Louella Parsons
Encyclopedia
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist
who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her radio show and newspaper columns.
, the daughter of Joshua Oettinger and Helen Stein, both were of German, Jewish decent. She had two brothers, Edwin and Fred, and a sister, Rae. In 1890, her widowed mother married John H. Edwards. They lived in Dixon, Illinois
, later hometown of Ronald Reagan
.
As a teenager, Louella was a smart and intelligent young woman. She found little literary outlets to fuel her ambitions. It wasn't until high school that Louella decided to become a a writer or a reporter. On June 4, 1901 at her high school graduation, Louella gave foretelling speech entitled “Great Men”. Afterwards her Principal announced that she would become a great writer.
After high school Louella enrolled in a teacher’s course at a local Dixon College. She received a financial contribution from a distant German relative. While still in college, Parsons obtained her first newspaper job as a part-time writer for the "Dixon Star". In 1902, Louella became the first female Journalist in Dixon where she gossiped about Dixon social circles making a step towards her Hollywood career.
She and her first husband, John Parsons, moved to Burlington, Iowa
. Her only child, Harriet, who grew up to become a film producer
, was born there. While in Burlington, Parsons saw her first motion picture
, The Great Train Robbery
(1903).
When her marriage broke up, Parsons moved to Chicago. In 1912, she had her first taste of the movie industry by selling a script for $25 to the Essanay Company, once the home of Charlie Chaplin
. Her small daughter, Harriet, was billed as "Baby Parsons" in several movies, which included The Magic Wand (1912
), written by Louella Parsons. She also wrote a book titled How to Write for the Movies.
for the Chicago Record Herald
. William Randolph Hearst
bought that newspaper in 1918 and Parsons was out of a job, as Hearst had not yet discovered that movies and movie personalities were news. Parsons then moved to New York City
and started working for the New York Morning Telegraph writing a similar movie column, which attracted the attention of Hearst. In 1923, after shrewd bargaining on both sides, she signed a contract
and joined the Hearst newspaper the New York American
.
In 1925, Parsons contracted tuberculosis
and was told she had six months to live. She moved to Arizona
for the dry climate, then to Los Angeles
, where she decided to stay. With the disease in remission, she went back to work, becoming a syndicated Hollywood columnist for Hearst
. As she and the publishing mogul had developed an ironclad relationship, her Los Angeles Examiner
column came to appear in over six hundred newspapers the world over, with a readership of more than twenty-million, and Parsons gradually became one of the most powerful voices in the movie business with her daily allotment of gossip. According to Hearst's mistress and protégé Marion Davies
in her posthumously published memoirs The Times We Had, Parsons had encouraged readers to "give this girl a chance" while the majority of critics disparaged Davies; it was on this basis that Hearst hired Parsons.
Beginning in 1928, she hosted a weekly radio
program featuring movie star
interviews that was sponsored by SunKist. A similar program in 1931 was sponsored by Charis Foundation Garment. In 1934, she signed a contract with the Campbell's Soup Company and began hosting a program titled Hollywood Hotel, which showcased stars in scenes from their upcoming movies.
Parsons was especially known for her uncanny ability to scoop her competitors with the juiciest stories and for knowing many of the secrets of celebrities. She was associated with various Hearst enterprises for the rest of her career. Parsons saw herself as the social and moral arbiter of Hollywood. Her judgments were considered the final word in many cases, and her disfavor was feared by many more than that of movie critics. Eventually, Parson's daily gossip column appeared in more than 400 newspapers, and read by 20 million people around the world. It was consistently followed and gave her a level of power. Her formidable power remained unchallenged until 1937, when Hedda Hopper
, a struggling character actress since the days of silent movies
, whom Parsons had been kind to and mentioned occasionally in her column, and who had returned the favor by giving Parsons information on others, was hired to be a gossip columnist by one of Hearst's rival newspapers. Parsons and Hopper then became rivals.
Parsons also appeared in numerous cameo spots in movies, including Hollywood Hotel
(1937
), Without Reservations
(1946
) and Starlift
(1951
).
In 1944, she wrote her memoirs, The Gay Illiterate, published by Doubleday, Doran and Company, which became a bestseller. That was followed by another volume in 1961, Tell It To Louella, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
diminish
After World War II, Parsons influence dimished. She continued her column until December 1965 when it was later taken over by Dorthy Manners, her assitant, who had been writing for it for more than a year.
After her retirement, Parsons lived in a nursing home where she died of arteriosclerosis
on December 9, 1972, aged 91. A convert to Roman Catholicism, her funeral Mass was attended by a few individuals from the movie industry, with whom she had maintained genuine friendships. She was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery
Culver City, California
.
Louella Parsons has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
in Hollywood; one for motion pictures at 6418 Hollywood Boulevard and one for radio at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard.
