The Oscars are almost here, and ahead of Hollywood’s most prized night, I thought I’d lower the tone slightly by diving into the murky depths of La La Land’s underbelly. While the Academy Awards celebrate the industry at its most polished, all diamonds, designer gowns, and tearful speeches about artistic triumph (let’s just hope Timothée repents for his recent comments on the high arts), the history of Hollywood is just as often defined by scandal, ambition, and spectacular misbehaviour.
Hollywood isn’t always known for its glittering treatment of women, and these books reveal some dark truths alongside plenty of frothy gossip, salacious secrets, and hilarious (and sometimes sinister) tidbits. Behind the studio gates and red carpets lies a long tradition of power struggles, exploitation, reinvention, and survival, and the women at the centre of these stories are often far more interesting than the carefully managed images the studios tried to sell.
Over the decades, actresses, starlets, socialites, and strivers have walked the tightrope of an industry that could make careers overnight and destroy them even quicker. The result is a treasure trove of anecdotes, outrageous behaviour, and cautionary tales, which, of course, make for delicious reading.
So, settle in as we cruise through Laurel Canyon to Beverly Hills by way of Beachwood Canyon, the home of the world’s most famous sign. Incidentally, our story starts here, in 1932, when actress Peg Entwistle plunged to her death in search of eternal fame in the afterlife after failing to make it in the land of the living. Her tragic leap from the “H” of the Hollywoodland sign has since become one of the most enduring (and eerie) legends of early Hollywood(land).
They don’t call it the City of Angels for nothing, you know. A place built on dreams has always had a habit of collecting a few ghosts along the way.
To quote the doyenne of all things Hollywood history, Karina Longworth, join me, won’t you…
