Hollywood Babylon—It’s Back!: All Those Celebrities, All Those Scandals, All That Nudity, and All That Sin

408 Pages·2008·24.95 MB·english

by  Darwin Porter

Hollywood Babylon
It’s Back!
BY DARWIN PORTER AND DANFORTH PRINCE
Front Matter-Babylon 1st Edition:Layout 1 8/26/2008 3:53 PM Page 193
H B
OLLYWOOD ABYLON
IT’S BACK!
VolumeOne
An Overview of Exhibitionism, Sexuality, and Sin
as Filtered through 85 years of Hollywood Scandal
BLOOD MOON PRODUCTIONS, LTD.
WWW.BLOODMOONPRODUCTIONS.COM
ISBN 978-0-9748118-8-8
Copyright 2008 Blood Moon Productions, Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
CoverdesignbyRichardLeeds(www.bigwigdesign.com)
Volume One, Third Printing, September, 2008
Distributed through the National Book Network (NBN)
www.nbnbooks.com
Hollywood ?
“MyfathercalledRitaHayworthanympho.Mymother[murdered
on June 22, 1958] wet-nursed dipsomaniacal film stars. My father
pointed out the two-way mirrors at the Hollywood Ranch Market
and told me they were spy holes to entrap shoplifters and disrupt
homosexual assignations. Johnnie Ray was a fruit. Lizabeth Scott
was a dyke. All jazz musicians were hopheads. Tom Neal beat
Franchot Tone half-dead over a blonde cooze named Barbara
Payton. The Algiers Hotel was a glorified ‘fuck pad.’A pint-sized
Mickey Cohen ran the L.A. rackets from his cell at McNeil Island.
RinTinTin was really a girl dog. Lassie was really a boy dog. L.A. RitaHayworth
was a smog-shrouded netherworld orbiting under a dark star and
blinded by the glare of scandal-rag flashbulbs. Every third person
was a peeper, a prowler, pederast, poon stalker, panty sniffer, pros-
titute, pillhead, pothead, or pimp. The other two-thirds of the popu-
lation were tight-assed squares resisting the urge to peep, prowl,
poon stalk, pederastically indulge, pop pills, and panty sniff. This
mass of self-denial created a seismic dislocation that skewed L.A.
about six degrees off the central axis of planet Earth.”
James Ellroy, Author of L.A. Confidential
TomCruise.
JohnnieRay LizabethScott Rin-Tin-Tin Lassie
Psychotictrio:FranchotTone,BarbaraPayton,&TomNeal MickeyCohen
bloodstone quote for 3rd printing:Layout 1 8/22/2008 9:18 AM Page 191
Hollywood Babylon –It’s Back!
as reviewed by Maggie Bloodstone in the Pride edition of Seattle Gay News, June 2008
Inatimewhenanyonecanflickaswitchintheprivacyoftheirowncubicleandseefamouscoozeandcockondis-
play like the entrée table at Country Buffet and bloggers trading theories on the depth and length of same, it’s a
stretchtoimaginethedeepimpactKennethAnger’sHollywoodBabylonhadonthestill-fragileAmericanpsyche
uponitsovergroundreleasein1975.ButthemanwhopracticallyinventedAmericanundergroundcinemainthe‘40s
preferred his gods and goddesses in the firmament, not on celluloid, so with the zeal of a knight of the crusades
mixedwithavivisection’spassionforslashin’,henotonlykickedpedestalsoutfromunderoveradoredicons,he
indictedtheinstitutionofHollywooditselfforitsroleindehumanizing,demoralizing,anddestroyingcountlessmor-
talsduringitscentury-longreignasValhallaonEarth.
In the intro to Hollywood Babylon-It’s Back!, the authors, Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince, give Anger his
deservedpropsfortakingaliterarymatchtothecrumblingfaçadethatwasOldHollywood,buttheyalsoconcede
thatanewvolumeislongoverdue–andDarwinPorter’slifelongproximitytocelebrity(aidedinnosmallmeasure
byfriendshipswithTennesseeWilliamsandTallulahBankhead) certainlyqualifieshimtotakeupAnger’sblow-
torch.ButwhereasKennethAnger’sHB’slush,overwrought purpleproserevealstheauthor’sdisgustanddisap-
pointmentwiththeindustry,Porterkeepsareporter’srespectfuldistancefromhissubjects–atleast‘tilthesubject
turnstofamousmaleendowments.Infact,hewastesnotimegettingtowhatthereaderreallywantstoknow,with
thefirstchapter;“Well-HungHollywood,”andwe’reofftotheraces.It’sthistotallackofpretensionandballs-out
(literally)honestythatinformall409fullyloadedpagesofHBIB. PorterandPrincegivethepeoplewhatwewant,
whichisdick,dirt,anddivas.
