Back in the “good old days,” Hollywood movies were stuffed full of glitz and glamor, and the stars of the silver screen were seen as larger than life, almost as though they were gods on Earth. But there was an enormous dark side behind that facade of beauty and perfection. Studios had an iron grip on the lives of their stars, and it wasn’t uncommon for affairs, abortions, drug addictions, and even murder to be hushed up by the studios to save the reputations of their moneymaking actors. In spite of their efforts, old Hollywood was still rife with scandal and controversy, and on this episode, Tom and Jenny will talk about a few of the most notorious, including Mae West and her constant battle with the censors; Charlie Chaplin and his many relationships with teenage girls; Lana Turner’s string of abusive boyfriends and her daughter Cheryl’s killing of one in particular; and Clark Gable’s numerous affairs and his secret child with ingenue Loretta Young. It’s a whirlwind tour through the seedy underbelly of Tinseltown on a Golden Age episode 318.

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Channel art and audio & video editing by Jenny Ashford. Music & sound effects courtesy of freesound.org users jamespotterboy, corsica-s, enjoypa, capturedlv, luffy, kiddpark, and justkiddink. Video clips courtesy of Videezy & Videvo.