She also got a shock a year later when Yelverton made a bigamous marriage to another woman. The civil and criminal actions which occurred subsequent to the accident which was more the result of negligence than misfortune was scandalous, and the films director, John Landis, was charged and tried for manslaughter, along with other members of the film crew. Gustavo Turner, Discover Los Angeles. Millions of dollars were awarded to the families of the victims, mostly paid by insurance companies. The 1950s slang In Like Flynn, meaning one had it made, failed to take into account his legal difficulties over underage women. Some scandals are timeless: The Fatty Arbuckle trial, the Black Dahlia, and the Sharon Tate murder are still well-known decades after they occurred. READ MORE: The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea Pigs, Flappers at the bar of Isa Lanchesters nightclub in London, 1925. 1952, Secretary Says She Destroyed Hoovers Letters on his Orders. Idolized by Louise Brooks in the '20s, Marilyn Monroe in the '50s, and Madonna in the '80s, Clara was an icon of sexual freedom for women everywhere. READ MORE: 8 Ways The Great Gatsby Captured the Roaring Twenties. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 against the Austrian Empire, a man stood out for his violent tactics in suppressing the revolutionaries: Julius Jacob von Haynau, an Austrian general who earned the nickname, the Hyena. News of his brutality, particularly against Hungarian women, excited much anger in the English public. Mabel Normand. In Chicago, Leo Koretz, an immigrant from Bohemia, made a mint selling shares in supposedly lucrative rice plantations in Arkansas that didnt actually exist, as well as in a logging company that he claimed owned land with oil beneath it. Flappers reputations were made worse by petting, but the practice also reflected traditional values by avoiding premarital sex. He documented, often through little more than innuendo, potential homosexual activity, drug use, alcohol use (both during and after prohibition), sexual peccadilloes, extramarital affairs, and political beliefs. Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast. She developed a reputation of being hard to work with, temperamental, and a sex symbol relying on her looks as much as her acting ability. 10 Scandalous Stars of the Silent Screen | Mental Floss Sargent was demonized: His career in tatters, he headed for a fresh start in London. Traditional girls cared about getting married and raising kids; flappers wanted to party instead of settling down. 1920's Political Scandals by Angelica Laurin - Prezi The dramatic nature of her demise, including the manner in which her body had been found (by a hiker who also found her suicide note), led to the inevitable gossip around town, which was fed further by the elaborate funeral she was given by the film community, attended by several stars. Hoover used, or rather abused, his position as head of the FBI to keep files on stars, directors, producers, and reporters indeed on anyone whom he considered possibly subversive or anti-American. The two sons she bore later in the marriage brought into question her accusations that Charles ignored her completely, but the press and the public were easily persuaded that Chaplin was an abusive monster, a profligate womanizer, with a taste for young girls (an image he could not escape). They did so discreetly. Prohibition led directly to the rise of organized crime. Witnesses gave accounts of Saurins supposed crimes, which included eating strawberries and cream (the wicked woman!) At the same time, many people lacked the financial literacy to understand the difference between investing in a legitimate company and a scheme such as the one operated by Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who claimed to have become a wealthy man through sheer ingenuity and hard work. Many wanted to use this valuable oil source. Payton and Neal became engaged after Tone won a divorce over the issue of adultery, but the marriage never came off. William Taylor was a highly prolific director between 1915 and 1921, and as such, he was one of the first directors to rely on what would later become known euphemistically as the casting couch. And to some, the very thought of a party devoted to sexeven a relatively chaste versionwas cause for outrage. Warren G. Harding - Scandals | Britannica Lady Mordaunt feared syphilis and confessed to her husband, Sir Charles, that shed been often unfaithful to him. Their trial was a sensation. Eventually, the practice faded. These men were celebrated for their pluck, courage and daring, says Nate Hendley, author of the 2016 book The Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts and Swindles in American History. After her arrest, Ann Forester took over the operation, and it remained in business until 1948, when a drive to clean up local corruption among the elected officials of Los Angeles and the police department they supervised led to the business being closed. They republished it anyway. Jean Harlow with actor Ben Lyon in a promotional still for the film Hells Angels, 1930. She wasnt, though she later bore him two sons. