The 1920s were a time of great economic change in the United States. Here are some of the greatest scandals to emerge from Hollywood during its Golden Age. After his father died in 1898, Paget, the 5th Marquis of Anglesey, inherited property that earned roughly 110,000 annually (today, that would be equivalent to 55 million). Young female wannabe stars were frequent guests to his office so that he may evaluate their skills. Some of the speculators never actually went to Florida themselves. READ MORE: Warning Signs Investors Missed Before the 1929 Crash. Protestants, Progressives, and women all spearheaded the drive to institute Prohibition. Arbuckle found his fame was a liability rather than an asset as he denied the charges of rape, and the subsequent trial was a media sensation for weeks. J. Edgar Hoover, with his penchant for keeping records damaging to the reputations of anyone he deemed too powerful and influential, ensured the FBI was active in Hollywood for decades, collecting what should have been private information in order to protect the nations morals. Its popularity was such that it was in high demand in reruns for years, and eventually was adapted as a full-length motion picture in the early 1980s. With stock prices rising, small investors were tantalized by the prospect of bigger returns on their savings than bank accounts would pay in interest. Both girls, 17-year-old Peggy Satterlee and Betty Hansen, also 17, accused Flynn of seducing them, Peggy on Flynns yacht and Betty in the home of a friend. The growing demand for petroleum to fuel automobiles also led to oil drilling schemes concocted by promoters who mailed out literature and handed out flyers that promised a fabulous return. One study found that by 1924, 92 percent of college women had tried petting. But even the innuendo collected by Hoover for personal reasons often took a backseat to the scandals which emerged from the stars decadent lifestyles. As described in a Los Angeles Times review of Jules Tygiels 1994 book The Great Los Angeles Swindle: Oil, Stocks and Scandal During the Roaring Twenties, one of the most audacious promoters was Courtenay Chauncey C.C. Julian, who bought newspaper and radio ads in which he cajoled, Youll never make a thin dime just lookin on.. The list of suspects was long and colorful, including an allegedly gay Englishman who turned out to be neither gay nor English following police inquiries; fellow director and creator of the Keystone Kops Mack Sennett, another paramour of Normands; and Mary Minters mother. The First Trial of the Century Evelyn Nesbit arrived in New York City in 1900 as a 15-year-old. One of the greatest scandals in Hollywood's, indeed in all of American history, was the abuse of power routinely practiced by the man who considered himself to be the greatest lawman in America throughout his long and self-serving career. She accepted his excuses, took to public speaking to support their life together, even going so far as to follow him to Scotland and Ireland so their affair could continue, but eventually, she expected a wedding. 1. The files were held for the purpose of blackmail, and were extensive collections of personal information and activities. March 25, 1987, Katherine Hepburns 25 Year Affair with Spencer Tracy Being Developed for a Movie. Instead, the older Ruskin put off consummating the marriage. Pres. Wilful Peggy (1910), The New York Hat (1912), Tess of the Storm Country (1914), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917), Stella Maris (1918), Daddy-Long-Legs (1919), Pollyanna (1920), Sparrows (1926) FURTHER READING Balio, Tino. She created scandal by aborting a pregnancy in which the father was a leading man in one of her films, married to another (William Powell). In other wordsdont hesitate to invest your cash!, Prohibition also played a role in making the citizens susceptible, according to Hendley. He also carried on a long-term affair with the wife of a local dry goods store owner who blackmailed him for $50,000 and a cruise to China during the 1920 election. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 against the Austrian Empire, a man stood out for his violent tactics in suppressing the revolutionaries: Julius Jacob von Haynau, an Austrian general who earned the nickname, the Hyena. News of his brutality, particularly against Hungarian women, excited much anger in the English public. The Teapot Dome Scandal was an American political scandal of the early 1920s. It was particularly egregious if you happened to be a feminist or an atheist, which Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh were, respectively. In 1949 the married Bergman (her husband was neurosurgeon Petter Lindstrom) began an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini (an earlier affair she had with American actor Gregory Peck was kept hidden at the time). Mabel Normand. Others, however, have faded into obscurity, even though the public indulged in their salaciousness during their heyday. That angst