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.
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
Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons at Party for Sophia Loren at Romanoff's with Conchita Pignatelli, 1957 | LIFE Magazine
Sources specific to this episode:
Confidential’s Shocking True Story: The Rise and Fall of Confidential, "America's Most Scandalous Scandal Magazine" by Henry Scott
Mr. Confidential: The Man, the Magazine, and the Movieland Massacre That Changed Hollywood Forever by Samuel Bernstein
The Rest of the Story by Sheilah Graham
The Rest of the Story by Sheilah Graham
My Hollywood by Sheilah Graham
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
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.
