Heart" by Nursery

"Copley Beat" by Skittle

"Glass Stopper" by Vermouth

Mike Connolly c. 1950s

Mike Connolly c. 1950s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created, and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help I’m Stuck.  

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Queer, Female Film Producer You’ve Never Heard Of, Episode 5) /  by Karina Longworth

Harriet Parsons c. 1930s | Photo by George Hurrell

Harriet Parsons c. 1930s | Photo by George Hurrell

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Louella’s daughter, Harriet Parsons, became a groundbreaking female film producer at a moment in history in which virtually all mainstream filmmakers were male. She was also a lesbian, at a time when being openly gay was unacceptable in Hollywood -- and, in much of America, illegal. 

Harriet Parsons, left, with Radie Harris, 1945 | Photo from the Harriet Parsons scrapbooks, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Harriet Parsons, left, with Radie Harris, 1945 | Photo from the Harriet Parsons scrapbooks, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Screenland1946.png
Louella Parsons, Hollywood gossip columnist, with CBS-TV Producer, Martin Manulis and Harriet Parsons

Louella Parsons, Hollywood gossip columnist, with CBS-TV Producer, Martin Manulis and Harriet Parsons

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"The Bus at Dawn" by Holyoke

"Talltell" by Flatlands

"Pacing" by TinyTiny Trio

"House of Grendel" by Lemuel

"Levanger" by Lillehammer

"Laser Focus" by TinyTiny Trio

"The Crisper" by Confectionery

"Passages Interlude" by Demalion

"Line Exchange" by Marble Run

"Three Stories" by Skittle

"Cobalt Blue" by Marble Run

"Tarte Tatin" by Confectionery

Harriet Parsons c. 1978 | Photo by Steve Banks

Harriet Parsons c. 1978 | Photo by Steve Banks

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created, and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help I’m Stuck.  

Hedda Hopper and her son William Hopper | Photo from the CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Hedda Hopper and her son William Hopper | Photo from the CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (War! Episode 4) /  by Karina Longworth

Hedda Hopper c. 1946 | Popperfoto/Getty Images

Hedda Hopper c. 1946 | Popperfoto/Getty Images

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

World War II begins to reveal the gulf between Louella’s conservative but essentially business-minded politics, and Hedda Hopper’s virulent right-wing fervor. These differences — and the glee with which Hopper would destroy lives to shore up political power and further her ideology  — come through loud and clear in the stories of two controversies: the casting of Gone with the Wind, and the paternity trial of Charlie Chaplin. Meanwhile, Louella shows her devotion to Hearst by using her power to cripple Citizen Kane. 

Lana Turner and Louella Parsons Radio Broadcast c. 1940s

Lana Turner and Louella Parsons Radio Broadcast c. 1940s

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources for entire season:

Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood: Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism by Jennifer Frost

The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons by Samantha Barbas

The Whole Truth and Nothing But by Hedda Hopper

From Under My Hat by Hedda Hopper

Tell it to Louella by Louella Parsons

The Powers That Be by David Halberstam

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

The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst by David Nasaw

Dish by Jeannette Walls

Privileged Son: Otis Chandler And The Rise And Fall Of The L.A. Times Dynasty by Dennis Mcdougal

Hedda and Louella: A Dual biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons by George Eells


Sources specific to this episode:

“Joan Barry: The Most (In)famous Actress to Never Appear on Screen” by Matthew Mandarano, https://notesonafilm.com/

“Age of Consent Laws” by Stephen Robertson, University Of Sydney, Australia, https://chnm.gmu.edu/

“Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper Rivalry Ruined the Revelry” Time Magazine, 1941, https://time.com/

“How Leni Riefenstahl shaped the way we see the Olympics” by Nicholas Barber, August 2016, https://www.bbc.com/

“That Old Feeling: Leni's Triumph” by Richard Corliss Aug. 22, 2002, http://content.time.com/

“How 'America First' Got Its Nationalistic Edge” by Eric Rauchway, May 6, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/

“The Long History Behind Donald Trump's 'America First' Foreign Policy” by Lily Rothman, March 28, 2016, https://time.com/

“CRIME: Mann & Woman” Apr. 03, 1944, http://content.time.com/

The “Good” Conscientious Objector Lew Ayres by Joseph Connor, February, 2018, https://www.historynet.com/

“Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper Rivalry Ruined the Revelry” Time Magazine, 1941.png

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"The Bus at Dawn" by Holyoke

"Talltell" by Flatlands

"Pacing" by TinyTiny Trio

"House of Grendel" by Lemuel

"Levanger" by Lillehammer

"Laser Focus" by TinyTiny Trio

"The Crisper" by Confectionery

"Passages Interlude" by Demalion

"Line Exchange" by Marble Run

"Three Stories" by Skittle

"Cobalt Blue" by Marble Run

"Tarte Tatin" by Confectionery

Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Special thanks to Cole Escola who played Hedda Hopper. Cole can be seen on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris and their self-produced special Help I’m Stuck.  

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Feud, Episode 3) /  by Karina Longworth

HeddaHopperc.1920s.jpg
​

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

In 1938, washed-up actress Hedda Hopper is installed as a movie gossip columnist with the express purpose of puncturing the success of Louella and Hearst. But Hedda quickly establishes a voice of her own, revolutionary for its insistence on making movie gossip political. Once friends, Louella and Hedda become bitter rivals, egged on in their feud by a third party who sees Hedda as an ally in right-wing conservatism.

Hedda Hopper, 3rd from left, with Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames, Ann Harding in Holiday (1930)

Hedda Hopper, 3rd from left, with Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames, Ann Harding in Holiday (1930)

Screen Shot 2021-05-11 at 12.53.40 PM.png

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Krok" by Simple Machines

"Pips and Boil" by Confectionery

"Crumpet" by Confectionery

"Heath" by Moon Juice

"Mr Mole and Son" by Love and Weasel

"One Quiet Conversation" by K2

"Pxl Htra" by The Fence

"Eggs and Powder" by Muffuletta

"Trenton Channel" by Reflections

"Respite" by Desert Kalimba

"Net and the Cradle" by Muffuletta

"Copley Beat" by Skittle

"Ewa Valley" by Cloud Harbor

Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s

Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole is an actor who appears on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris. 

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.