led to the rise of private-sector watchdog groups such as the Better Business Bureau, a nationwide organization formed in 1921 that investigated and alerted the public to unscrupulous operators, and increasing aggressiveness by government regulatory agencies. The Los Angeles police responded to the call, and according to reporters and those who have studied the case since, thoughtfully removed evidence of Taylors liaisons with other women, including several young actresses not yet of legal age. She was linked to sexual relationships with both men and women, among the latter were Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Hattie McDaniel of Gone With the Wind fame. The Twenty-first Amendment, ratified in December 1933, repealed Prohibition. Flynn was eventually acquitted in both cases, and during the trials, his attorneys managed to point out both girls had been previously involved with other married men, of lesser fame and wealth. Seven American hostages were being held by Iranian-backed terrorists in 1985. A scene from the film The Soul of Youth, the director of which, Desmond Taylors murder was never solved. Online, Gloria and Joe: The Star-Crossed Love Affair of Gloria Swanson and Joe Kennedy. As Americans dreamed of amassing fabulous fortunes, many became vulnerable to cons. But when it came to relationships with the opposite sex he was less gifted. Before she died she recanted most of them. Another found that 62 percent of women surveyed thought the practice was essential in order to be popular. After many appeals, the case went in his favor. The jury found him not guilty; he resumed his pulpit, and spent the next decade campaigning for presidents and commenting on public affairs. Gangster Bugsy Siegel was implicated by some. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The affair continued until at least 1930 when Kennedy summarily dumped his paramour in the aftermath of her completing a film, Queen Kelly, which was a critical and box office failure. The scandal, which was fed by the Catholic Legion of Decency, numerous newspapers and magazines, and from the pulpits of churches across the country drove Bergman from the United States. The 1920's was a grand time for the United States. She was arrested in 1907 for subjecting fellow beach-goers in Massachusetts to such horrors. The morning of January 15, 1947, saw the beginning of one of Hollywoods greatest scandals as well as one of its most famous unsolved mysteries. The woman who found the body thought that the scene was so grisly that it had been set up using a mannequin for the purpose of shocking the police and witnesses. Several of the men involved in the pedophilia ring including Somerset fled the country to avoid prosecution. Wikimedia. She regularly and openly consorted with known gangsters, including Bugsy Siegel, and in response to her husbands impotence (at least according to wagging tongues in Hollywood), she carried on an affair with Clark Gable, one which she thought belonged in the headlines of the local papers, much to his chagrin. Verdict for the plaintiff; 500 damages awarded. Tracy was one of them, on multiple occasions. February 14, 2014, When Congress Slut-Shamed Ingrid Bergman. Wall Street offered its share of get-rich-quick schemes as well. Eventually, the practice faded. Some of the nations greatest film heroes were subject to damaging tales, some true, some speculative, and some criminal. A banking poster printed by National Service Bureau shows a smiling Uncle Sam reads a newspaper headline describing economic growth and success of the 1920s. The civil and criminal actions which occurred subsequent to the accident which was more the result of negligence than misfortune was scandalous, and the films director, John Landis, was charged and tried for manslaughter, along with other members of the film crew. An incendiary speaker, Reverend Henry Ward Beecher was quite possibly the most famous minister of 19th century America. According to Halpins affidavit, when the child was born, Cleveland used his political influence in the city to have Halpin committed, and sent the child to an orphanage. Harding was inept, Coolidge was mediocre, and Hoover was overcome by circumstances he neither understood nor could control. Gustavo Turner, Discover Los Angeles. The building remains in 2019, housing various offices for companies involved in the film industry. Mordaunt confessed to her husband, Charles, after her child was suspected of having syphilis. American actors such as Gloria Swanson (b1899), Mary Pickford (b1892), and Clara Bow (see below) would make their names in the silent films of the 1920s, joined by the likes of Gary Cooper (b1901) John Gilbert (see below) and the British actor Charlie Chaplin (b1889). The 1950s slang In Like Flynn, meaning one had it made, failed to take into account his legal difficulties over underage women. READ MORE: Americas Forgotten Mass Imprisonment of Women Believed to Be Sexually Immoral, Flappers dancing while musicians perform during a Charleston dance contest at the Parody Club, New York City, 1926, The gatherings may have raised eyebrows, but petting parties werea far cry from orgies, historian Paula S. FasstellsNPR: They both encouraged experimentation and created clear limits.. To make matters worse, many small investors were enticed into buying shares of companies on marginessentially, with loans that they had to repay out of their pockets if the stock price went down. Eyman, Scott. Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images. When Lady Harriet Mordaunts daughter was born, doctors thought she might be blind. 1. A mugshot of Elizabeth Short the Black Dahlia taken when she was arrested for underage drinking before becoming the victim of a grisly murder. At least occasionally, those business leaders fretted about the potential threat posed by Soviet communism.. READ MORE: 8 Ways The Great Gatsby Captured the Roaring Twenties. The scandal involved ornery oil tycoons,. He proceeded to spend his windfall on complete frivolity that captivated the public and press: He collected silk gowns, covered his bedroom in velvet, and even modified his cars exhaust to spray perfume. A jury found the work indecent but preferred not to hold them responsible for it. Not all petting parties were intentional affairs; some broke out spontaneously in dance halls, cars or secluded places. Wikimedia. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Throughout the decade, there were murders, explosions, kidnappings, and disappearances, many of which were never solved. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Alarmingly for many, petting was popular among both wild flappers and average young women during the 1920s. Katharine Hepburn was interred in Connecticut, thirty-six years after Tracys death. Wikimedia. The young flapper had just experienced a petting partya 1920s and 1930s fad that titillated youth, scandalized adults and stoked the myth of the immoral flapper. Publisher Methuen was nervous off the bat, fearing the UKs Obscene Publications Act of 1857 would bring trouble; they even resorted to edits without Lawrences knowledge. Luciano was the prime suspect of many, and following her death, he assumed control of her restaurant, an event she had once told him, before witnesses, would occur only over her dead body. After her husband responded to the affair by committing suicide (by gunshot, though according to the police he took the time to strip naked before shooting himself), the press speculated whether Jean had been involved in some manner or another. Petting had a flexible meaning for participants of the events. But they had no way of knowing that the market was being manipulated by wealthy investors. An oil painting completed in 1884, Sargent used socialite Virginie Gautreau as his model, depicting her wearing a black dress held up by two narrow straps. If petting parties are rare today, its not because theyre not funbut because we no longer need them. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. manufacturing. As it turned out, this wasnt the first time Jones had made himself at home in the palace. The newspapers had a field day. LAPD. That eagerness played right into the hands of the Roaring Twenties legions of fast-talking promoters, charlatans and outright swindlers, who enticed the would-be wealthy with scores of seemingly foolproof schemesfrom stock in companies that didnt really exist, to speculation in Florida real estate or California oilfields, to Boston-based conman Charles Ponzis promise that investors could make a 50 percent return in 90 days time by investing in a bizarre plan to redeem overseas postal coupons. After an outcry and trial, all copies were burnt and their sale prohibited.. Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images. June 5, 2019, The Black Dahlia. The Teapot Dome Scandal of the 1920s shocked Americans by revealing an unprecedented level of greed and corruption within the federal government. Married in 1924, by 1926 they were headed to divorce court, and Lita presented an image of Chaplin far removed from his popular public persona. Others claimed Olive committed suicide after learning of the reason her husband carried the mercury with him on his travels. Tracy did not seek a divorce, nor did he return to married life to attempt a reconciliation for the rest of his life. UPI, The New York Times. Prohibition was a nationwide ban on the sale and import of alcoholic beverages that lasted from 1920 to 1933. However, the plethora of old Hollywood scandals that have since come to light prove that the movie industry has always been a dark place behind its bright lights. agriculture. Eve Golden. Although he escaped the rape charge, he was convicted of committing an indecent assault. and more. Some said that Jack deliberately placed his medicine where his wife would confuse it with nostrums of her own and thus take it accidentally. Arbuckle was formally barred from acting by a newly formed censorship