This year, THE Hollywood sign celebrates 100 and continues to stand tall and proud in the hills above Tinseltown. But over the years, it has also looked down on a great deal of heinous and nefarious activities in the film studios below.
Marilyn Monroe
Wizard Of Oz starlet Judy Garland was pushed to have two abortions by movie studio 'fixers'Credit: AlamyWhen she referred to La La Land as "holier-than-thou for the public and unholier-than-the devil in reality," screen star Grace Kelly was telling the truth. Since the movie industry has been torn apart by high-stakes sleaze, controversy, cover-ups, and even murders, it would most definitely not want these things to be announced from the hilltops. The Dream Factory has frequently been more of a house of horror, from the oppressive early studio system that coerced women into abortions and gay actors into "lavender marriages" to more contemporary #MeToo shamings.
The History of Hollywood author Kieron Connolly doesn't leave anything on the cutting-room floor. He says: “We think of the 1920s through to the early 1940s as the golden age of Hollywood but in many ways that was just a glamorous myth.
“The studio system, which got going in the Twenties, meant stars signed up to contracts for seven years, which was the longest that Californian law would allow. He explains: "We consider the 1920s through the early 1940s to be the height of Hollywood, but that was frequently simply a glitzy myth. "Stars signed contracts for seven years, the maximum duration permitted by Californian law, under the studio system, which began in the 1920s.
"On the surface, it seems paternalistic because the studio is taking care of you. The studio had influence over you, though, so it was a drawback. “On the outside, it seemed paternalistic because you are looked after by the studio. “But on the downside, you were controlled by the studio.
"If an actor declined a role, the studio had the right to suspend them — without pay — and tack the suspension period onto the end of their contract. Hollywood had to hide its controversies due to morality rules, which also had an impact on how the stars conducted themselves.
Stifled screams
While we hope Hollywood has cleaned up its act after #MeToo, certain people will always utilize that authority if they can. "Back then there was a lot of sleaze and a casting-couch culture behind the glamour."
Hollywood was established in 1887 as a peaceful haven in the California hills by Christian real estate developer Harvey Wilcox. It would go on to become a haven for filmmakers seeking to flee The Trust, an organization Thomas Edison, the father of motion pictures, set up on America's East Coast to regulate the film industry.
Studios popped up everywhere, with 15 opening their doors in 1911 alone, attracted to the long hours of sunshine, which made filmmaking easier at a period when electric lighting was insufficient and the scenery of sea, desert, and mountain. In December 1923, the renowned sign—originally reading Hollywoodland—was finished and turned on.
By that time, the industry was tightly controlled by five major studio organizations, including MGM, RKO, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and Warner Bros.
Marlene Dietrich once referred to hidden abortions as "our birth control" in reference to the prevalence of affairs between married performers that were concealed by media stunts, loveless unions, and covert abortions.
The studios hired "fixers" like Howard Strickling and Eddie Mannix to halt scandal in its tracks—by any means necessary.
After Judy Garland and her first husband David Rose eloped in 1941 without MGM's permission and became pregnant, Strickling arranged an abortion and forced her to keep it a secret from Rose.
Then, in 1943, when Tyrone Power, the swashbuckling star of Mark of Zorro, refused to divorce his wife, she had a second abortion.
Lana Turner, who played Lana in The Postman Always Rings Twice, became pregnant while on her honeymoon with composer Artie Shaw, the first of her seven husbands, but the two separated three months later.
MGM paid for an abortion that was performed in her hotel room without anesthesia while her mother covered her lips to silence her screams. She had been taken to Hawaii "for health reasons," and MGM had been the reason. The expense was taken out of her pay by MGM. During her marriage to fellow actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Crawford had a passionate affair with Clark Gable from Gone With the Wind that led to her being compelled to have an abortion.
Gable was instructed to cease the relationship by MGM producer Irving Thalberg, and though he complied, Gable later remarked, "He would have ended my career in 15 minutes. I had no desire to work as a waitress. "To clean up, they sent Crawford and Fairbanks Jr. on a widely publicized second honeymoon," adds Kieron. As a form of punishment, Gable was relegated to B-Movies.
At a period when the typical annual income of a US household was £800, the stakes were enormous, with 1920s talent like Mary Pickford making up to £40,000 per week. Hollywood diva Ava Gardner revealed that she had an abortion behind Frank Sinatra's back in the book The Golden Girls of MGM. "MGM had all kinds of penalty clauses about their stars having children," she revealed.
