John Belushi may have been one of the funniest comedians of his generation, but he wasn’t just a funny guy. He was a rock star. He partied with the Stones, fronted a world-class band of R&B legends, and was responsible for a punk rock riot in Rockefeller Center. He drew the ire of street gangs in Chicago, attempted to steal a boat with his blues brother, and performed one of his final episodes of Saturday Night Live on death’s door. Everything was heightened. The stakes. The laughs. The sensory overload of lights, camera, action. He worked hard, and played harder. And when it all came to a crashing halt in a Hollywood bungalow, one question remained: Was John Belushi’s death the result of foul play?

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

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On the surface, the star of one of the most popular television series of the 1960s was a squeaky-clean symbol of America’s innocence. But Hogan’s Heroes’ Bob Crane lived a secret double life that very few people knew about. His custom-built pornographic paradises were hidden behind the closed doors of his dressing room and apartment. He was obsessed with extra-marital sexual exploits, and he documented them with cutting-edge technology. The joy he received from making people smile was matched only by his need to fulfill his darkest desires…a need that would end in murder.

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Lucille Ball might have been a natural boundary-pusher, but America's top TV comedienne had some ‘splaining to do when a damning news broadcast unveiled her former ties to the Communist Party. The hysteria of the Red Scare threatened to bury this redhead at the bottom of the Hollywood blacklist overnight. Even when America put rampant McCarthyism to rest, the United States government kept watching Lucille Ball – and we’re not talking about I Love Lucy reruns.

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Not one but two of Charlie Sheen’s Mercedes were found crashed into a ravine off Mulholland Drive on separate occasions. By that point, he was working on running his career off the road for a second or third time, in a haze of alcohol, cocaine, $30,000 one-night stands, awkward dinner dates with porn stars and his ex-wife, livestream rants, LAPD house raids, and a triumphant ascent to a Beverly Hills rooftop with a machete and a bottle of red liquid labeled “Tiger Blood.” And that’s only part of the story.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence.

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With his chiseled jawline and matinee idol good looks, Armie Hammer could have been another leading man like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. But Armie Hammer was not most movie stars. He wasn't even most people. On the surface, his life was perfectly curated and appeared picture-perfect, with no major public scandals or dirt-digging by the press. But his increasingly bizarre appearances in interviews and on social media, not to mention leaked videos and texts, led to shocking revelations about what was really going on behind closed doors. And what was going on was wilder than the untamed dreams of a Hollywood screenwriter.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual assault and graphic descriptions of violence.

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Robin Williams’ manic mind moved at such a breakneck speed that cocaine had the opposite effect than it had on most other people: it slowed him down. Robin’s primary addiction, however, wasn’t cocaine. He was addicted to the dopamine rush of being on a stage, where he could let his mind run wild with free association, and be rewarded with uproarious laughter. He was addicted to proving himself as a dramatic actor, even if that meant attempting to trigger his own mental breakdown by running in place for hours. And when he died tragically at the age of 63, the cause of his death was surprisingly not what anyone suspected. It still isn’t.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including suicide. If you're thinking about suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

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Rodney Alcala, AKA The Dating Game Killer, was a depraved murderer who eluded authorities for years. He hid his true identity behind charm and persuasion. He worked as a summer camp counselor while on the lam for the savage assault of an eight-year-old girl. He convinced his parole officer to let him take a vacation to the other side of the country, where he proceeded to commit another of his many murders. While New Yorkers were watching their backs for the Son of Sam in the summer of ’77, he killed again. And at the height of his killing spree, he managed to star in one of the creepiest moments in Hollywood history as a contestant on a popular television game show.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and graphic descriptions of violence.

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One of Hollywood’s most eclectic and unpredictable actors, Woody Harrelson has played a hayseed barback, a streetball hustler, a natural born killer, a true detective, and so many more. But his most profound and difficult role might be his real-life role: the son of an infamous contract killer. Woody’s father, Charles Harrelson, was sent to prison for the assassination of a federal judge, only after he had been the subject of one of the largest federal manhunts in U.S. history – a manhunt that ended with a six-hour standoff with authorities during which he confessed to the assassination of JFK.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence.

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With a few clicks of their ruby slippers, MGM made 16-year-old Judy Garland a box office giant, but their strict rules nearly killed the budding starlet in the process. The studio’s strict diet of chicken soup, uppers, and downers set up teenage Judy for a life fraught with addiction, malnutrition, extreme health complications, and regular visits to rehab. Even years after Judy severed ties with the MGM, the effects of her highly-regulated adolescence creeped into her career, literally poisoning her life — and her liver. A star was born when Judy filmed The Wizard of Oz, but by her late forties, that same star was in rapid decline.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including child abuse and eating disorders.

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In the summer of 1985, Sean Penn’s marriage to preeminent material girl Madonna was an epochal moment for ‘80s-era Hollywood. The bad boy from Bad Boys and the boy-toy pop superstar blissfully brought together the worlds of movies and music on a Malibu bluff overlooking the Pacific. But their subsequent attempt to make a movie together was anything but blissful. A wild film shoot in China would lead to even wilder things, like the time Sean dangled a photographer upside-down from a ninth-story balcony. Or the time he escaped a prison in Macau and had to have a pardon from the government negotiated by a former member of the Beatles. Or the time he spent in an American prison, where he found himself passing notes with a fellow inmate down the hall…one who happened to be one of the most notorious serial killers in history.

To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com/badlands.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence and sexual assault.

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