's 1937 cartoon
The Woods are Full of Cuckoos
as "Louella Possums".
Elizabeth Taylor
portrayed Parsons in the 1985 TV film Malice in Wonderland
(opposite Jane Alexander
as Hedda Hopper
).
Jennifer Tilly
portrayed Parsons in the 2001 feature film The Cat's Meow
which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince
in 1924.
She appears as a character in Ken Ludwig
's 2004 play, "Shakespeare in Hollywood".
Gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business ,...
who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her radio show and newspaper columns.
Early life
She was born Louella Rose Oettinger in Freeport, IllinoisFreeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
, the daughter of Joshua Oettinger and Helen Stein, both were of German, Jewish decent. She had two brothers, Edwin and Fred, and a sister, Rae. In 1890, her widowed mother married John H. Edwards. They lived in Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois
Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 at the 2000 census. Named for its founder, John Dixon , it is the county seat of Lee County. Located on the Rock River, Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S...
, later hometown of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
As a teenager, Louella was a smart and intelligent young woman. She found little literary outlets to fuel her ambitions. It wasn't until high school that Louella decided to become a a writer or a reporter. On June 4, 1901 at her high school graduation, Louella gave foretelling speech entitled “Great Men”. Afterwards her Principal announced that she would become a great writer.
After high school Louella enrolled in a teacher’s course at a local Dixon College. She received a financial contribution from a distant German relative. While still in college, Parsons obtained her first newspaper job as a part-time writer for the "Dixon Star". In 1902, Louella became the first female Journalist in Dixon where she gossiped about Dixon social circles making a step towards her Hollywood career.
She and her first husband, John Parsons, moved to Burlington, Iowa
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...
. Her only child, Harriet, who grew up to become a film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, was born there. While in Burlington, Parsons saw her first motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Great Train Robbery
The Great Train Robbery (1903 film)
The Great Train Robbery is a 1903 American action Western film by Edwin S. Porter. Twelve minutes long, it is considered a milestone in film making, expanding on Porter's previous work Life of an American Fireman. The film used a number of innovative techniques including cross cutting, double...
(1903).
When her marriage broke up, Parsons moved to Chicago. In 1912, she had her first taste of the movie industry by selling a script for $25 to the Essanay Company, once the home of Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
. Her small daughter, Harriet, was billed as "Baby Parsons" in several movies, which included The Magic Wand (1912
1912 in film
The year 1912 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Mack Sennett, who had previously worked as an actor and comedy director with D. W. Griffith, formed a new company with New York City entrepreneur Adam Kessel called Keystone Studios...
), written by Louella Parsons. She also wrote a book titled How to Write for the Movies.
Career
In 1914, Parsons began writing the first gossip column in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the Chicago Record Herald
Chicago Record Herald
The Chicago Record Herald was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the Chicago Morning Herald, the Chicago Times Herald and the Chicago Record. It was succeeded by the Chicago Herald Examiner....
. William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
bought that newspaper in 1918 and Parsons was out of a job, as Hearst had not yet discovered that movies and movie personalities were news. Parsons then moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and started working for the New York Morning Telegraph writing a similar movie column, which attracted the attention of Hearst. In 1923, after shrewd bargaining on both sides, she signed a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
and joined the Hearst newspaper the New York American
New York Journal American
The New York Journal American was a newspaper published from 1937 to 1966. The Journal American was the product of a merger between two New York newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst: The New York American , a morning paper, and the New York Evening Journal, an afternoon paper...
.
In 1925, Parsons contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and was told she had six months to live. She moved to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
for the dry climate, then to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where she decided to stay. With the disease in remission, she went back to work, becoming a syndicated Hollywood columnist for Hearst
Hearst
Hearst may refer to:People* Amanda Hearst* Garrison Hearst, NFL running back* George Hearst* George Randolph Hearst, Jr.* Hunter Hearst Helmsley, WWE professional wrestler* John Randolph Hearst* Lydia Hearst-Shaw* Michael Hearst* Millicent Hearst...
. As she and the publishing mogul had developed an ironclad relationship, her Los Angeles Examiner
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
The Los Angeles Herald Examiner was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published Monday through Friday in the afternoon, and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. The afternoon Herald-Express and the morning Examiner, both of which had been publishing in...
column came to appear in over six hundred newspapers the world over, with a readership of more than twenty-million, and Parsons gradually became one of the most powerful voices in the movie business with her daily allotment of gossip. According to Hearst's mistress and protégé Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
in her posthumously published memoirs The Times We Had, Parsons had encouraged readers to "give this girl a chance" while the majority of critics disparaged Davies; it was on this basis that Hearst hired Parsons.
Beginning in 1928, she hosted a weekly radio
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
program featuring movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
interviews that was sponsored by SunKist. A similar program in 1931 was sponsored by Charis Foundation Garment. In 1934, she signed a contract with the Campbell's Soup Company and began hosting a program titled Hollywood Hotel, which showcased stars in scenes from their upcoming movies.
