i remember mama with Sophie Rosenstein not quite and uh Old Truck Line Cafe oh

yeah Truck Line Cafe old Hollywood is full of secrets and so were its stars

many of them kept their family histories hidden from the public some of these secrets were so disturbing and

unimaginable they were buried for decades today we’re going to unveil the

hidden family stories that legendary actors tried to keep from the world these revelations were found in

biographies band books and forgotten archives it took us months to uncover

them so stay tuned and enjoy the journey raymond Burr’s Phantom Wife and child to

conceal his truth as the star of TV’s Perry Mason actor Raymond Burr presented

a suave upstanding image widowed according to studio lore after a tragic

young love it turns out this backstory was pure fiction in reality Burr was gay

and felt compelled to hide that fact in the 1950s when homosexuality would

derail a leading man’s career your husband pays me to run his plantation not to be killed by the heat it’s part

of the job rubber is going up in price every day i can’t get enough workmen when I do they run away to go into

business for themselves so he and his publicity team concocted an elaborate personal history burr claimed he had

once been married to a Scottish woman named Annette Sutherland who died in a plane crash and that he had a young son

who died of leukemia these were complete lies neither the wife nor son ever

existed burr did marry once in the 1940s to actress Isabella Ward but it was

short-lived and childless in later interviews he would recite the tale of his deceased wife and child to deflect

inquiries about why he was unmarried reporters who pressed too hard got the curt response “I don’t discuss that.”

and usually dropped the subject behind the scenes Burr maintained a 35-year

relationship with his male partner Robert Benvdites discreetly living as a

couple on their vineyard only a handful of close friends knew the truth the press dutifully repeated Burr’s

fabricated tragedies throughout his run as a TV star never realizing it was a smokeokc screen it was not until after

Burr’s death in 1993 that his biography Hiding in Plain Sight revealed the Fulham

extent of his invented life the public learned that the picture perfect backstory of Raymond Burr’s family was a

studio sanctioned illusion to protect an actor who in that era felt he had no

choice but to mask his true self it’s a striking example of Hollywood’s closet

burr literally created phantom family members to fill the void where his truth could not be spoken mary Aster’s purple

diary heirs her dirty laundry in 1936

Demure character actress Mary Aster found herself at the center of one of Hollywood’s earliest sex scandals one

that revolved around her secret journal aster was embroiled in a bitter custody

battle with her ex-husband Dr franklin Thorp over their four-year-old daughter

thorp stole Aster’s private diary and threatened to use it in court to prove she was an unfit mother the diary

allegedly contained Aster’s frank descriptions of her multiple love affairs including an affair with

playwright George S kaufman noted in Purple Inc earning it the moniker the

Purple Diary in the press when news of the diary’s existence broke it caused a

sensation in an America still reeling from the depression readers devoured the

salacious details aster’s image as a respectable actress was on the line the

studios feared ruin if all her sexual secret spilled out during the trial

crowds packed the courtroom and newspaper vendors outside hawkked hot dogs and popcorn like it was a sporting

event i’m sorry Don i couldn’t help it what did you mean by telling that woman that Peggy and her mother were coming

down here but Don I had to you did not yes I did aster’s personal life was laid

bare in testimony it was arguably Hollywood’s first big custody scandal

and certainly its first major leaked diary aster however refused to be shamed

she took the stand and calmly explained that yes she had loved other men during her unhappy marriage but that didn’t

make her a bad mother in a savvy PR move her lawyer got the judge to seal and

later burned the most explicit pages of the diary and much of its contents never became public am I to blame for last

night well you warned us that Thursday was dangerous of course you lied to us about your sister and all that but that didn’t count we didn’t believe you no I

I wouldn’t say that you were at fault aster won custody of her daughter in the end though the scandal briefly

threatened her career she went on to win an Oscar a few years later still the

legend of Mary Aster’s diary lives on as an example of a star’s intimate secrets

nearly derailing her it was said to be the scandal that knocked Hitler off the front page the trial also foreshadowed

modern celebrity scandals proving that even in 1936 audiences had an appetite for the

private indiscretions of the stars patty Duke’s son a paternity

puzzle finally solved and isn’t 65 flunking we But French is a motheaten

drag i mean it’d be different if I were going to marry some Frenchmen and have to speak French but I’ll probably make the big splash with Richard someday in

the 1960s Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke found herself in a predicament that

old Hollywood knew all too well an unplanned pregnancy with uncertain paternity and enormous pressure to keep

things quiet in 1970 at age 23 Duke gave

birth to a son Shawn at the time she was married to actor Michael Tel but that

was a quickie marriage of just 13 days largely to quell gossip she had also

been romantically involved with teen idol Daisy Arnaz Jr and actor John Aston

around the same time the situation was a publicist’s nightmare the press wildly

speculated who the father was while Duke herself wasn’t entirely sure to avoid a

scandal she impulsively married Michael Tel a virtual stranger during the pregnancy then anulled it later claiming