Whileanalysisofthecultureofcelebrityandthepsychologyoffamehasexplodedinthepastcoupledecades(why
doBritney/Paris/Lindsaydowhattheydo,andwhatdoesitsayaboutusasacivilization,yaddayadda…),HBIBis
agooeyslabofchocolatecheesecakecomparedtothearidwheatgermofsuchscholarlydissertations. Porterand
Princetellusallweneedtoknowwhenitcomestocelebritygossip–whichis,Inanutshell:THEY’REHUMAN!
Fleshandblood,sexanddrugs,Gayandstraight–wecare‘causewehavethislingeringcollectiveinferioritycom-
plexthatgoesbacktotheoriginalCultofCelebrity,startingwithGenesis.
Ofcourse,aswiththeoriginalHB,therewillbeacertainstrainingofthereader’scredulity,especiallywhenrelat-
ingthelongparadeofcoitalcouplings.Butkeepinmind,Hollywoodisaverysmalltown,evenmoreso“BackIn
theDay,”anddeep,darksecretscouldactuallybekept.Besides,whywouldn’tthegodsandgoddessesfuckeach
otherinsuchaninsulatedenvironment,wherethelinesbetweenGay,Bi,andstraightwereblurredintoinvisibility?
(Idon’tcarehowGayyouare,youwouldhavedoneitwithMarlene,Marilyn,Joan,orJudyifyouhadthechance,
andyouknowit,honey.)
Porter and Prince don’t seem as fascinated by death as Anger, whose true account of Lupe Velez’ignominious
demise–drownedinhertoiletbowl–isstillthemostrememberedmorselofHB1.ButHBIBdoesindulgeinsome
ookyspeculationonwhatmighthavehappenedtoJudyGarland’scorpseasitlayinstoragepriortointerment,and
reportsthelittle-knownfateofErrolFlynn’ssonSeanatthehandsoftheKhmerRougewhileaphotojournalistin
Vietnam.
Therearechaptersonmodernicons:PenelopeandSalma,EwanMcGregor,JakeGyllenhaal–butPorterandPrince,
likeAnger,areclearlymoreinterestedwithpre-HollywoodBabylonHollywood–whichcouldverywellbedueto
thefactthatmanyofthosestarsaretoobusybeingdeadtosue. Butpeelingthetinselofftheso-called“goldenage”
iseasilymoreinteresting–andhotter–thanMissWhoever’slatesttitliftorsomepornstar’sattempttodragCruise
out of the closet for the billionth time. (After all, male Queerness is still the only litigation-worthy libel left in
Hollywood.)There’ssomethingalotmoretitillating–nottomentionnasty–aboutagrainy,out-of-focusphotoof
whatmightpossiblybeJamesDean’sschlongthanaprobablyPhotoshoppedbunchofpixelsofthisweek’sDean
Wannabe.
There’sactuallyplentyofeachinHBIB,whichgivesthebookthelookandfeelofbothawelltraffickedwebsite
andagrubby,pulpycopyofHollywoodConfidential(the‘50sscandalragthatprovidedplentyofgristforallthree
HollywoodBabylons).Andthisisjustataste–thoughIadmit,evenIwasalittlewoozybytheendfromthesheer
volume of raunch and revelation, but I’m already contemplating what Porter and Prince could have planned for
HollywoodBabylon–It’sBack!Volume2.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WELL-HUNGHOLLYWOOD 1
TheLargerView 2
PenilePertinence
Tarzanvs.Hollywood’sMostSeductiveLatino 19
ChangePartnersandDance
JohnnyWeissmullerandtheTarzanYell 27
SixNot-So-ApelikeApeMen
ForrestTuckerRide‘Em,Cowboy 33
Hollywood’sIncorrigibleGunslinger
ChuckConnors(TheRifleman)CarriedTwoBats 39
TheManBehindtheRifle
JohnC.HolmesKingofPorn 45
HavePenis,WillTravel
TheWonderlandMurders 52
BillDakota,TheHollywoodStar 55
Dakota’sLetterbox
FreddyFrankandHisMonstrousOrgan 61
JOCKSTRAPAWARDS TO HOLLYWOOD’S RECENT CONTENDERS 63
Today’sVictorsintheBattleoftheBulge
TestimonialfromaSwedishBombshellAboutWarrenBeatty 70
