Showbiz scandals are nothing new to Hollywood. In fact, they’ve been here for a long time. Yes, even the golden age of Tinseltown was still rife with many rumors and scandals. Some of them may be a little more shocking when compared to today’s scandals, but many of them still shock this generation of fellow stars, fans, and showbiz insiders.
Florence Henderson and Barry Williams alleged date
Florence Henderson played mother Carol Brady and Barry Williams, and played her teenage son-in-law Greg Brady in The Brady Bunch. In real life, they bonded with each other. Henderson wrote in her 1992 autobiography of her off-screen relationship with Williams, who was twenty years her junior. Williams also spoke candidly about his crush on his TV mom and their later date, which definitely raised eyebrows. Although the relationship ended long ago, they remained friends until Henderson’s death in 2016.
Ingrid BergmanThrown out of the U.S. after having illegitimate baby with married director
She also had a daughter named Pia with a dentist, Peter Lindstrom (by whom she had an Academy Award-winning actress). When she began an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini while filming Stromboli. He also married Rossellini at the time of his affair with the beautiful Swedish actress. This sparked a huge scandal in the United States, which only became more acute when Bergman became pregnant. The scandal led to her conviction in the US Senate. As a result, she underwent a highly publicized divorce with her first husband and had a bitter custody battle over their daughter.
Years passed before Bergman successfully returned to Hollywood with the 1956 film Anastasia, which led her to win her second Academy Award for Best Actress.
Jerry Lee Lewis weds 13 year old cousin
When he was 22 years old, Jerry Lewis of “Great Balls of Fire” fame married his third wife – a 13-year-old girl named Myra Jill Brown, in 1957. Lewis’ relationship with a minor was indeed surprising, but the most disturbing part about this is that Brown was also his cousin. Lewis was booed and called a cradle snatcher by the public during his 1958 UK tour. Bad press followed him back to the United States when his tour ended.
Louis’ music career practically ceased after the scandal broke. He was blacklisted from radio stations. If this incestuous relationship between a rock star and a minor girl happened in the 21st century, it would still lead to a disgusting scandal that would surely make headlines and news on the internet.
Rock Hudson the secret guy life of hollywood
Rock Hudson was the ultimate Hollywood heartthrob – tall, dark, and handsome, as well as his cutesy charisma. He was every girl’s dream. What the public didn’t know was that Rock Hudson was gay. Of course, in order to preserve his career as well as his masculine image, Hudson has never confirmed that he is gay. But his silence only exacerbated the rumors. But some of his colleagues, including megastar Elizabeth Taylor and actress Mamie Van Doren, learned about his homosexuality and chose to support him.
During the golden age of Hollywood, being gay was considered taboo and a sin. But times have changed. Had Hudson been alive today, he could have been more open about his homosexuality and have married the man he loves.
Spencer Tracy and katherine hepburn silent lovers
One of the most famous “secret” relationships is the relationship between actors Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Tracy’s affair with Hepburn began because he was married. The relationship lasted for 25 years until Tracy’s death in 1967. It was once considered a huge scandal for stars to have relationships during their marriages.
Tracy also maintained the affair was a private affair, keeping it hidden from his wife and from the public. Studio executives went to great lengths to ensure the affair remained a secret. Having extramarital affairs is no longer seen as a major scandal in Hollywood today; Instead, they became just talk of the city.
Charlie Chaplin’s obsession with young girls
In contrast to his healthy and innocent persona in his films, Charlie Chaplin was a sexual pervert with the taste of young girls. The couple married when he was 29 and she was 16. However, the marriage did not last long. Chaplin married another 16-year-old girl whose sudden pregnancy announcement forced Chaplin to tie the knot. The marriage ended in a messy divorce that nearly ruined his career. Despite this, he went on to marry several times.
Oona O’Neill, Chaplin’s last wife, was 18 years old at the time of their marriage in 1943. The marriage became controversial not only because Chaplin married another girl. He was sued by aspiring actress Joan Barry for paternity weeks before their wedding. Furthermore, Una’s father, playwright Eugene O’Neill, strongly disapproved of their relationship. He and Ona Chaplin had eight children together, and they were married until his death in 1977.
Eddie Fisher Divorces Debbie reynolds Married Elizabeth Taylor
One of the most explosive scandals during the 1950s was the relationship between Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as his highly publicized divorce with Debbie Reynolds.
It all started when Taylor’s husband, Mike Todd, was killed in a plane crash in 1958. Shortly thereafter, she sought the solace of Todd’s friend, singer/actor Eddie Fisher. He was married to actress/singer Debbie Reynolds, who was also Taylor’s best friend. It erupted into a public scandal when Fisher and Taylor became involved in an affair. In 1959, Fisher divorced Reynolds in order to marry Taylor. But as you might guess, the marriage didn’t last long, as Taylor began an affair with her co-star Cleopatra Richard Burton, whom she later married.
Elizabeth Taylor’s many lovers
The fact that Elizabeth Taylor has been married eight times, twice to the same man, is pretty well known in Hollywood. Her fourth husband was Eddie Fisher. Taylor’s first marriage, when she was 18, was to hotel heir Conrad Hilton in 1950, but it only lasted eight months. Her second marriage was to Michael Wilding (1952-1957). Her marriage to her third husband, Mike Todd (1957-1958) ended when he died in a plane crash.
After the tumultuous scandal spawned by her affair with Fisher and the end of her friendship with ex-wife Debbie Reynolds, they married in 1959. But the marriage was short-lived, as Taylor began an affair with Richard Burton, her classmate. A star in Cleopatra Burton was also married at the time of the relationship. As expected, this sparked another big scandal – so big that the Vatican condemned it. After his divorce from Fisher, Taylor married Burton in 1964.
After ten years of marriage, Burton and Taylor separated for the first time in 1974. They married again in 1976, but less than a year later they separated again, this time for good. The actress later married political figure John Warner (1976-1982), and construction worker Larry Fortensky (1991-1995). Taylor dated publisher Malcolm Forbes and Mexican attorney Victor Luna in the early 1980s.
Errol Flynn and the underage girls
Aside from being famous for his “arrogant” films, Errol Flynn has also earned a reputation for his feminine style of drinking. He also became addicted to drugs for some time. During the height of his career, he seduced 17-year-old aspiring actress Betty Hansen in 1942, while they were partying at the Bel Air home of a friend of Flynn’s. Flynn also seduced another underage girl, Peggy Satterley, while they were on his yacht.
The two girls accused him of raping the palace. It sparked a huge scandal during that period. Despite Flynn’s acquittal of the charges, his reputation as a witty romantic man is permanently damaged.
