Hollywoodland

July 5 2022

DEEP INSIDE

Inside Story goes where other tabloids tread—then claims not to have gone there.

It’s been a few years since we posted an issue of Inside Story, but we don’t run out of tabloids, we just run out of time to scan them. Today, though, there’s time aplenty, so above you see an issue that appeared this month in 1963 with a cover touting a feature on the new generation of young actresses in Hollywood taking over from Brigitte Bardot, Kim Novak, and Marilyn Monroe. At the time, Bardot was twenty-nine and Novak was thirty-five. Those aren’t exactly geriatric years for actresses, even back then, but Inside Story said there was a young new guard: Angie Dickinson, Ann-Margret, Jane Fonda, Connie Stevens, Tuesday Weld, and Julie Newmar. Dickinson was actually older than both Bardot and Novak, but we get the general point.

Later in the issue there’s a story dedicated to Monroe that describes her fans as a death cult. The interesting aspect of this is that the author Kevin Flaherty accuses people of obsessing over Monroe—while himself obsessing over Monroe. The gist of his article is that a cottage industry of films, books, and magazine articles were cashing in on her suicide, which had occurred the previous August. This was, of course, shaky ground for any tabloid to tread upon, as they all made their profits via unauthorized articles about various celebrities, which one could define as exploitative by nature. But never let the facts get in the way of a good story angle.

Flaherty tells readers that Monroe’s life was marred by abandonment, depression, and rape, and suggests that if she had been given a little peace by constantly clamoring fans and intrusive reporters she might not have taken that fatal dose of pills. We think it’s just as valid to conclude that without stardom she wouldn’t have lasted as long as she did. Since she isn’t around anymore to speak for herself (she’d be ninety-six this year), we view her on the terms she chose. She started as a model and worked hard to become an actress, and we think those achievements are far more important than what she had no control over. But there will always be debate over Monroe’s legacy, and Inside Story shows that the discussion was already in full swing. Twenty-plus scans below.

Intl. Notebook

August 17 2017

SUN KISSED SWEDE

May Britt is spotted in Triunfo magazine.

The Spanish magazine Triunfo wasn’t the most graphically beautiful of magazines, but it did publish rare celeb photos, such as the colorful cover at top of an amazingly freckled May Britt, and the centerspread of Italian star Anna Karina. Elsewhere in the issue are shots from Marilyn Monroe’s funeral, Paola de Bélgica’s shopping spree, Ava Gardner’s bullfight, and Catherine Deneuve’s wedding, plus Betsy Drake, Cary Grant, James Dean, and current fashions. We’ve shared several of those rare Triunfocenterfolds in the past, and they’re all worth a look. You can see them here, here, here, and here.

Spain, Belgium, Triunfo, May Britt, Catherine Deneuve, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Paola de Bélgica, Betsy Drake, Cary Grant, James Dean, Anna Karina, magazine art

Hollywoodland

August 18 2015

MEETING HER MATCH

Paris Match offers a retrospective of Monroe from childhood to superstardom.

Marilyn Monroe was perhaps the most photographed celebrity of her era, so when she died it was only natural that scores of magazines released tribute issues. One of the most comprehensive was published by Paris Match today in 1962, just shy of two weeks after Monroe’s death, and it featured a thirty-six page retrospective of her life and career. Above you see the cover of that issue, and below you’ll find all of the accompanying photographs, including several that have been less widely seen, such as those near the bottom showing her making faces while doing acting exercises. We have scans from another Monroe tribute issue made just after her death—this one by Italy’s Epoca—and you can see those here.

France, Paris Match, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Clark Gable, cinema

Hollywoodland

September 25 2013

ERR RAID

Who’s that knocking at my door?

This issue of Confidential from this month in 1955 was one of the magazine’s high points (or low points, depending on your perspective). In this issue the world learned about the infamous Wrong Door Raid in which a group of men that included Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra broke down an apartment door in West Hollywood in an attempt to catch DiMaggio’s ex-wife Marilyn Monroe in bed with another man. We’ll let Confidential describe the delicious scene:

The human battering ram backed up and struck again—four or five times in all—before the hinges gave, the door toppled with a terrible crash, and his momentum carried him sailing inside. The rest of the amateur raiders tumbled right after him. A faint light coming from the window told the private eye they were in a bedroom. Any further confirmation he needed was coming from the bed in the form of shrill screams. The investigator had a camera slung around his neck and—without waiting for the lights to be turned on—he blasted away with his flash bulbs.

At some point, DiMaggio and Co. realized that it wasn’t Monroe in the bed and that they had invaded the wrong apartment. Cue panicked retreat, overturned furniture, broken glass, the works. The story is well known today and you can read full accounts on various websites, but

we thought we’d share this cover anyway because we love the photo Confidential chose for Monroe, and the entire episode is a reminder of how bland modern day celebrity scandals really are.

Confidential basked in the glow of its exposé, but events turned sour rather quickly. Even though DiMaggio, Sinatra and the rest were the ones who had broken the law (or several laws), and Confidential had merely reported the truth, Hollywood was fed up. The stars and studios mounted a concerted push in the state legislature, which resulted in indictments against the magazine. With the constant threat of lawsuits hanging over Confidential like a cloud, publisher Robert Harrison made a deal to refrain from writing about stars’ private lives. One of his biggest scoops had helped lead to his magazine’s de-fanging.

Hollywood, Confidential, Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Robert Harrison, tabloid

Intl. Notebook

August 29 2013

NOW YOU SE IT

They may have looked like a match made in heaven, but their marriage was hell.

