Anyone who says society was milder back in the old days doesn't remember Hedda Hopper. When The L.A. Times launched the infamous gossip column "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" in 1938, its writer quickly became the most feared person showbiz.
Spencer Tracy once confronted Hopper at Ciro's and kicked her in the behind for printing a "blind item" on his affair with Katharine Hepburn. ZaSu Pitts compared her to a ferret and Joan Bennett actually had a live skunk delivered to her. The Sweet Smell of Success' J.J. Hunsucker is said to be partially based on her. If you were a star from 1940-1965, there was no escaping her clutches.
As famous for her flamboyant hats as she was for outing Hollywood's Blacklist in her columns, "The Most Hated Women in Hollywood" (according the New York Post) relished in the glamour of it all. But rubbing elbows didn't make her any less cut-throat. "If you didn't take her call, you were dead," the Post article dishes. "If you lied to her, you were dead. If you gave a good story to her rival Louella Parsons — you were dead."
