Top 20 Dark Truths About Classic Hollywood Actors
Classic Hollywood is full of dark truths. For this list, we’ll be looking at the Golden Age of Hollywood’s most tragic and scandalous open secrets.
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00:00 "The rewards for ambition are bountiful here in the beautiful Southern California sun."
00:05 Welcome to MissMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Dark Truths
00:10 About Classic Hollywood Actors.
00:12 "Hit movie.
00:13 Come on, you've got everything you want."
00:17 For this list, we'll be looking at the golden age of Hollywood's most tragic and scandalous
00:22 open secrets.
00:23 Which of these dark truths shocked you the most?
00:27 Let us know in the comments.
00:29 20.
00:30 Meryl Oberon hid her true ethnicity
00:33 Actress Meryl Oberon was incredibly talented, and widely known for her beauty.
00:38 "Madame Bernadotte, we haven't seen you in some time.
00:42 How is your family?"
00:43 "Very well, your majesty."
00:44 Unfortunately, like her contemporaries, Oberon's image and background were seemingly under
00:49 intense scrutiny and control by her home studio.
00:53 However, it was eventually revealed that Oberon, who we now know was born in India, was also
00:58 massaging the details of her own background.
01:01 That included concealing her ethnicity as a mixed-race woman.
01:05 She chose to stay quiet about her identity, reportedly to avoid Hollywood's racism.
01:09 It wasn't until she passed away that the truth of her parentage and heritage ultimately
01:14 came to light.
01:15 "I beg that in your graciousness you grant your sister's requests, so that we may get
01:20 on with this rehearsal."
01:21 19.
01:22 Gene Kelly's mistreatment of Debbie Reynolds
01:25 For the joy and tap dancing, making Singing in the Rain was no picnic.
01:30 It takes a lot of pain to create that much fun on screen.
01:33 "I had blood in my shoes, and it was very difficult to do those numbers as fast as they
01:42 wanted them and as long as they wanted them, over and over and over and over."
01:45 In fact, Debbie Reynolds would later liken it to childbirth.
01:49 Didn't help that her male lead, dancer-actor-director extraordinaire Gene Kelly, was horrific to
01:54 her on set.
01:56 He criticised her dancing at every turn, and she was left in tears.
02:00 It didn't end with the dancing either.
02:02 When the actor, who was two decades her senior, unexpectedly tongue-kissed her during a scene,
02:09 she was left feeling shaken.
02:11 Even Kelly apparently acknowledged his behaviour later, reportedly saying it was a "wonder"
02:16 Reynolds still spoke to him.
02:18 "Good morning.
02:19 Good morning.
02:20 We've talked the whole night through.
02:23 Good morning.
02:24 Good morning to you."
02:27 18.
02:28 The Misfits Curse
02:29 By all accounts, the making of this 1961 western was a gruelling experience for all involved.
02:35 "Did I make the western?"
02:36 "Almost, boy.
02:37 You done good though."
02:38 But sadly, what happened to its three leads has enhanced The Misfits' reputation as a
02:44 cursed movie.
02:46 At the time, Marilyn Monroe's personal life was not in the best place, and both she and
02:50 Montgomery Clift were dealing with substance use disorder.
02:54 Clark Gable, for his part, passed away days after shooting was completed.
02:58 Monroe would pass the next year, and Clift would make three more movies, one of which
03:03 came out posthumously, before his death at the age of 45.
03:08 Despite this, many modern critics cite The Misfits as career best work for the three
03:13 stars.
03:14 "We all gotta go sometime.
03:15 Reason or no reason.
03:16 Time's as natural as living."
03:18 17.
03:19 The Woman Crawford Removed Her Teeth
03:21 "Who are you, please?"
03:25 "I'm a philographer."
03:28 Many of us have our own insecurities about our physical appearance, and celebrities are
03:32 no exception, especially the women who have societal expectations on them that men often
03:38 don't have to deal with in the same way.