the baby was John Aton’s aston and Duke kept their affair clandestine until

after Shaun’s birth after which Aston divorced and married Patty Duke jointly

raising Shawn for years Shawn Aston believed John Aston was his biological

dad however when Shawn was a teenager Patty Duke confessed that actually Daisy

Arnaz Jr was his father a revelation that understandably threw the young

Shawn for a loop in the 1990s a then adult Shaun Aston sought the truth once

and for all he underwent DNA testing with all three potential fathers John

Aston Desi Arnaz Jr and the longforgotten Michael Tell the result

shocked everyone shawn’s biological father was Michael Tell the man Duke had

married on a whim this outcome was ironic given Tell and Duke never

consummated their brief marriage it’s believed Shawn was actually conceived earlier but genetic testing proved Tell

was the father nonetheless patty Duke was floored by the result but Shawn

embraced having clarity he also made the wise choice to define fatherhood beyond

biology maintaining loving relationships with John Aston and Desi Jr as well as

getting to know Tel this decadesl long secret was one of Hollywood’s more convoluted paternity coverups at the

time to protect Duke’s cleancut image the subdri was deemed necessary the

truth only fully emerged many years later showing that even in more modern Hollywood stars and studios still

scrambled to hide messy family situations often at the expense of the child who was kept in the dark the

secret love child of Clark Gable and Loretta Young in 1935 devout Catholic

actress Loretta Young found herself pregnant after an affair with Clark Gable the married king of Hollywood you

could have skipped that you’re only making it tougher on everybody

oh put your arms around me during filming of Call of the Wild

fearing ruin in an era when unwed motherhood could end a career Young staged an elaborate cover up she

disappeared from Hollywood gave birth in secret and months later adopted a baby

girl named Judy for years Judy was presented as Young’s adopted daughter

even Judy herself didn’t know her true parentage young never told Gable about

the pregnancy and Gable never acknowledged the child judy grew up noticing her resemblance to Gable but

when she questioned Loretta her mother indignantly dismissed the rumors the

painful truth finally emerged publicly in 1958 when a tabloid hinted at Judy’s

parentage and fully in 1994 with Judy Lewis’s memoir Uncommon Knowledge

lewis wrote of confronting Loretta in 1966 unleashing all the years of hurt

and abandonment only in her 80s did Loretta Young quietly admit Judy was her

biological child this once grievous secret reveals the extreme lengths

golden age stars went to in order to protect their wholesome images charlie

Chaplan’s underage bride and hidden pregnancy silent film legend charlie

Chaplan became embroiled in scandal in 1924 when 16-year-old actress Lita Gray

originally cast in his film The Gold [Music]

Rush became pregnant with his child at 35 Chaplan faced possible charges under

California’s strict laws against sex with a minor so he hastily arranged a secret marriage in Mexico to avoid legal

trouble the wedding was kept quiet and low profile as Chaplain studio feared

public outrage chaplan had allegedly even pressured Lita to undergo an

illegal abortion to prevent the birth according to her later divorce filings

ultimately Lita gave birth to two sons in quick succession and the marriage

rapidly deteriorated amid Chaplan’s serial infidelity and neglect when Lita

Gay Chaplan filed for divorce in 1927 the proceedings exposed lurid details

from her 50-page complaint including allegations of Chaplan’s perversity making front page news and titilating

the public a judge ordered Chaplain to pay one of the largest divorce settlements in history at the time the

scandal could have destroyed Chaplan’s career but he survived it unlike his next paternity scandal in the 1940s

still for decades the full truth of Chaplain’s secret teenage wife and the pregnancy he tried to cover up was

downplayed in official studio biographies it remains one of old Hollywood’s most shocking family secrets

showing even comedy kings had dark personal dramas behind the scenes judy

Garland’s father and the family’s flight from scandal judy Garland beloved as the

innocent Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz grew up with a secret family shame her

father Frank Gum was a small town theater manager with a predilction that was dangerous in the 1920s he was

rumored to have sexual encounters with young men including teenage boys in

Garland’s hometown of Grand Rapids Minnesota whispers grew that Frank’s relationships with local male youths had

crossed the line in 1926 when Judy was just four a scandal prompted the family

to suddenly flee Grand Rapids the rumors and scandals got to be judy’s daughter

Lorna Luft later wrote before the Gums hastily relocated to California there

they hoped for a fresh start far from the gossip young Judy was told not to

mention the true reason for their move the secret clouded her childhood her

parents’ marriage was turbulent marked by separations and reconciliations that the little girl couldn’t understand

though it’s impossible to verify the extent of Frank Gum’s misdeeds Judy herself later acknowledged that her