board, and the press and public subjected him to continuous condemnation, as well as ridicule over his substantial girth. Her name was Peg Entwistle, and she had recently completed work on a film by David O. Selznick entitled 13 Women. Michelle Vogel. She abandoned her unhappy marriage to Ruskin in 1854 and filed for annulment on the grounds that she was still a virgin. Idolized by Louise Brooks in the '20s, Marilyn Monroe in the '50s, and Madonna in the '80s, Clara was an icon of sexual freedom for women everywhere. Payton vacated the marital home and returned to Neal, and Tone, perhaps wisely, decided to resolve the issue in court rather than in another bout. 2007, William Desmond Taylor: The Unsolved Murder. The French authorities decided the poisoning was accidental, but their finding did little to stop wagging tongues in Hollywood and Paris over the untimely death. Her acting ability was overshadowed by the scandalous stories which followed her. According to Lita, Chaplin had demanded an abortion prior to their marriage (which she couldnt have because she wasnt pregnant) and told her that their marriage would be short. It was to have been her big break. In Babylon, some of the most infamous bona fide scandals of the 1920s are omitted - say, the unsolved 1922 murder of director William Desmond Taylor - or glancingly invoked, like the infamous . Lady Mordaunt feared syphilis and confessed to her husband, Sir Charles, that shed been often unfaithful to him. During her acting career, she also became well-known to the authorities, being involved in numerous automobile accidents, to the point that her studio bosses provided her with a chauffeur and insisted that she use him. Wikimedia The frontiers of capitalist innovation always attract investment scams, and there were many such frontiers in the 1920s, fed by technological inventionradio, airplanes, telephony, electrification, chemical breakthroughsand the associated more general economic boom of the era, explains Edward J. Balleisen, a professor of history and public policy at Duke University and author of the 2017 book Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff. Identify the areas of the American economy that were in decline even before the 1929 stock market crash. Warned by her father to avoid men and alcohol in New York, she told an interviewer, He never said anything about women and cocaine. It was she who uttered one of the most deflating political put downs of all time, referring to Republican Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey as resembling the little man on the wedding cake. Pickfords action evolved from scandalous to courageous, and her reputation emerged unscathed. Petting parties only added to this reputation. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Not until the final years of his life, when Tracy was suffering from numerous ailments and in declining health, did he and Hepburn live together? William Desmond Taylor. New England Historical Society. They republished it anyway. Unfortunately for Gloria, she married her fourth husband before her divorce from her third was complete, adding bigamy to her list of questionable moral activities. Taysha Mutaugh, Country Living. Bergman chose to remain away from America for many years. Those frontiers suggest the potentialand actual exampleof great riches, and boom times make credit easier to obtain., People wanted to follow the example of heroes such as automobile mogul Henry Ford and aviator Charles Lindbergh, who had dared to dream. Entwistles promise as an actress was stressed in the sensationalized reports of her death, including her performance on a New York stage with luminary Billie Burke (later Glinda in The Wizard of Oz) and a young actor by the name of Humphrey Bogart. On the morning of Feb. 2, 1922, Taylor's body was found in his bungalow in a trendy and affluent neighborhood of LA. Her death was less a scandal than a sensation, and in 2014 a group of roughly 100 film fans gathered to mark her demise by viewing 13 Women in a Hollywood parking lot, an event geared towards raising awareness (and money) for suicide prevention. Online, The Tragic Story of Peg Entwistle, the Actress Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign. Talullah Bankhead. To the queens fury, the married Prince of Wales was called upon to testify about his relationship with Lady Mordaunt in open court. All Rights Reserved. Bakers trial caused discussion over the British class system since it was argued, quite rightly, that if hed been in third class, hed have gotten away with it. (This was not unexpected, as previous publishers had been arrested; and indeed, getting their case to trial was their goal, in order to challenge a new obscenity law.) Why? He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. To many Americans, petting parties epitomized everything that was evil about the Jazz Age. She wasnt, though she later bore him two sons. In the end, the murder of William Taylor was never solved, other than by Hollywood gossips who were sure they knew who the killer was and what their motive had been. Cleveland will go down in history as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, but his first term in office was nearly waylaid by a campaign scandal. (The judge disagreed, sentencing them to 6 months inprison, but that got overturned on a technicality.) The ensuing scandal was multi-pronged. READ MORE: The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea Pigs, Flappers at the bar of Isa Lanchesters nightclub in London, 1925. Cleveland was still able to capture the vote by owning up to the incidentthough he was a bit of a glutton for punishment, later marrying a woman 27 years his junior while still in the White House. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Nonetheless, Taylor maintained a relationship with actress Mabel Normand, and on February 1, 1921, he entertained her at his home, where he was found dead the following morning. Landis continued his career with little negative impact, but he found several long-term friendships with other filmmakers ended as a result of his evident cavalier attitude towards the accident and its causes. The economy boomed during the Roaring Twenties and rising incomes gave ordinary Americans access to enticing new conveniences, including washing machines, refrigerators, cars and other luxuries that would have once seemed unattainable. Prince Victor Albert, nicknamed Prince Eddy was also an alleged customer. Still others, cognizant of the fact that Mary Pickford despised her sister-in-law, believed Mary arranged for Olive to ingest the mercury through means not fully explained. And to some, the very thought of a party devoted to sexeven a relatively chaste versionwas cause for outrage. Her role in The Postman Always Rings Twice established her as a serious actress at the same time her well-publicized personal life called her morals into question among those inclined to do so. In the 1940s the Swedish-born actress Ingrid Bergman displayed her versatility as a performer with roles as Ilsa in Casablanca, a near saintly nun in Bells of St. Marys, and an actual saint, as well as virgin, in the title role in Joan of Arc. Neal eventually married a receptionist named Gale Bennett, living with her in Palm Springs until 1965, when she was murdered. The shocking expose not only opened the floodgates for other women to declare similar affairs, it actually ended up getting Clinton impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. During her short career, she was linked romantically with Clark Gable, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Hughes, Baer, Paul Bern, Louis B. Mayer, Franchot Tone, Lee Tracy, James Stewart, and others, including Talullah Bankhead, Clara Bow, and Joan Crawford. Intentionally or not, the message that filtered down to the public was: Be bold. This bombshell resulted in the infamous Mordaunt divorce trial. His magnificent moustaches were torn, his clothes ripped off, and the dread Hangman of Arad, abandoning his dignity, fled to a nearby inn for sanctuary. During their lengthy affair, Tracy was also unfaithful to Hepburn, having an affair with actress Gene Tierney which made the tabloids, and speculation was often rife over others. Technically, the trial was meant to settle whether Lady Mordaunt was sane enough for a divorce to proceed. Chaplin was not alone. He insisted their marriage was invalid because of their religious differenceshe was Catholic and she was Protestant. Scandals of Warren G. Harding The nation plunged into mourning, little suspecting that the beloved leader they eulogized as "an ideal American" would soon be revealed to have been the head of the most corrupt administration in the nation's history. It was 1931, and the air in Chicagos 57th Street art colony crackled with sexual tension. The first highly-publicized Hollywood scandal, the September 1920 drug overdose death of archetypal movie flapper Olive Thomasshe had starred in The Flapper earlier that yearhad excited the yellow press and shocked the public, but it was nothing compared to what came next: The Arbuckle Affair. The television series The Twilight Zone was a popular weekly program from 1959 to 1964, the brainchild of writer and director Rod Serling. Instead, she ended up, as they say in movieland, on the cutting room floor, her part eliminated, her work rejected (according to most stories of her suicide, in fact, she wasnt cut out of the final print of the film until after her death, though her fourteen-minute appearance had been reduced to four). Hollywood obliged, with both steamy rumors of illicit affairs and reports of sexual activities which were at the time illegal. The rise of cheap, sensational newspapers in the nineteenth century meant that shocking scandals werent just whispered about behind fluttering fans and raised teacups. It was the body of Elizabeth Short, who became known as the Black Dahlia in the sensationalized aftermath of her murder. Annie Besant, a noted