Go back to the silents (Wallace Reid, anyone?), pre-code era of Hollywood (Clara Bow, anyone?) and the 40s and 50s (Marilyn, anyone?) and you’ll see that Hollywood has always attracted drunks, cokeheads, tramps and monsters. Nothing new. I’m surprised anyone is surprised.
I don’t remember the name, but there was some silent movie actress creep who used to lurk in public bathrooms, waiting to proposition any female who came in. And I mean any female. They said if a six-year-old came in, she’d say, “Honey, want me to show you something that feels good?” The POS died young from cancer, but I’m sure she molested as many as she could for as long as she could.
Poor Jean Harlow couldn’t get a dinner. The platinum blonde looked so intimidating, guys were afraid to ask her out, assuming she’d turn them down. At times, she’d put on a disguise and go out at night to meet strangers.
The problem spilled over into her public life, too, as she married unattractive losers, one of whom beat her so severely she suffered kidney damage. Her mother, a Christian Scientist, delayed Jean’s getting any real medical help until it was too late, and Jean died of the malady.
But at least she gave Clark Gable a good boink.
Grandma? Is that you? They told me you were dead!