03:40 And these expectations and insecurities can sometimes lead to rather extreme measures
03:45 being taken to attempt to enhance one's appearance.
03:48 "And by my count, you're missing six molars?"
03:52 "Extractions."
03:53 "What kind of medieval dental practice extracts six teeth without putting in implants?"
03:57 An example of which is Joan Crawford removing her teeth.
04:01 No, she didn't take them all out, but in her early 20s, she did remove some of her
04:07 back molars in an effort to accentuate her cheekbones.
04:11 "My agent told me if I wanted to work past 25, I should invest in a set of cheekbones."
04:18 16.
04:19 The Conqueror Deaths
04:21 The cast of this misbegotten 1956 epic starring John Wayne as the titular Conqueror, Genghis
04:27 Khan, faced tragedy.
04:29 "There are moments for wisdom, Jamuga, then I listen to you.
04:32 And there are moments for action, then I listen to my blood.
04:37 I feel this tired woman is for me."
04:39 Indeed, a little under half the artists who worked on The Conqueror developed some form
04:44 of cancer.
04:45 Wayne, co-stars such as Susan Haywood and Agnes Moorhead, director Dick Powell, and
04:51 many others would eventually pass away as a result of the disease.
04:55 Many attribute this abnormally large number of the movie being filmed near where extensive
05:00 nuclear tests had taken place in Utah.
05:03 Whether it was radiation or any number of complicating factors, the story is a heartbreaking
05:09 one.
05:10 "Before that picture was made, I did the same scene in real life.
05:13 It was 12 years ago.
05:15 It cost me a piece of lung."
05:20 15.
05:21 Judy Garland's Terminated Pregnancies
05:23 Studio stars were beholden to a very strict set of rules and regulations.
05:27 If they wanted to work, their lives were basically at the mercy of the studio.
05:32 "Hey, she's having the same as me."
05:34 "Orders from upstairs.
05:35 Sorry."
05:36 Few knew this better than Judy Garland.
05:39 Much has been made of her time at MGM, when she, and possibly Mickey Rooney, were allegedly
05:44 fed pills that would contribute to their substance use disorders.
05:50 But there's more.
05:51 Garland's pregnancy in 1941 reportedly angered studio chiefs, but it also troubled her domineering
05:57 mother Ethel.
05:58 Together, Ethel and the studio had Garland terminate the pregnancy.
06:03 Garland would endure a similar scenario only two years later after becoming pregnant by
06:07 actor Tyrone Power.
06:09 "We pay you a great deal of money.
06:13 You have an image to maintain.
06:14 And you owe it to us to maintain it."
06:19 14.
06:20 The Story of Peg Entwhistle
06:22 When it was first built in 1923, the Hollywood sign was just a promotional tool for a new
06:27 real estate development in the growing industry town.
06:30 Its now-mythical status may sadly have been helped along by a troubling event.
06:35 "You're a looking kid like you, you think you just gotta show up and poof, you're a
06:38 movie star, huh?
06:39 Well, that ain't how it works."
06:41 Peg Entwhistle was a successful stage actress who eventually ended up in Hollywood for a
06:46 play and went on to try her hand at films.
06:49 She made 13 Women, which would end up being a posthumous release, as well as her first
06:54 and only movie credit.
06:56 Edits reportedly left most of her performance on the cutting room floor, and RKO cut ties
07:01 with her.
07:02 In 1932, she made her way atop the H of the Hollywoodland sign and sadly took her own
07:10 life.
07:11 "It was Kay's part, it was Kay's life, but now it's too late.
07:15 Kay is dead."
07:16 13.
07:17 George Reeves Passing
07:19 Although he was in many movies, George Reeves found his biggest success on television.
07:23 For six seasons, the actor portrayed the dual role of Clark Kent and Superman in Adventures
07:29 of Superman.
07:30 "I can't remember anything after they jumped me in the cave."
07:32 "If I'd come two minutes later, you'd have been food for the fishes."
07:35 Unfortunately, Reeves passed away in 1959 due to a gunshot wound.
