Hollywood, as bright as it is, is also famous for its scandals such as The Fatty Arbuckle trial, the Sharon Tate murder of the Black Dahlia, all of which are still remembered and well known, even though many years have passed. Some of these dark scandals are forgotten, and here are ten of them.
1. Birth of the Coogan Act
Some child actors in Hollywood often didn’t have a say when it came to spending their salaries. For example, Macaulay Culkin, Gary Coleman, and Shirley Temple had parents, which were in charge of their income, but Jackie Coogan’s mother and stepfather spent about $4 million he had earned by the age of 21. Coogan sued his parents, and the trial led to the California Child Actor’s Bill, known as the Coogan Act.
2. Superman’s Death
Eddie Mannix was one of the most influential people in Hollywood, and he was a fixer whose job was to keep scandals out of papers. His wife, Toni Mannix had an affair with George Reeves, the first Superman, and during a party in 1959 Reeves went upstairs and ended his life. Many believe that Eddie Mannix had something to do with Reeves’ death.
3. Taylor-Fisher-Reynolds Love Triangle
Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds were friends, but after Eddie Fisher, Debbie’s husband, cheated her with Liz, everything changed. Eddie Fisher filed for divorce, and he married Taylor in 1959 and left his wife with their newborn son Todd and a two-year-old daughter Carrie. It appears that Taylor couldn’t be faithful in marriage as he cheated Eddie with Richard Burton two years after they got married.
4. Judy Garland
Judy Garland’s role in The Wizard of Oz changed her life, but even though she was 17 at the time, she already suffered from an eating disorder. When she signed with the studio at the age of 13, she was told to lose weight and Garland was given amphetamines and barbiturates to control her hunger. MGM head Louis B. Mayer had a diet for Garland that consisted of soup and black coffee, which caused addiction later in her life.
5. Stan Laurel’s Divorce
Although in movies, Stan Laurel was a mellow man, in real life he had a nasty temper. During the divorce from Vera Shuvalova, both of them were often loud, which resulted in a conflict.
