The story of Hedda Hopper - the journalist who kept Hollywood at bay
Most American success stories are about how a person chose a goal and walked towards success despite obstacles. But there are also exceptions. Even as a child, the future scandalous journalist Hedda Hopper decided that she would become rich and famous, and in what way it did not matter at all. On the way to her American dream, she made a variety of attempts to achieve what she wanted. She succeeded.
Hedda Hopper was born on May 2, 1885, into the family of a butcher shop owner in the small provincial town of Altoona, Pennsylvania. True, when she was born her name was Elda Ferry, and the name by which she would become famous appeared later. Even as a child, Elda realized that nothing good was going to happen to her in her hometown and made plans to conquer New York.
Immediately after school, the girl went to the Big Apple to become a star in Broadway musicals. Elda was lucky and was hired as a chorus girl. Having got a job, she was able to pay for housing and began to implement her grandiose plans. The young lady went to auditions, hoping to get at least some role.
But the provincial girl was not welcome, and Elda suffered a lot of humiliation. One of the directors even called her a “clumsy cow,” which brought her to tears. But the girl did not give up and luck smiled at her. True, this was not the main role, but the place of an understudy, but in a popular Broadway show. Then it was easier - just a couple of months later, the aspiring star was already touring the United States with the play “The Country Boy” as a full-time actress.
And then she met producer DeWolf Hopper, whom she married in 1913. Elda became Hopper's fifth wife. The names of his former spouses, Ella, Ida, Edna and Nellie, were similar to her name, which Elda considered a bad sign. So she changed her name and became Hedda Hopper. By the way, a numerologist helped her choose this name, predicting that it would bring her good luck. And so it happened - the actress’s life soon began to improve.
In 1915, Hedda gave birth to a son, William, who later became a Hollywood star. And a year later, thanks to her loving husband, she received her first film role. It was the film "Battle of Hearts", where Hopper played the role of a society lady. The first experience turned out to be successful, and the actress began to be offered roles in various projects. Finally, my old dream of fame and money has come true!
But not all was well in the woman’s life. Her husband, who himself promoted her at the beginning of her journey, suddenly became jealous of Hedda’s success. Discord began in the family, which resulted in divorce. This unpleasant event coincided with another misfortune - Hedda was diagnosed with tuberculosis. But the actress needed to provide for herself and her son, and she did not take her illness seriously.
A frivolous attitude towards health almost led Hedda to death, and only the intervention of her employer, media publisher Damien Hirst, saved her from a sad ending. Hearst forcibly sent Hopper for treatment, retaining her position and salary. Treatment for tuberculosis was a long process, and at first the active Hedda was desperately bored at the clinic. But then she found a new activity that didn’t require much effort.
Hedda Hopper provided journalists with gossip in exchange for mentioning her name in the press. Despite the fact that in 12 years she managed to play in 120 films, the woman had no illusions about her acting talents. It was necessary to look for a new profession, and unexpectedly she found Hedda herself.
Immediately after leaving the clinic, Hopper was offered to write a column about the social life of Los Angeles. She quickly got into the swing of things and began to feel at home in journalism like a duck to water. Hedda easily made useful contacts and quickly extracted the necessary information from friends and acquaintances. Soon she appeared in “hot” publications. The newly minted journalist quickly parted with such concepts as honor and morality. She was driven only by the desire to earn as much money as possible.
Hopper's income grew and she began to live large. Expensive restaurants, social events, luxurious dresses and fashionable hats appeared in her life, to which the newly minted socialite had a special passion. These days, it's mostly anonymous people who make fun of celebrities. But in the 1920s, everything was different and Hopper signed caustic articles with her real name.
Sometimes this created problems for the journalist. After she wrote about the secret romance of actors Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, the latter gave her a hearty kick when they met. And after an article about the affair between actors Joseph Cotten and Deanna Durbin, Cotten pulled the chair out from under Hedda at one of the events. But the columnist was not particularly upset by all this, because money flowed into her pocket like a river.
Hedda's column "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" in the Los Angeles Times made her famous throughout the country. Most of the stars tried to gain the favor of the scandalous journalist so as not to become her next victim. Hopper received any comments with a snap of her fingers and easily arranged an interview. Those who did not want to cooperate with the chronicler immediately ended up on the pages of her devastating articles.
Because of Hedda Hopper, world-famous movie star Charlie Chaplin was forced to leave the United States for Switzerland. The reason for this was that the actor expressed his leftist views. Hopper did not like this, and she immediately published an article with caustic criticism. At that time, the audience of Hedda Hopper's Hollywood numbered several tens of millions of readers. Its publication attracted the attention of the authorities and an investigation was launched against Chaplin. After this incident, the journalist began to instill even greater fear in celebrities.
Hopper has been sued for libel more than once. The loudest such story was the lawsuit of actor Michael Wilding, whom Hedda accused of homosexuality. Thanks to expensive lawyers, the woman fended off most of the lawsuits, and if she lost, she became even angrier.
Hedda Hopper was Hollywood's go-to chronicler for years. Her authority was so high that many stars preferred to tell her their stories themselves so that they would come out in a more or less attractive form. The columnist worked until her death. She died at the age of 80 from pneumonia and found rest in the cemetery of her hometown of Altoona. Hopper's services to the film industry are immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.