Shirley Temple’s extraordinary talent and popularity led some to infamously theorize that she wasn’t a child, but rather an adult dwarf. Intriguingly, upon hearing these rumors, the Vatican intervened, instructing a priest to verify that she was indeed a child, thus putting such conversations to rest.
World War II prompted several iconic figures from the 40s to engage in espionage activities. Notable amongst these was the enigmatic figure, Josephine Baker, who resided in Nazi-controlled France. Her modus operandi involved dancing and mingling with Nazi personnel until they offered invaluable military information.
Josephine Baker’s brilliant plan involved writing down the gathered intel using invisible ink, which she would then discreetly hide it in her lingerie. Meanwhile, baseball legend Moe Berg served the Office of Strategic Services, a forerunner to the present-day CIA. His most crucial mission involved a potential assassination of Werner Heisenberg, a German scientist believed to be close to developing an atomic bomb.
Meanwhile, renowned chef Julia Child also served in the Office of Strategic Services before her fame. Perhaps her most intriguing assignment was developing ‘cake’-like concoctions to fend off sharks. Similarly, Hollywood icon Cary Grant committed his charm and persona to identifying Nazi sympathizers in Hollywood, most notably Count Kurt von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow, a German aristocrat.
One fascinating moment led Cary Grant to marry the same heiress, Barbara Woolworth Hutton, who previously was wed to the German Count. Amidst these intriguing stories, Audrey Hepburn, still a child during World War II, performed at confidential concerts in the Netherlands. These performances were aimed to aid the Dutch resistance, while simultaneously evading detection or retribution by the German forces.
There’s also Coco Chanel, whose reputation underwent a considerable hit after World War II, when she was identified as a Nazi informer. Despite her ties with the Nazi Abwehr intelligence agency, her arrest by the French authorities led to her subsequent release, likely facilitated by influential figures like Winston Churchill and due to insufficient evidence.
Chanel’s Nazi affiliations, as well as her alleged anti-Semitic sentiments, remained under wraps for many decades after the war. On a different spectrum of the war experience, comedy actress Lucille Ball shared her rather peculiar interaction with war-time technology, where she picked up Morse code signals through her dental fillings.
Outside the sphere of war, Hollywood served its share of unique narratives, including Cary Grant’s experimentation with LSD in the 1950s as a therapeutic attempt to deal with past traumas. One of the more scandalous stories involves Eartha Kitt’s reported tryst involving both James Dean and Paul Newman.
Old Hollywood is teeming with such sexual escapades that, while unconfirmed, still make interesting stories. One such rumor revolves around the sexually charged, S&M-influenced relationship between James Dean and Marlon Brando. Meanwhile, renowned writer Ernest Hemingway once had to reassure a distressed F. Scott Fitzgerald about the size of his genitals in a candid conversation, after Zelda Fitzgerald’s disparaging comments.
Sharing an insight into his private life, James Joyce wrote passionate letters to his wife, Nora Barnacle, some of which included peculiar praises about her flatulence. Famous for her mystery novels, Agatha Christie captivated public attention when she vanished for 11 days in 1926. Despite theories suggesting it was a promotional stunt, the true reason for her baffling disappearance remains unresolved.
Adding to the string of near-miss experiences in Hollywood, had Steve McQueen not decided on a whim to spend the night with another woman, he could have been a victim of the notorious Manson family killings along with Sharon Tate and others. Charles Manson himself had quite a connection with Hollywood’s elite, such as Dennis Wilson and Mike Love of Beach Boys fame.
Manson’s relationship with Wilson was so strong that Manson and his acquaintances briefly resided at Wilson’s house. The friendship soured when Wilson claimed to have witnessed Manson commit a murder, which remains contested. Marilyn Monroe’s final spoken words were allegedly to actor Peter Lawford, in which she bid farewell to JFK, sparking rumors of a romantic affair between her and the then-President.
Suspicion also arose that Robert F. Kennedy visited Monroe the night of her death, fueled by the housekeeper, Eunice Murray, who found the actress deceased and insisted she saw Robert Kennedy at the home. Natalie Wood, known for films like ‘West Side Story’, also met with an unnerving fate. On a weekend-away while filming ‘Brainstorm’ with her husband Robert Wagner, she mysteriously drowned.
Adding to the mystery, Natalie Wood was found with bruises that suggested an assault. The boat’s captain, Dennis Davern, reportedly confessed years later to Wood’s sister about witnessing Wagner push Wood overboard, refusing to help her later, although this claim remains unconfirmed. Long-standing rumors about Loretta Young’s adopted daughter later confirmed to be her biological daughter with Clark Gable were acknowledged years after in Young’s memoirs.
Lastly, we dive into the eccentric life of Errol Flynn, whose antics include a past job involving sheep castration with his teeth and an indecent roadside confrontation with Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper. David Niven recalls Flynn’s invite to scout ‘the best-looking girls in L.A.,’ which ultimately led them to Hollywood High school as students were being let out.