feminist, Theosophist, and womens rights activist, and Charles Bradlaugh, an infamous atheist, published The Fruits of Philosophy: the Private Companion for Young Married Couples, a pamphlet by an American doctor, Charles Knowlton, and previously judged obscene. D.H. Lawrence, author of the controversial Lady Chatterleys Lover, also faced criticism for an earlier novel depicting sexual acts, 1915s The Rainbow. In 1935 she was found dead at the wheel of her Lincoln automobile, an event which the amiable LAPD agreed to treat as a suicide after being so urged by Luciano and others. He was so material-minded that his wife, Lilian, demanded an annulment, allegedly because he preferred to cover her naked body in jewels rather than make love. Petting was a means to be safe and yet not sorry, writes Fassa way to explore ones sexuality without experiencing things like the loss of virginity, pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Some even chartered buses to round up potential investors and drive them out to the oil fields for a look-see. When William Charles Yelverton met, wooed, and ultimately became twenty year old Theresa Longworths lover, he ruined her in the eyes of Victorian society because they werent married. When he found it beneficial to his own interests, Hoover leaked information, collected but often unconfirmed, to press representatives sympathetic to his views, which were anti-communist, anti-Semitic, and often anti-feminist. And put it off, and put it off until years later, she met and fell in love with another man, John Everett Millais, a Pre-Raphaelite painter and Ruskins protg. She entertained American troops during the Second World War, protested against segregation in the US Armed Forces, and was generally regarded as one of the leading actresses of her generation. In one interview she claimed that the only thing wrong with her was that she needed a man, and it had been too long since shed had one. Debauchery, skullduggery, and other erys were rampant in late 19th and early 20th century society. Leo Koretz, right, who was brought down with the helpState's Attorney Robert Crowe, left. Eventually, he went to Australia. The case is credited with raising awareness of birth control.. She cut her hair short, wore dresses that showed off her fashionably slender figure, used daring slang and dated multiple men before marriage. She was committed to an asylum. Few women in history were more involved in scandals than Talullah Bankhead, and few ever cared less about it. When The Washington Post published a glossary of the flappers philosophy in 1922, it defined life as One long petting party accompanied by jazz. Traditional girls cared about getting married and raising kids; flappers wanted to party instead of settling down. The newspapers made this incident Hollywood's first truly major scandal. Gloria Swanson was one of the leading actresses in Hollywood, on her third husband when she met Joseph P. Kennedy. While Reagan was never charged with a crime, several members of his administration were convicted of crimes in what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair. What had started as a wild bohemian party was now something more intimate. Fittingly, Harlows Hollywood career had begun with her as a starlet under the wing of Howard Hughes. Eve Blue, a college undergraduate, was there for the fun. Wikimedia. He denied the adultery. 'Fatty' Arbuckle's Manslaughter Charge Getty Images Possibly the first big Hollywood scandal took place in 1921. And Topeka, Kansas, police told the Times in 1923 that they intended to break up petting parties to clean up college campuses. Virginie was forever shunned by high society. The press eventually went on to other things, but Flynns image was permanently damaged, and he never again enjoyed the reputation of being a romanticized gentleman, cultured and debonair. She enjoyed drugs and alcohol, and didnt attempt to hide the fact from the public. Hollywood, Americas longtime seat of wealth and conspicuous consumption, has long been a fount of sordid stories which held the attention of an enraptured public, happily tsking and tutting over the amoral activities of the spoiled denizens of Americas Babylon. For some, it was a long kiss; for others, it involved more intense physical contact. FBI. In 1921, Fatty Arbuckle was accused of raping and killing Virginia Rappe. She had no children, but at least four abortions at a time when the procedure was illegal throughout most of the country. The married Bergman became pregnant with Rosellinis child, and the resulting scandal was huge, at least in the United States. Eventually, the file grew to over 1900 pages and was instrumental in Chaplins long exile from his adopted country. Banks were . The boys of today must be protected from the young girl vamp, complained a New York mother to the New York Times in 1922. A jump from the H in the Hollywoodland sign ended the life of actress Peg Entwistle.
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