07:39 Though it was ruled as self-inflicted, the presence of things like mysterious bruises
07:44 and extra bullets at the scene sent rumours swirling.
07:49 Different theories spread to explain the death that pinned the blame on everyone from his
07:52 fiancé to the husband of a lover.
07:55 The case and its puzzling circumstances have been fodder for true crime enthusiasts ever
08:01 since.
08:02 It remains one of classic Hollywood's biggest mysteries.
08:05 12.
08:06 The Murder of Lana Turner's Mobster Lover
08:09 Glamorous MGM star Lana Turner was no stranger to publicity, but the 1958 murder of her abusive
08:15 lover Johnny Stompanato brought the media scrutiny to new heights.
08:20 "Johnny."
08:21 "Bob."
08:22 "Johnny."
08:23 "Johnny."
08:24 "I'm not Johnny."
08:27 During a violent argument between the two, Turner's daughter, Cheryl Crane, killed Stompanato
08:32 in what was ruled as an act of justifiable homicide.
08:35 The ensuing trial and media circus was the stuff of Hollywood melodrama.
08:40 It was all made especially poisonous because Turner's emotional testimony didn't do much
08:45 to quell suspicions.
08:47 She committed the crime, and was letting her daughter take the fall.
08:51 Despite vicious gossip, the two never wavered from the official version of events.
08:55 "I didn't come to bother you, or you won't.
08:58 Not ever again."
08:59 11.
09:00 The Fatty Arbuckle Trials
09:02 Stories of backstage botchery fuelled the national scandal involving Roscoe "Fatty"
09:07 Arbuckle, who was accused of the assault and manslaughter of star Virginia Rappe.
09:12 "Fame and glory, and then the all too human tragedies that often wipe them out."
09:21 The young silent film actress passed away in 1921 of a ruptured bladder and peritonitis
09:27 mere days after becoming sick at a soiree of his.
09:31 The illness was alleged to have been a result of an attack by the comedian.
09:34 After three trials, Arbuckle was exonerated, but the public's perception of him was irrevocably
09:40 changed.
09:41 The circumstances surrounding Rappe's death became obscured by rumour, many of which were
09:45 popularised in Kenneth Anger's highly exaggerated book, Hollywood Babylon.
09:51 "Oh my gosh, I don't think I should talk to your news fellows anymore."
09:56 10.
09:57 Shirley Temple Was Almost Assassinated
09:59 "I eat watermelon and I have four ears saying holly wolly doodle all the day."
10:04 Shirley Temple was one of the great child stars in the history of Hollywood.
10:08 She was also the target of an assassination attempt when she was young.
10:12 "So if the one you idolise is near you, a song of love will help you find the way."
10:19 The perpetrator of the attempt was a sad and emotionally distraught woman who'd lost her
10:24 daughter, supposedly at the same time that Temple was born.
10:28 In her sorrow, the woman came to believe that Temple had stolen her daughter's soul and
10:32 that targeting her would release it from her.
10:35 The woman took out a gun during a live performance, but was stopped before she could fire it.
10:40 It's a sad story all around, that thankfully ended without any physical harm to Temple.
10:45 "On the gold ship, lolly pop, it's a sweet trip to a candy shop."
10:53 Later in life, the star was vocal about her experience with a predatory MGM producer.
10:58 "We got in the car driving home, I said, 'Mom, you won't believe what happened to me.'"
11:04 9.
11:05 Montgomery Clift's Life-Changing Car Accident
11:07 "A beautiful girl will place a garland of oak leaves on my sun-coloured locks."
11:13 "I'd like to be that girl."
11:16 Known for his roles in such films as A Place in the Sun and From Here to Eternity, Montgomery
11:21 Clift was a big Hollywood star in the late 40s and 50s, until a car accident changed
11:28 his life.
11:29 Clift was filming Raintree County when, following a dinner party at co-star Elizabeth Taylor's
11:34 house, Clift crashed his car into a telephone pole.
11:38 Thankfully, Taylor arrived to help save his life.