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Why? Hollywood studios did not again employ her until 1956, six years after the scandal, when she appeared in the film, Anastasia. For most people, the Roaring 20s conjures up images of flapper dresses, sparkles, and bootleggers wearing fedoras. From 1941 until his death, the two maintained an affair which was an open secret in Hollywood. Married in 1924, by 1926 they were headed to divorce court, and Lita presented an image of Chaplin far removed from his popular public persona. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in a scene from 1921s Brewster's Millions. In 1941 actor Spencer Tracy, one of Hollywoods most successful and in-demand leading men, began seeing actress Katharine Hepburn. Silent film star Pickford tested her audiences adoration of her by committing an unthinkable act: She divorced her husband, Owen Moore, in 1920, and married Douglas Fairbanks less than a month later. French artist John Singer Sargent hoped his work would draw notice, but he could never have imagined the hysteria that followed his Portrait of Madame X. Probably there exists no more famous icon of Hollywood than the sign which spells that name in the Hollywood hills. One study found that by 1924, 92 percent of college women had tried petting. When Charles demanded a divorce, Harriet attempted to evade a separation by claiming insanity, eating coal, and smashing dishes. Many of the purchasers couldnt afford to actually pay off the loans; instead, they were gambling that land prices would rise even more, so that they could resell and walk away with a profit. Clinton vehemently denied the allegations, which were later revealed to be true. Swanson was a walking scandal for most of her Hollywood career, at least during its so-called Golden Age, but today is considered one of that eras greatest stars. Old Hollywood Scandals - Hollywood Scandals You Forgot About - Woman's Day Not all petting parties were intentional affairs; some broke out spontaneously in dance halls, cars or secluded places. To many Americans, petting parties epitomized everything that was evil about the Jazz Age. There was, after all, that pesky fact that he was a foreigner (Flynn was Australian) and xenophobia was at its height in the early days of the Second World War. Eventually, though, the market stalled, prices fell, and many were stuck with properties worth far less than theyd expected. To save her virtue, though the train was in motion, she escaped to the step outside the first class railway carriage and clung there, screaming for help. Fittingly, Harlows Hollywood career had begun with her as a starlet under the wing of Howard Hughes. Throughout the decade, there were murders, explosions, kidnappings, and disappearances, many of which were never solved. An incendiary speaker, Reverend Henry Ward Beecher was quite possibly the most famous minister of 19th century America. He attempted to remarry Joan Crawford when he was dying of cancer in the 1960s, but she demurred, though she did care for him in his last days, and arranged his funeral when he died in 1968. Public discussion of sex was regarded as disgraceful. He called Rossellini vile and unspeakable and demanded that the couple, not set foot on American soil under our immigration laws. In 1949 the married Bergman (her husband was neurosurgeon Petter Lindstrom) began an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini (an earlier affair she had with American actor Gregory Peck was kept hidden at the time). Scandals in the Hollywood periodicals of the day, later amplified by the mainstream press, were fed by the FBI files as Hoover attempted to discredit Hollywoods elite. She abandoned her unhappy marriage to Ruskin in 1854 and filed for annulment on the grounds that she was still a virgin. Several of the men involved in the pedophilia ring including Somerset fled the country to avoid prosecution. Hepburn was from upper-crust New England stock, presenting a prim, proper, and athletic image to her fans, who had for several years been involved in a relationship with Howard Hughes. During her short career, she was linked romantically with Clark Gable, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Hughes, Baer, Paul Bern, Louis B. Mayer, Franchot Tone, Lee Tracy, James Stewart, and others, including Talullah Bankhead, Clara Bow, and Joan Crawford. The economy boomed during the Roaring Twenties and rising incomes gave ordinary Americans access to enticing new conveniences, including washing machines, refrigerators, cars and other luxuries that would have once seemed unattainable. The boys call me a Sunday School girl because I will not smoke, drink or kiss, said one anonymous participant. The notion that anyone can be a millionaire was strong in the 