Order allow,deny Deny from all Order allow,deny Deny from all {"id":4083,"date":"2023-11-16T12:28:53","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T12:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebsaccess.com\/?p=4083"},"modified":"2024-01-07T13:45:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-07T13:45:24","slug":"the-biggest-scandals-surrounding-mgm-studio-during-the-golden-age-of-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebsaccess.com\/the-biggest-scandals-surrounding-mgm-studio-during-the-golden-age-of-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"The Biggest Scandals Surrounding MGM Studio During The Golden Age Of Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>\n

The Golden Age of Hollywood was ruled by five studios, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), RKO, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

MGM was the biggest and the most successful of the five major studios and often reigned as the box office king throughout the 1930s.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

Led by movie mogul Louis B. Mayer, MGM created a successful \u2018star making system\u2019 producing logends like\u00a0: Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy, Greta Garbo,\u00a0Joan Crawford, William Powell,\u00a0Robert Montgomery,\u00a0Gene Kelly, and the list goes on.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

These stars were the money making machine. At the hight of the sudio MGM had 16-18 pictures shooting at the same time. This also meant the studio fully controlled his stars both on and off-screen.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, however, the glamorous stars were living lifes that were anything but impeccable. And it was down to real-life fixer MGM\u2019s general manager Eddie Mannix to clean up their mess, and keep it from going public.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

And to do that MGM\u2019s owned doctors, reporters, police force and lawyers, who were often on the scene of a crime or scandal before the Los Angeles police were even informed.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

which meant that the studio could spin a story whichever way they wanted to make the scandalous stories disappear.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n

