The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals
Read The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals Online
Authors: Michelle Morgan
Michelle Morgan
was the president of the Marilyn Lives Society, a UK fan club, from 1991 to 2007. She is the author of
Marilyn’s Addresses
and
Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed
. She is the co-producer of the upcoming documentary
Gable: The Ties that Bind
with Prospect House Entertainment. She lives in Northamptonshire.
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Also by Michelle Morgan
Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed
HE
M
AMMOTH
B
OOK OF
Hollywood
Scandals
Michelle Morgan
Constable & Robinson Ltd
55–56 Russell Square
London WC1B 4HP
First published in the UK by Robinson,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2013
Copyright © Michelle Morgan, 2013
The right of Michelle Morgan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication
Data is available from the British Library
UK ISBN: 978-1-47210-033-7 (paperback)
UK ISBN: 978-1-47210-034-4 (ebook)
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
First published in the United States in 2013 by Running Press Book Publishers,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without permission from the publisher
.
Books published by Running Press are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail
[email protected]
.
US ISBN: 978-0-7624-4946-0
eISBN: 978-1-4721-0034-4
US Library of Congress Control Number: 2013933735
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing
Running Press Book Publishers
2300 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371
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Printed and bound in the UK
Cover photography and design: Ken Leeder
This book is dedicated to my dear friend, Claire Hollies
Slater, who has been in my life since we were both
eleven years old. She is one of the strongest women I
know and will always be an inspiration to me.
To my grandparents, Bill, Lily, Cosimo Pacitti and
Pearl, for teaching me all about “the olden days” and
inspiring my love for times gone by.
And to the memory of my dear friend Ross
McNaughton, who was really looking forward to this
book.
I would like to thank my friends and readers who not only pointed me in the direction of various scandals, but also provided a lot of information, help and support along the way. In that regard I would particularly like to thank Eric Woodard, Richard Kirby and Hanna Nixon, who all sent items that they felt would inspire my work on this project.
To my agent, Robert Smith; all the staff at Constable & Robinson, and my wonderful editor Howard Watson.
Christina Rice from the Los Angeles Public Library helped me so much during the writing of this book; while it seems clichéd to say that it could not have been written without her, I honestly believe that to be true.
I would like to thank my wonderful husband Richard, who has supported and loved me for the past twenty-six years, and Mum, Dad, Paul, Wendy and Angelina for always being there for me.
And last but by no means least, my gorgeous daughter Daisy, for inspiring me every single day for the past nine years. I love you, baby; all my dreams came true because of you.
1. The Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle Scandal
2. The Choy Ling Foo Dance Troupe
3. The Life and Death of Norman “Kid McCoy” Selby
4. Lucille Ricksen, the Adult Child Star
5. The “Almost Perfect” Murder
6. Clara Bow’s Scandalous Love Life
7. Lottie Pickford: Mary’s Naughty Sister
8. Christine Collins and the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders
9. Clara Bow, the Lawsuit and the Breakdown
10. Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign
11. The Mysterious Death of Paul Bern
12. The Tragic Death of Russ Columbo
14. The Life and Death of Lou-Tellegen
15. The Strange Death of Thelma Todd
16. Clark Gable’s Baby Scandals
17. Aleta Freel Alexander and Ross Alexander
19. Jean Harlow, Hollywood’s Baby
20. The Sad Death of Marie Prevost
21. The Rape of Patricia Douglas
22. Florence Lawrence: Hollywood’s First Forgotten Star
23. Clark Gable Tackles a Burglar
25. The Tragic Love of Peggy Shannon and Albert Roberts
26. Mrs Gable: The Carole Lombard Tragedy
27. Miss Hot Tamale, Lupe Vélez
28. Carole Landis, the Heartbroken Star
29. Marilyn Monroe’s Nude Calendar Scandal
31. The Sudden Death of James Dean
32. The Mysterious Death of Lana Turner’s Boyfriend
33. Marilyn Monroe: Suicide, Accident or Murder?
34. The Murder of Ramón Novarro
35. The Bizarre Death of Albert Dekker
37. The Dreadful Murder of Sal Mineo
38. Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll
39. Mommie Dearest and My Mother’s Keeper
40. The Deaths of Charles Wagenheim and Victor Kilian
41. Natalie Wood Drowns Mysteriously
42. John Belushi Dies at the Chateau Marmont
45. The Tumultuous Marriage of Madonna and Sean Penn
46. Zsa Zsa Gabor Slaps a Policeman
47. River Phoenix Dies Outside the Viper Room
48. Madonna’s Hollywood Stalker
49. Hugh Grant’s Hollywood Scandal
50. John Denver Leaves on a Jet Plane
51. The Ups and Downs in the Life of George Michael
52. Winona Ryder Is Arrested for Shoplifting
53. The Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie Love Triangle
54. The Tragic Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith
55. Michael Jackson, the Man from Neverland
56. The Marriage Break-up of Kelsey and Camille Grammer
57. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Love Child
58. The Very Public Meltdown of Charlie Sheen
59. The Relationship of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
60. The Rise and Fall of Whitney Houston
61. The Marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
“There are three sides to every story . . . His, hers and the truth.” – Anon
Some people consider Hollywood a location; some an industry; others a state of mind. To me, and for the purpose of this book, Hollywood is a combination of all three. Some of the scandals in this book happened in California where Hollywood is located, of course, while others may have happened elsewhere but are included here because the people concerned were (or are) part of the Hollywood industry and legend.
Within these pages you will read about strange deaths, tragedies, suicides, sex scandals, robberies, murders and much, much more. These scandals run the gamut from the days of silent films right up to the present day, and show that while times may change, the extraordinary lives people live and the things they get up to are the same now as they were a hundred years ago. People are drawn to scandal; scandal is drawn to them. It all goes on no matter if the star is from the 1920s or the present day.
This book covers over sixty different scandals from the high-profile – Whitney Houston’s death, the Fatty Arbuckle court case and the fatal stabbing of Lana Turner’s boyfriend – to those scandals long since forgotten, such as the death of actor Albert Dekker or the colourful life of boxer/actor Norman Selby. Some scandals are small; others so large I wondered if they would ever come to a conclusion, but all are revealing, tragic, outrageous and at times – such as the case of Zsa Zsa Gabor clobbering a policeman – somewhat entertaining.