Parsons was especially known for her uncanny ability to scoop her competitors with the juiciest stories and for knowing many of the secrets of celebrities. She was associated with various Hearst enterprises for the rest of her career. Parsons saw herself as the social and moral arbiter of Hollywood. Her judgments were considered the final word in many cases, and her disfavor was feared by many more than that of movie critics. Eventually, Parson's daily gossip column appeared in more than 400 newspapers, and read by 20 million people around the world. It was consistently followed and gave her a level of power. Her formidable power remained unchallenged until 1937, when Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.-Early life:...
, a struggling character actress since the days of silent movies
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
, whom Parsons had been kind to and mentioned occasionally in her column, and who had returned the favor by giving Parsons information on others, was hired to be a gossip columnist by one of Hearst's rival newspapers. Parsons and Hopper then became rivals.
Parsons also appeared in numerous cameo spots in movies, including Hollywood Hotel
Hollywood Hotel (film)
Hollywood Hotel is a 1937 American film, directed by Busby Berkeley. It stars Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, and Ted Healy. Ronald Reagan, Benny Goodman and Harry James also appear....
(1937
1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
), Without Reservations
Without Reservations
Without Reservations is a comedy film starring Claudette Colbert and John Wayne, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was adapted by Andrew Solt from the novel Thanks, God! I'll Take It From Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston.The opening shot shows "Arrowhead"...
(1946
1946 in film
The year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) and Starlift
Starlift
Starlift is an American musical film released by Warner Brothers in 1951, starring Janice Rule, Dick Wesson, Ron Hagerthy and Ruth Roman. The film was directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Karl Lamb and John D. Klorer...
(1951
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
).
In 1944, she wrote her memoirs, The Gay Illiterate, published by Doubleday, Doran and Company, which became a bestseller. That was followed by another volume in 1961, Tell It To Louella, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
diminish
After World War II, Parsons influence dimished. She continued her column until December 1965 when it was later taken over by Dorthy Manners, her assitant, who had been writing for it for more than a year.
Personal life
Parsons was married three times; first to real estate developer John Dement Parsons, whom she married in 1905 and divorced in 1914. She married second husband John McCaffrey, Jr. in 1915. The couple later divorced and Parsons wed surgeon Henry W. Martin (whom she called "Docky") in 1926. They remained married until Martin's death in 1964.Later years and death
By the 1960s, Parsons's influence had waned. She officially stopped writing her column in December 1965, which was taken over by her assistant, Dorothy Manners, who was said to have been writing it for more than a year.After her retirement, Parsons lived in a nursing home where she died of arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
on December 9, 1972, aged 91. A convert to Roman Catholicism, her funeral Mass was attended by a few individuals from the movie industry, with whom she had maintained genuine friendships. She was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
.
Louella Parsons has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
in Hollywood; one for motion pictures at 6418 Hollywood Boulevard and one for radio at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard.
Portrayals
She was caricatured in Frank TashlinFrank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
's 1937 cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
The Woods are Full of Cuckoos
The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos
The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos is a Merrie Melodie cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin, and released in December 1937. Author and critic Alexander Woollcott is parodied as Owl Kott in the cartoon, a parody that Tashlin would revisit the next year as well in Have You Got Any Castles?.-Plot:The cartoon...
as "Louella Possums".
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
portrayed Parsons in the 1985 TV film Malice in Wonderland
Malice in Wonderland (TV film)
Malice in Wonderland is a 1985 American television movie based on the 1972 novel Hedda and Louella: A Dual Biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons by George Eells. Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Alexander, it tells the based-on-real-life stories of powerful Hollywood gossip columnists...
(opposite Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
as Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.-Early life:...
).
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
portrayed Parsons in the 2001 feature film The Cat's Meow
The Cat's Meow
The Cat's Meow is a 2001 drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, and Jennifer Tilly. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film...
which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince
Thomas H. Ince
Thomas Harper Ince was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer of more than 100 films and pioneering studio mogul. Known as the "Father of the Western", he invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, introducing early Hollywood to the "assembly line"...
in 1924.
She appears as a character in Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig is an American playwright and theatre director.Born in York, Pennsylvania, Ludwig was educated at the York Suburban Senior High School, York PA Haverford College , Harvard Law School, and Trinity College at Cambridge University...
's 2004 play, "Shakespeare in Hollywood".
Listen to
External links
- Interviews conducted by Louella Parsons with silent film Actors, Actresses, and Directors, reprinted in TaylorologyTaylorologyTaylorology was a fanzine centered on the unsolved 1922 murder of Hollywood silent film director William Desmond Taylor. The editor was Bruce Long, a staff member at Arizona State University....