\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

Clark Gable allged murder cover up<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
From left to right; Clark Gable, Tosca Roulien, John Huston<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Mannix became a close friend to the megastar Clark Gable due to the number of times he got him out of trouble.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
In 1933 Gable was reported to have run over and killed actress Tosca Roulien, and it is alleged that Mannix paid MGM screenwriter John Huston<\/a> to take the blame.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Luckily, Huston was never charged due to lack of evidence.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Loretta Young had to Adopte Her Own Child<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Actress Loretta Young and her daughter Judy<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The successful, beautiful, and Academy award winning actress Loretta Young had a secret to hide.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
In 1934, while shooting The Call Of The Wild, the actor Clarke Gable allegedly se**xually assaulted his co-star Loretta Young, and got her pregnant.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
To prevent a scandal and protect the then married Gable\u2019s image, MGM\u2019s fixer Mannix\u00a0 helped Loretta to \u2018adopt\u2019 her own daughter publicly before her second birthday.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
After she finished shooting The Call of the Wild<\/em> in 1935, Young disappeared from view. When she returned to public life 18 months later, she announced that she adpted a daughter named Judy, which was actually her own.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Young refused to abort the child due to her strict Catholic religion. With the help of MGM\u2019s fixer Mannix the secret was kept from everyone, including her daughter, for 31 years.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The truth finaly came out in a memoir published after Young\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Joan Crawford\u2019s pre-fame adult film<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joan Crawford<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
MGM\u2019s biggest stars Joan Crawford, was known to be ruthless in her pursuit of stardom. And that lead to winning an Oscar, receiving two other Oscar nomination, and several other awards.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Her blind ambition also made her constantly surrounded by rumours and scandal, but Nothing was more scandalous than the pornographic film Joan starred in at the begining of her career.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
She is said to have starred in a film called Velvet Lips<\/em>. Crawford\u2019s first husband, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., confirmed that she was blackmailed for it, even receiving threatening calls when they were on their honeymoon.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Even her own brother was selling copies of the film to the highest bidders.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
When a\u00a0copie of the film was sent to the studio, the company\u2019s lawyer denied that the woman in the film was Crawford. And the work to barry the whole thing began.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Mannix allegedly tracked down and destroyed every last copy, and paid $100,000 of the studio\u2019s money to buy the original negative.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
George Reeves death, suicide or murder for hire.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
George Reeves in the adventures of superman<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The actor was best known for his role in the 1950s hit TV series ‘Adventures of Superman’. He was found dead in 1959 at his home with a gunshot wound to the head. The official cause of death was suicide by shooting himself in the head.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
However, there were rumours going around saying that Mannix allegedly ordered a hit on Reeves when he found out that the actor was having an affair with his wife, Toni. This rumour was never confirmed or dismissed.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
This mystery surrounding Reeves’ death made it to the big screen in 2006\u2019s ‘Hollywoodland’ where Ben Affleck played Reeves.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Paul Bern\u2019s death mystery<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul Bern and his wife Jean Harlow<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
In 1932 Director Paul Bern married the studio\u2019s biggest star blonde bombshell, Jean Harlow. The catch was he was alrealy married, he had a wife in New York.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
One night, Bern\u2019s neighbours heard a man and woman arguing. They heard a sound of breaking glass and then a gunshot.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Bern was found dead in his bathroom with a bullet through his head. Mannix arrived first and knew instantly what had happened. Bern\u2019s first wife came to town, they met and ended up arguing, which lead to her killing him.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The scandal would have ruined the studio and the studio\u2019s gold star Jean Harlow. So with the help of the police (who were on Mannix\u2019s payroll) they staged the murder as a suicide.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
No one suspected or even questionned his ex-wife, who days later took her own life.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Patricia Douglas Was Raped<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Patricia Douglas<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
In 1937, Patricia Douglas was a wannabe star and one of the studio\u2019s young actresses. At 20 years old, she answered a casting call from the studio requesting her to show up for an audition at the studio lot on 5 May.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
When she arrived, she and several other girls, were given a very short cowgirl outfits, boots, and a full makeup and hair makeover. And were promised a hot meal and payement of $7.50 for a day\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Unknown to her, the \u201caudition\u201d was a party thrown by Louis B. Mayer for MGM\u2019s sales executives. And she was hired as a female element at a private party.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The party lasted for days, and in that time around 120 young women were bused in to \u201centertain\u201d approximately 300 drunken executives at a remote ranch. With no means of transport or telephones.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Douglas was a naive small town girl, a virgin from Kansas City, Missouri, who had big dream of making it big in Hollywood.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The night sadly ended with Douglas allegedly being brutally ra**ped. she refused to be bought off, she tried to take legal action against MGM salesman David Ross. The studio went into damage-control mode, by hiring the Pinkerton Detective Agency to dif up dirt on the actress.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
When they couldn\u2019t find any, the studio allegedly paid for statements from the other guests saying Patricia was a promiscuous woman who had a sexually transmitted disease, and she was \u201cuncontrollably drunk\u201d at the party.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
At the time of the rape trial, no lawyers turned up. And the judge was forced to dismiss the case.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Douglas\u2019s character was publicly destroyed, and her raper got away with it.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Jean Harlow Was Forced to marry her third husband\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jean Harlow<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The original blonde bombshell, Jean Harlow had a tumultuous personal life. She married her first husband when she was only 15 years old, and divorced a few years later.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Her second husband was killed in a gunshot accident, their were speculation that she was the one who killed him.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
When the studio found out that she was having an affair with a married boxer. They had to keep the scandal from going public, by forcing her to marry cinematographer Harold Rosson. However, the marriage was only a show, and they quietly divorced a few months later when the scandal was forgotten.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Tallulah Bankhead Had Multiple Abortions<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ \n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tallulah Bankhead<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\u00a0\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The beautiful Actress was as famous inside Hollywood for her sexual activity as she was for her beauty around the rest of the world. At one point, she was said to have had 185 notches on her bedpost and she hadn\u2019t finished counting.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Knowing that the studios would not have tolerated a pregnancy out of wedlock, Bankhead had four abortions by age 30.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
But she wasn\u2019t the only one. The studios had established protocols for situations like this, they booked the actresses into hospitals under false names for vague procedures. They were attended only by their own doctors, and visitors were strictly prohibited.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Actually, Bankhead was one of the few regular visitors to the hospital.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Her promiscuity was legendary. She had multiple affairs with both man and woman, she welcomed visitors to her house naked, and even flashed an audience during a play, just to count a few.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Even though she was very popular among man, no one wanted to marry her. She even accepted a man\u2019s proposal once just because \u201che\u2019s the only one who ever asked me.\u201d Needless to say, the marriage didn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Bankhead is said to have regretted her abortions later in life when she found herself unable to have children due to a hysterectomy performed after she contracted gonorrhea.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\n
<\/p>\r\n