According to Hollywood Babylon, actor Wallace Reid—a morphine addict who died in an asylum at the age of 31—was the first sacrificial lamb of the post-scandal era, and Reid’s wife, a former teen star named Dorothy Davenport, was the ultimate opportunistic hypocrite. What made Reid’s case different from the other scandals around this time? Was Davenport the b ... Show More
Aug 2018
Will Hays and "Pre-Code" Hollywood (Fake News: Fact-Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 7)
Who was Will Hays, and how did he come to put his name on the censorship “Code” that would shape the content of movies more than any other single force from the early 1930s into the 1960s? How much power did Hays really have in 1920s Hollywood, how corrupt was he, and why did it ... Show More
49m 43s
Aug 2018
Peggy Hopkins Joyce and Charlie Chaplin (Fake News: Fact-Checking Hollywood Babylon, Episode 8)
The Kim Kardashian of her day, Peggy Hopkins Joyce was famous for being rich and famous—and for her marriages and involvements with rich and famous men, including Charlie Chaplin. Did Peggy really ask Chaplin on their first date if he was “hung like a horse?” We’ll investigate th ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2018
Thomas Ince and the Hearst "Coverup" (Fake News: Fact-Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 9)
Thomas Ince was one of early Hollywood’s most pioneering producers—in fact, some credit him for popularizing “producer” as a job title and for codifying what it meant to do the job, as well as helping to develop the Western as a genre. But today, if Ince is remembered at all, it’ ... Show More
42m 18s
Aug 2018
Episode 167: Riverdon't
In this episode Ru and Michelle discuss losing friends on the journey, riding the train, lessons from motown stars, the pressures facing children of famous folk, Whitney Houston, and Walton Goggins.This episode is sponsored by Squarespace, Greats, and Warby Parker.
1h 10m
Jul 2019
Summer of ‘69: Judy Garland, Death of a Starlet
This episode is brought to you by The Dark Side Of, a Parcast Original. For more episodes like this one, subscribe to The Dark Side Of on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
In 1939, 16-year-old Judy Garland began filming the Wizard of Oz. While the film would become a b ... Show More
47m 30s
Sep 2022
Barbie Block and Sally Stiner Meet World
<p>Barbie Block and Sally Stiner were the storied casting directors for Boy Meets World and now they’re revealing how the Matthews family, and so many more of their classic TV shows, came together! </p> <p>They’ll talk auditions, missed opportunities and even their side of the in ... Show More
1h 10m
Dec 2023
The Story of Elvis Presley's Christmas Recordings By a Man Who Was There
On this episode of Our American Stories, Greg McDonald got his start in show business as a teenager after meeting Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, shortly after Parker began managing Elvis in the ‘50s. Here’s Greg with a Colonel and Elvis Christmas story. Suppor ... Show More
7m 59s