Se was founded in 1938 and was Sweden’s first photo magazine, basically repackaging the Life and Look formula. In fact “se” means “look” or “see” in Swedish. During World War II (during which Sweden was neutral) the magazine became a leading voice against Nazism and Swedish Nazi-appeasers. The 1970s saw its circulation dip, and the editorial staff turned toward nude images as a way to maintain market share. The magazine finally closed down in 1981. Se made Marilyn Monroe its cover star numerous times, and the above issue featuring Monroe and her new husband Joe DiMaggio appeared in early 1954. Monroe and DiMaggio had a turbulent marriage, and a short one—274 days after the wedding she filed for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty. Several sources claim that DiMaggio was violent toward Monroe. We were able to dig up several covers from the years 1954 to 1957, which you see below. We’re interested in this publication and so we’ll try to buy some full issues to share later.

Sweden, World War II, Se Magazine, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, cinema, baseball, nazis

Vintage Pulp

January 27 2012

SMART GUY

Some decisions are so clear they don’t need explaining.

Top Secret packs plenty of celebs onto the cover of this issue published this month in 1958, but gives center position to the relatively unknown Elsa Sorensen, the 1955 Miss Denmark referred to here as “that nude model.” Sorensen was indeed a nude model—she was a 1956 Playboy centerfold under her own name, and afterward continued modeling nude under the name Dane Arden. Top Secret editors claim to know why multi-million-selling pop singer Guy Mitchell married her, but we don’t need their help to figure that out. See below.

Playboy, Top Secret, Guy Mitchell, Eartha Kitt, Sidney Poitier, Elsa Sorenesen, Dane Arden, Marlon Brando, Joe DiMaggio, Martha Dodd, tabloid, nudity

Vintage Pulp

December 9 2010

MARILYN FRANKLY

What do you say to a naked lady?

This Confidential from December 1963 offers up several great stories, including an item on a supposed feud between Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra over Marilyn Monroe, who had died the previous year. Confidential contends that DiMaggio considered Sinatra to be part of a too-fast crowd from which Monroe had picked up numerous bad habits that eventually contributed to her death. DiMaggio also supposedly hated Sinatra because Monroe had moved into Sinatra’s Las Vegas house after her marriage to DiMaggio fell apart in 1954. According to most biographers, Monroe and Sinatra became sexually involved around then. The most repeated story concerning the actual genesis of the affair has Sinatra waking one morning and entering his kitchen to find a nude Monroe peering into his refrigerator. According to the story she turned, startled, and said, “Oh Frankie, I didn’t know you got up so early.” From that point forward he was getting up pretty much constantly. Is this tale true? We don’t know, nor does anybody else, probably. But we want to believe.

Las Vegas, Confidential, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, tabloid

Hollywoodland

November 23 2009

FRANKLY SPEAKING

For Sinatra, every year was a very good year.

The publishers of The Lowdown went for titillation overload on this screamingly bright November 1961 cover, managing to hit several of the hot button issues of the day, from birth control to lesbianism. Frank Sinatra gets the star treatment here, and The Lowdown actually gets one right—Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe (bottom left) were involved in 1961, around the same time her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio (second from left) was growing concerned about the people around her and asked her to remarry him in hopes of stabilizing her life. Was Sinatra one of the people DiMaggio distrusted? Perhaps, but Monroe said no to Joe’s proposal and was dead the next year.

As for Sinatra and Brigitte Bardot (bottom right), we can’t find any references to the two being involved, but they did meet during 1959 to discuss co-starring in a film to be helmed by Bardot’s ex-husband Roger Vadim (second from right). After the three of them talked about the project for a couple of days the idea fell through because Bardot didn’t want to work in Hollywood and Sinatra didn’t want to work in Paris. Did Sinatra and Bardot manage to sneak off for some international relations? We tend to doubt it—in addition to traveling with her ex-husband Vadim (who surely would have frowned on her cheating), she was married to actor/producer Jacques Charrier. Still, you can’t really put anything past Sinatra. But short of reading every Hollywood tell-all ever published, we just can’t say whether he and Bardot got together. The Lowdown hints yes, but take it for what it’s worth.

Paris, Hollywood, Lowdown, Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot, Roger Vadim, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Jacques Charrier, tabloid

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 11

1976—China Coup Thwarted

The new head of the Chinese Communist Party, Hua Goufeng, snuffs out a coup led by Chairman Mao’s widow Jiang Qing and three other party members. They become known as the Gang of Four, and are tried, found guilty of treason, and receive death sentences that are later commuted to lengthy prison terms.

October 11

1987—Loch Ness Expedition Ends

A sonar exploration of Scotland’s Loch Ness, called Operation Deepscan, ends after a week without finding evidence that the legendary Loch Ness Monster exists. While the flotilla of boats had picked up three sonar contacts indicating something large in the waters, these are considered to be detections of salmon schools or possibly seals.

October 10

1971—London Bridge Goes Up

After being sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in the resort town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

October 10

1975—Burton and Taylor Marry Again

British actor Richard Burton and American screen star Elizabeth Taylor secretly remarry sixteen months after their divorce, then jet away to a second honeymoon in Chobe Game Park in Botswana.

October 9

A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed in Bolivia. In an attempt to make it appear as though he had been killed resisting Bolivian troops, the executioner shoots Guevara with a machine gun, wounding him nine times in the legs, arm, shoulder, throat, and chest.

October 8

1918—Sgt. York Becomes a Hero

During World War I, in the Argonne Forest in France, America Corporal Alvin C. York leads an attack on a German machine gun nest that kills 25 and captures 132. He is a corporal during the event, but is promoted to sergeant as a result. He also earns Medal of Honor from the U.S., the Croix de Guerre from the French Republic, and the Croce di Guerra from Italy and Montenegro. Stateside, he is celebrated as a hero, and Hollywood even makes a movie entitled Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper.

October 8

1956—Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

The New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series against hated rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is the only perfect game in World Series history, as well as the only no-hitter.