| Hollywoodland | May 31 2010 |
The ruin of Troy.
Above, a cover from On the Q.T., May 1962, with curious editors asking if Hollywood heartthrob Troy Donahue beat his girlfriend, Swedish actress Lili Kardell. She said yes. He said no. A lawsuit resulted and Donohue settled out of court. As far as we know, the question of whether he actually beat her was never answered, but curiously, none of his four marriages lasted long, including a union with Suzanne Pleshette that endured a mere three months. Suffice it to say Donahue had trouble in relationships, probably due to his admitted booze and drug problems, yet there were always women willing to take the leap. He was engaged to be married for a fifth time in 2001, but died of a heart attack that September.
Elsewhere in this issue readers are told the story of British socialite Caroline Lindsay-Flynn, who posed for "THOSE" pictures—supposedly hundreds of nudes that eventually were sold under the counter all over the UK. On the Q.T. claims Lindsay-Finn had been compelled to pose for the shots by her boyfriend Arthur Pritchard, but when she discovered they were being sold en masse ran to her millionaire father for help. Father said he'd buy up all the negatives, but that she had to dump her boyfriend. She refused, and that's where On the Q.T.'s account ends.
Sounds like typical tabloid fantasy, but amazingly we found a reference to the tale in the German magazine Der Spiegel, where Lindsay-Finn is labeled a "fallen star of English society" and a "call-girl." And we also discovered that she and Pritchard were arrested in January of 1963 and charged with obscenity for distributing the photos. She was acquitted of the charges, but we don't know what happened to her afterward. Very possibly she'll pop up in one of our other tabloids down the line. Scans of Donahue, Lindsay-Finn, French bikini pants and more, below. And more from On the Q.T. later.
GermanyBritainOn the Q.T.Der SpiegelTroy DonahueLili KardellAlma SharpSuzanne PleshetteArthur PritchardCaroline Lindsay-FynnFabiantabloid