"My pay would be cut off if I had one. "So how could I support myself?
"Frank was in financial trouble, and my upcoming films would take me all over the world. "MGM took care of booking my flight to London. "I always had a studio assistant with me. The abortion was kept quiet.
Studios also repressed women who reported sexual assault, as Patricia Douglas, a 20-year-old dancer and extra in movies, discovered to her detriment. The teetotal virgin was asked to an industry "party" in May 1937, what she thought was a casting call. She was one of 120 girls selected to assist in entertaining influential financiers and film executives. She was there when a 36-year-old salesperson named David Ross attacked her and made her drink whisky as another man restrained her. Then, after pushing her onto the back seat of the car, he raped her.
Bullets fired
Douglas complained to MGM, but since Louis Mayer, the studio's head, was connected to the LA district attorney, nothing was done.
After Mayer and fixer Eddie Mannix recruited private investigators in an unsuccessful attempt to defame her, Douglas launched a legal lawsuit against them.
According to Kieron, "the studio was against her at every turn, trying to cover up the story. Due to its status as a powerful employer in the city, MGM had influence with the district attorney.
When The Postman Always Rings Twice beauty Lana Turner fell pregnant MGM paid for an abortion, done without anaesthetic in her hotel room while her mum stifled her screams by putting a hand over her mouth - they then charged her for itCredit: Alamy
Grand Hotel sensation Joan Crawford was also forced to have an abortion after a torrid affair with Gone With The Wind heart-throb Clark GableCredit: Alamy
Rear Window star James Stewart took a break from making movies to fight in WW2 and returned as a war hero - marking a change in how actors were treated by studiosCredit: Rex
After being given the chance to work at the studio for the rest of his life, a parking attendant who had witnessed the incident and was eager to testify recanted. Even Douglas's lawyer eventually dropped the case because he didn't want to harm MGM's reputation. After 60 years, Douglas admitted to Vanity Fair that "it ruined my life."
Many people think the studios may have even covered up murders, like the one that claimed George Reeves' life as the star of Adventures Of Superman. He once went on vacation with Mannix and Toni Lanier, the MGM fixer's partner, with whom he had a long-running affair.
But Lanier was devastated when the relationship ended and he got engaged to socialite Leonore Lemmon. Lemmon and several other guests attended a gathering at Reeves' Hollywood home in the summer of 1959, where Reeves passed away from gunshot wounds. Although his death was determined to be a suicide, there has always been some ambiguity surrounding it. "If something happens, don't call the police or the press," recalls Kieron. "You made the initial call to the studio, and they took care of it. They were well-connected in hospitals. So, if someone was involved in a fight or was arrested for driving while intoxicated, it might be kept quiet.
“It has been said they could cover up murders, although we don’t know for sure.
“But police weren’t called for 45 minutes after guests heard the gun-shots.
“Three bullets were fired, two missing wildly, which is unlikely to happen in a suicide, and his head and body had unexplained bruises.”
When actress Olivia de Havilland fought against having an additional six months of "suspension time" added to her contract in 1943, she achieved a tiny win. That was deemed "illegal servitude" by the court. But the real change came with The start of World War Two, when actor James Stewart took a vacation from acting to fight and later returned as a war hero.
Kieron says: “When he returned, his agent suggested he shouldn’t sign a new contract but strike out as an independent actor and negotiate terms per movie.
“That also marks the rise of agents in Hollywood.
“In another pioneering move — on one of his first post-war films, Winchester ’73 — he offered to take a very low fee in return for a share of profits.
“The move proved successful and other actors pushed for the same.”
The decision gave Stewart almost £470,000 — £5.7 million today and signaled a turning point as the power dynamic shifted in favor of movie stars.
Behind the golden image of stars like Charlie Chaplin, there was a world of sleazeCredit: AlamyA sign of the times - how the Hollywood sign looked in 1924Credit: Getty
'Fixers' like Howard Strickling and Eddie Mannix, above, were employed by the studios to halt scandal in its tracks — by any means necessary
20-year-old dancer and movie extra Patricia Douglas was raped at what she thought was a casting call - sixty years later she told Vanity Fair: 'It ruined my life'
However, as the #MeToo movement has demonstrated, there has always been a dark side to Hollywood, where sexual predators like mogul Harvey Weinstein have used their studio power to exploit and abuse others. The #MeToo movement was long in coming, according to Kieron.
"The culture of the casting couch that existed under the studio system persisted for a very long time after. Since the #MeToo movement, victims should now be able to speak up and be taken seriously.