11:41 The accident required plastic surgery and two months of recovery before the actor could
11:46 finish the film.
11:47 Besides the changes to his appearance, the accident led to Clift turning to substances
11:52 to dull the pain.
11:53 He continued to make movies, but he was never really the same until he died at 45.
11:58 "You seem so strange.
12:01 So deep and far away.
12:05 It's like you were holding something back."
12:07 8.
12:08 Stan Laurel's Drinking
12:09 The comedy duo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy brought joy and laughter to so many people
12:15 throughout the first half of the 20th century.
12:22 But one person who wasn't laughing was Vera Shivalova.
12:26 Shivalova was Laurel's third wife and the recipient of some very scary threats from
12:30 the beloved comic performer.
12:32 Supposedly, Laurel had a problem with alcohol and, needless to say, he wasn't a friendly
12:38 drunk.
12:39 "Dirk!
12:40 Watch what you're doing!"
12:43 When the couple divorced, Shivalova made some very serious accusations, claiming that her
12:48 husband had threatened her with a gun and even had dug a grave in their backyard, telling
12:53 her that he was going to bury her alive.
12:57 Nothing funny about that.
12:58 "Your money or your life!
13:02 What?
13:03 Your money or your life!"
13:08 7.
13:09 Allegations Against Joan Crawford
13:11 Joan Crawford is widely regarded as one of the old Hollywood greats.
13:14 "Look, you might as well know it now, both of you.
13:17 Your father and I have decided to separate."
13:19 "You mean Dad's not coming home anymore?
13:21 Doesn't he like us?"
13:23 "Oh, it has nothing to do with you, honey."
13:26 But her daughter Christina Crawford's memoirs, namely Mummy Dearest, painted a distressing
13:30 picture of life behind the scenes.
13:32 In it, Joan was described as someone with alcohol use disorder who was violent and overall
13:37 abusive.
13:38 As you can imagine, the book and its claims were a lightning rod for controversy upon
13:43 publication.
13:44 The rest of Joan Crawford's daughters and several of her Hollywood contemporaries, including
13:49 foe Betty Davis, denied the allegations.
13:52 Through all the criticism, controversy and anger, however, Christina Crawford has stood
13:57 by her story.
13:58 "Why can't you give me the respect that I'm entitled to?"
14:05 6.
14:06 John Huston's vehicular manslaughter
14:08 John Huston's path to becoming one of the greatest directors of all time began in 1941
14:14 with his directorial debut, The Maltese Falcon.
14:17 "What is it?"
14:20 "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of."
14:26 However, prior to getting his shot at directing, Huston spent the beginning and the end of
14:31 the 1930s as a writer in Hollywood.
14:34 What about the middle years?
14:35 Well, Huston spent those wandering around Europe following the death of actress Tosca
14:40 Rullion, a death that he caused while driving intoxicated.
14:43 Although, somehow, a coroner's jury did exonerate Huston of any blame.
14:48 There was a rumor that Clark Gable was the one that killed Rullion, and Huston was paid
14:53 to take the fall.
14:54 "See, Mr. Gitz, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the
14:59 right place, they're capable of anything."
15:02 But given that Gable was elsewhere filming a movie at the time, the rumor doesn't appear
15:06 to have any legs.
15:08 "I can manage well enough horizontally, but vertically I fall apart."
15:13 5.
15:14 Marilyn's stuttering began after childhood trauma
15:17 A number of famous actors dealt with stuttering as children, including, as fans of the Big
15:22 Bang Theory know, James Earl Jones.
15:24 "Is it true, as a child, you were a stutterer and were functionally mute for eight years?"
15:31 "It is true."
15:32 But while people may be familiar with many of Marilyn Monroe's life struggles, did you
15:36 know that she too stuttered growing up?
15:38 "I play the ukulele and I sing too."
15:40 "Sings too?"
15:41 "Well, I don't have much of a voice, but then this isn't much of a band."
15:45 Many biographies have covered this fact, and Monroe herself talked about it in interviews.
