EPISODE 105 -  “LOUELLA AND HEDDA: THE GOLDEN AGE’S GOSSIP GIRLS” - 9/15/25

This week, we explore the legendary rivalry between Hollywood gossip columnists LOUELLA PARSONS and HEDDA HOPPER. Parsons, backed by media tycoon WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, became a powerful figure in the 1920s with close ties to the studios. Hopper, a former actress, entered the scene later with a more aggressive style and strong political views. The two wielded enormous influence, able to make or break careers with a single column. The episode covers their personal feud, their role in the Hollywood blacklist, and their lasting impact on celebrity journalism. It’s a revealing look at how gossip shaped the Golden Age of Hollywood.

SHOW NOTES: 

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Sources:

Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism (2011), by Jennifer Frost;

The First Lady of Hollywood (2005), by Samantha Barbas;

Vanity Will Get You Somewhere: An Autobiography (1987), by Joseph Cotten;

Hedda and Louella: A Dual Biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons (1971), by George Eells;

Tell It To Louella (1961), by Louella Parsons;

The Gay Illiterate (1944), by Louella Parsons;

“Hedda Hopper: The rise of Hollywood’s First Gossip Queen,”July 13, 2025, Documentary, Biography; 

“The Career that Fear Built: Hedda Hopper Ruled the Gossip Business,” August 6, 2018,  The Saturday Evening Post;

“For Gossip Columnist Hedda Hopper, Flamboyance Was Her Brand,” November 10, 2015, by Ruth La Ferla, New York Times;

“The Powerful Rivalry Between Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons,” April 1997, by Amy Fine Collins, Vanity Fair;

“Louella Parsons, Gossip Columnist, Dies,” December 10, 1972, New York Times;

“Hedda Hopper, Columnist, Dies; Chronicled Gossip of Hollywood,” February 2, 1966,  New York Times;

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IBDB.com;

IMDBPro.com;

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