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

408 Pages·2008·24.95 MB·english
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Preview Hollywood Babylon—It’s Back!: All Those Celebrities, All Those Scandals, All That Nudity, and All That Sin

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

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