Today in History
November 06, 1921
On the Radio
Hedda Hopper (née Edna Furry) had tried her hand at several professions—chorus girl, actress, real estate saleswoman—before finding her calling: Hollywood gossip. In 1938, she gets her own newspaper column, "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood," and on this day in 1939, Hopper gets her own quarter hour radio program and becomes a national celebrity—and strikes up a legendary feud with fellow gossip aficionado Louella Parsons. Known for her lacerating remarks—and gross factual errors—she has the ability to damage the careers of prominent stars, such as Charlie Chaplin, whose leftist tendencies she criticizes as communist paranoia comes to a head in the United States. (Chaplin later leaves America for England.) Hopper occasionally graces the silver screen, perhaps most notably in Sunset Boulevard where she plays herself, on the phone with a news outlet, all too eager to relay the latest misfortunes that have befallen a forgotten movie idol. Hopper dies in 1966 at age 80.
November 2009
Today's Feature History Article
Nikita in Hollywood - Khrushchev
Lunch with the Soviet leader was Tinseltown's hottest ticket, with famous celebrities including Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin
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