15:50 It got so bad at times that she, like other stutterers, was so scared and embarrassed
15:55 that she basically stopped talking for extended periods.
15:59 How exactly it started is obviously up for debate, but many biographers have attributed
16:03 it to trauma of living with her mother, who lived with schizophrenia, and her childhood
16:08 in and out of foster care and orphanages.
16:10 "First time was at the orphanage, and then later in my teens I stuttered."
16:17 4.
16:18 Marlon Brando's Treatment Towards Rita Moreno
16:21 Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno were first acquainted in 1954.
16:26 Like often happens in Hollywood, they started dating.
16:29 "What do you want to know?"
16:32 "I just wanted to know where you were last night."
16:34 There's no denying Brando's brilliance as one of the greatest actors of all time.
16:38 However, when it came to women, Moreno called him a "bad guy."
16:43 Besides the lying and cheating and bursts of rage, Moreno also revealed that Brando
16:47 made plans for her to terminate a pregnancy while they were together, though it was dangerously
16:52 performed and could have ended in disaster for her.
16:55 It was all too much for the young actress, who has also been open about how the relationship
17:00 led to her almost taking her life.
17:03 "That's how I tried to do it, and it really was an attempt to do that."
17:06 3.
17:07 Hitchcock Stalked His Own Actress
17:09 Besides a small, uncredited role in 1950, Tippi Hedren made her big-screen debut in
17:16 Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds, and followed it up next year in Hitchcock's
17:21 Marnie.
17:22 "If you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed."
17:24 You'd think that after having such success with such a great director, that the two would
17:28 have worked together again, but they never did.
17:31 Although it wasn't because Hitchcock didn't like Hedren, but rather because he liked
17:35 her too much.
17:36 "I started noticing that he kept watching me, staring at me."
17:44 The great director became obsessed with Hedren, and her time on both films was filled with
17:48 emotional and mental mistreatment and unwanted advances from Hitchcock, from isolating her
17:54 from the rest of the cast by forbidding any of them to talk to her, to demanding she be
17:58 sexually available to him, which she refused.
18:02 "I became very, very good at getting out.
18:06 I would always have somewhere to go, had to be somewhere, had something to do."
18:10 2.
18:11 Chaplin's Younger Spouses
18:21 Charlie Chaplin made over 80 movies.
18:24 That's a lot.
18:25 However, it pales in comparison to the number of people he slept with, a number that he
18:30 claimed was over 2,000.
18:34 And while we don't know the ages of all of them, the ones we do know make us, shall we
18:38 say, uncomfortable.
18:40 He married his first wife, Mildred Harris, in 1918.
18:44 Chaplin was 29, and Harris was only 16.
18:48 Chaplin felt forced into marrying his second wife, Leta Gray, when the 35-year-old icon
18:53 discovered that the 16-year-old Gray was pregnant.
18:56 In 1943, at the age of 54, Chaplin married for the fourth and last time.
19:02 His wife, Una O'Neill, was 18.
19:05 But the couple have eight kids and remained together until Chaplin's passing in 1977.
19:17 1.
19:29 Judy Lewis was the Secret Child of a Huge Star
19:33 Soap opera actress Judy Lewis' life sounds like the script from an episode of afternoon
19:39 television.
19:46 But it isn't.
19:47 Lewis' mother was actress Loretta Young, and her biological father was Clark Gable.
19:54 However, Gable was married at the time.
19:56 So, attempting to avoid a scandal, Young hid her pregnancy and placed her baby into orphanages
20:02 when she was born.
20:04 After 19 months, Young "adopted" her daughter back.
20:07 But her stunning resemblance to Gable meant that most of Hollywood knew the truth.
20:18 Young even had a 7-year-old Lewis get her ears pinned back in order to try and hide
20:24 the similarities.
20:25 Eventually, Young admitted the truth to her daughter and claimed that she wasn't conceived
20:30 consensually.
20:39 Young's mother had died.
20:58 (upbeat music)