DonJohnsonTheSizeofIt 79
HOLLYWOOD CONFIDENTIAL 83
RichardGere,CindyCrawford,andAllThoseRumors 84
JoanCrawford’sBisexualHusbands 87
BetteDavis FastenYourSeatBelt 91
AvaGardner Men,Matadors,andanOccasionalFemale 94
RitaHayworth AFondnessforBisexualMen 95
BetteMidler TheGayMan’sDiva 96
MarilynMonroe FromStreetwalkertoLegendaryGoddess 97
DollyPartonaLesbian? No,NotThat!SurelyNot! 103
ElizabethTaylor There’sNothingLikeaDame! 104
MamieVanDoren SheEvenSeducedRockHudson 106
MaeWest SizeDoesMatter 108
MMandShelleyWinters RoommatesWhoSwing? 111
Sheenvs.Richards Hollywood’sNastiest(Recent)Divorce 112
IN THE 1930S, LUCILLE BALL(THE LUCYWE LOVED) WASAHOOKER 113
TheSecretLifeofLucyRicardo 114
Lucy’sEarlyHollywoodAdventures 121
ScrewingAroundinGoldenAgeHollywood 135
LucyMeetsRicky 139
AnAgingLucySays“DownwithLove” 143
LucilleatTwilight 147
LucyandMarilynGossipAboutBobMitchum 151
DesiArnazandHisGayCaballero 155
GAY, HOLY,AND CLOSETED POPE PAULVI. 159
Doin’theVaticanRag
HOW SIR WINSTON GOT “MUSICAL” WITH IVOR NOVELLO 165
AnEarlyAdventureofaCuriousSirWinston
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JUDYGARLAND’S BODY? 169
Fan-WorshipandNecrophiliainNewYork
JudyandHerMonsterMan 177
BORDELLO-HOPPINGWITHAVAGARDNER 179
ATemptressWhoDroveSinatratotheBrinkofSuicide
“WE WANT RUDI IN THE NUDI!” (RUDOLFNUREYEV) 187
AStarPortraysAnotherStarandaLegendisBorn
ATributetoNijinsky 190
TheLoveofHisLife(ErikBruhn) 195
ERROLFLYNN, VIETNAM, & THE TORTURE
AND DISAPPEARANCE OFHIS SON SEAN 197
Father&SonSwashbucklersontheRoadtoHell
THE SAD STORYOFCARYGRANT, HIS TROUBLED MILLIONAIRESS,
AND HIS BELOVED LANCELOT 203
AnHeiress,aMovieStar,&aMillion-DollarBaby
BETTE DAVIS OFFSCREEN MURDERESS 215
WhateverHappenedtoBette’sMysterious2ndHusband?
ROLLINGHIS STONES GETTINGNAKED WITH MICK JAGGER 221
MickJaggerLeavesNoStoneUnturned
BILLYTHE KID--HOWARD HUGHES’S TOYBOY 229
TheAviatorasSexualOutlaw
SCHWARZENEGGER THE LASTACTION HERO 237
DoThesePhotographsRepresenttheNextPresidentoftheUnitedStates?
DANIELRADCLIFFE’S EQUUS 243
MostofHarryPotter’sFansDenouncedItas“TeenagePorn”
TONYRANDALL LIFE IN THE CLOSET ISN’T FUNNY 247
SecretlyGayOffscreenandSecretlyGayOnscreen,Too
GAYEXTORTION 251
HowRockHudsonCopedwithBlackmail
LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG 257
Elvis,JamesDean,&JohnnyReb
RebelWithoutaCause 277
The“Chemistry”BetweenJamesDean&SalMineo
WasJamesDeanaChildMolester? 281
BoulevardofBrokenDreams
WhenPresleyWentWest 287
ToMaeWest,ThatIs...
ElvisandtheRichestWomanintheWorld 293
WhenDorisDukeMetHerIdol
AMARILYN MONROE QUARTET 297
AnotherYear,AnotherPresident 297
MM’sFlingWithRonaldReagan
DreamCoupleMMandElvis 307
LoveMeTender
TheRapeofMarilynMonroe 313
GoodbyeNormaJeane,HelloMarilynMonroe
WhenTitansClash 323
TheNightJackieConfrontedMarilyn
THE SAGAOFTOM CRUISE, ETAL. 329
Tomfoolery 330
MissionImprobable
CruiseControl 348
PuttingtheMovesonHisGirlfriendintheEarly80s
BoxOfficePoison 349
Hollywood’sMostHatedActor
IsTomCruiseReallyaTopGun? 350
RonaldReaganJunior’sRiskyBusiness 351
TomCruiseSuesandWinsHisCourtCaseAgainstaGayPornoStar 357
Penelope&Salma 361
LatinaandGorgeous,butGay?
EwanMcGregor 363
LettingItAllHangOut
ThoseBisexualRumoursAboutJakeGyllenhaal 369
McConaughey&Armstrong 373
CallIta“Bro-Mance”
INDEX 379