1920s, Hendley says, and never went away.. The frontiers of capitalist innovation always attract investment scams, and there were many such frontiers in the 1920s, fed by technological inventionradio, airplanes, telephony, electrification, chemical breakthroughsand the associated more general economic boom of the era, explains Edward J. Balleisen, a professor of history and public policy at Duke University and author of the 2017 book Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff. 1. The shocking expose not only opened the floodgates for other women to declare similar affairs, it actually ended up getting Clinton impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. As the games continued, the party noticed Gordon-Cumming was altering his bet after the cards had been dealt. Koretz was an accomplished actor who lived a lie for most of his life, playing the role of millionaire oil baron who was willing to share his success with his relatives and friends, explains Dean Jobb, a journalism professor at University of Kings College in Nova Scotia and author of the 2015 book Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated a Nation. Chaplin was not alone. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Politics in the 1920s - CliffsNotes Much of the hand-wringing about petting parties focused on the supposed immorality of the young woman who attended them. She also attracted her share of inappropriate attention, including untoward advances from 50-something Stanford White. Later, it was revealed that some of the money allocated for the weapons was funneled secretly to Nicaragua to support the anti-communist Contras, counter to a law barring the U.S. government from supporting them. Stompanato wooed Lana with flowers and phone calls while she was filming The Lady Takes a Flyer, and unaware of his reputation and mob contacts, she began dating him. The newspapers made this incident Hollywood's first truly major scandal. Public outcry in America was strong, and Senator Edwin Jackson railed against her in the US Senate. Boston indecency laws led to the phrase -, which became a term of - among those who supported artistic freedom. Ordinary members of the public could sit down at the breakfast table and over tea and toast, read every juicy, salacious, delicious detail of who did what and to whom. Wikimedia. After an outcry and trial, all copies were burnt and their sale prohibited.. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. That eagerness played right into the hands of the Roaring Twenties legions of fast-talking promoters, charlatans and outright swindlers, who enticed the would-be wealthy with scores of seemingly foolproof schemesfrom stock in companies that didnt really exist, to speculation in Florida real estate or California oilfields, to Boston-based conman Charles Ponzis promise that investors could make a 50 percent return in 90 days time by investing in a bizarre plan to redeem overseas postal coupons. He insisted their marriage was invalid because of their religious differenceshe was Catholic and she was Protestant. She succeeded in trashing Chaplins reputation while relieving him of $800,000 (about $11 million today). She had been mangled in a manner similar to some of the victims of the notorious London killer Jack the Ripper; eviscerated, dismembered, exsanguinated, and then posed. Arbuckle was formally barred from acting by a newly formed censorship board, and the press and public subjected him to continuous condemnation, as well as ridicule over his substantial girth. When she learned that he had similarly stalked other actresses (including Zsa Zsa Gabor and June Allyson) and of his underworld contacts, she broke off their affair. But they also came to an end because the flappers who dared to pet in public helped make open sexual expression more commonplace. When The Washington Post published a glossary of the flappers philosophy in 1922, it defined life as One long petting party accompanied by jazz. Publisher Methuen was nervous off the bat, fearing the UKs Obscene Publications Act of 1857 would bring trouble; they even resorted to edits without Lawrences knowledge. She was never tainted by scandal because she welcomed the controversy, as evidenced by her once saying of cocaine, Cocaine isnt habit forming and I know because Ive been taking it for years., The secret cross dresser J. Edgar Hoover kept personal files on hundreds of people in part to protect himself from blackmail and innuendo. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. In 1874, it was revealed that he had fathered an illegitimate child and was paying the mother support. Franchot Tone was a film and stage star of sufficient stature to marry Joan Crawford in 1935. She was committed to an asylum. She neither confirmed nor denied her sexuality, referring to herself in one interview as ambisexual. Others, however, have faded into obscurity, even though the public indulged in their salaciousness during their heyday.