family had to leave town because of her father’s behavior with young men the

irony is stark while audiences saw a wholesome fantasy on screen offscreen

Judy Garland’s early life was shaped by a family secret involving alleged sexual

scandal this painful background kept quiet in publicity materials contributed

to the insecurity and longing for stability that Judy felt all her life

merl Oberon’s hidden heritage and fake identity during Hollywood’s golden age

mixed race ancestry was considered a career killer for a leading lady actress

Merl Oberon renowned for her beauty in films like Weathering Heights went to extraordinary lengths to hide her true

origins oberon claimed to be a white Australian born in Tasmania a fabricated

backstory invented by the studio to mask her biracial heritage in reality she was

born in 1911 in Bombay India to a mother of South Asian descent and a British

father even more scandalous Merl’s mother was only 12 years old at the time

of Merl’s birth the result of her mother’s rape by Merl’s British grandfather to dodge the stigma of

illegitimacy and colonial racism Merurl was raised believing her grandmother was

her mother and that her mother was her older sister when Merl moved to England

and later Hollywood to pursue stardom she and her first husband concocted the fiction that she was from hobnobbing

Tasmanian gentry the secret of her mixed race parentage was so guarded that

Oberon avoided close-ups and strong lighting later in life to conceal her darker complexion and pockmarked skin

she even kept her own husband and children in the dark not until after Oberon’s death in 1979 did researchers

uncover her birth certificate in Indian archives confirming the long suspected truth merl Oberon’s carefully crafted

persona stands as a dramatic example of Hollywood’s obsession with image it was

a lie lived so completely that it wasn’t exposed until decades after the curtain

fell gloria Graham’s scandalous affair with her teenage stepson oscar-winning

actress Gloria Graham had a sultry on-screen persona but her most scandalous affair unfolded off-screen

and was kept tightly under wraps in the mid 1950s Graham’s marriage to director

Nicholas Ray imploded in spectacular fashion when Rey came home early one day

in 1951 and allegedly found Gloria in bed with his 13-year-old son Tony rey was

horrified to catch his wife in a compromising situation with her own stepson he swiftly separated from Graham

but the true reason was kept secret from the public for over a decade graham and

Nicholas Ray divorced in 1952 very quietly astonishingly Gloria Graham

continued the relationship with Tony Ray after he grew up she married other men in the interim but once Tony was of age

they reunited and married each other in 1960 in a secret ceremony in Tijuana

Mexico by then Tony was 23 and Gloria 37

former stepson and stepmother legally wed this highly unorthodox marriage was

revealed in 1962 during a child custody fight between Graham and another

ex-husband when the press got wind that Graham’s fourth husband was her former stepson Hollywood was genuinely shocked

the studios had managed to keep Graham’s taboo affair out of the gossip columns throughout the 1950s but once it became

public her reputation never recovered she found herself largely blacklisted

over the scandal it’s a story almost too outrageous for fiction a glamorous

starlet carrying on with and later marrying the boy who used to call her

mom gloria Graham’s hidden affair remains one of Hollywood’s most jaw-dropping family secrets bing Crosby

wholesome father figure with an abusive streak on camera Bing Crosby was the

genial embodiment of fatherhood in movies like Going My Way off camera

however Crosby’s home life was deeply troubled a fact long kept from the

public in 1983 six years after Bing’s death his eldest son Gary Crosby

published a memoir Going My Own Way that exposed years of emotional and physical

abuse the Kuner inflicted on his four sons from his first marriage according

to Gary Bing was an aloof disciplinarian father who delivered brutal whipping

with a belt sometimes until he drew blood he enforced harsh rules about diet

and behavior and if the boys deviated they paid dearly the picture Gary

painted was startlingly at odds with Bing’s kindly public persona two of

Gary’s brothers corroborated some of the abuse claims though one brother Philip

disputed them as exaggerated gary wrote that their childhood was devoid of normal affection

their famous father was cold controlling and quick to anger crosby’s second

family insisted he was a loving dad to them highlighting how carefully this secret was managed crosby in his later

years publicly played the role of doing patriarch while the trauma of his first set of children was kept out of sight at

the time of Gary’s revelations many fans refused to believe Derbingal could be so

cruel but over the years additional accounts have supported Gary’s story the

image of America’s Christmas kuner was forever tarnished today Bing Crosby’s

legacy carries an asterisk behind the cheery singalongs was a family in pain

suffering abuse that was swept under the rug until long after the spotlight dimmed joan Crawford’s children Mommy

Dearest and secret adoption drama few Hollywood secrets exploded as publicly

as the hidden private life of Joan Crawford one of the biggest stars of the 1930s and 40s oncreen Crawford often

played strong-willed women at home she was a fiercely private mother of four

adopted children only after her death did the shocking truth of her parenting emerge in 1978 her eldest daughter

Christina published Mommy Dearest alleging that Joan Crawford was an alcoholic and abusive adoptive mother

who subjected Christina and her brother Christopher to nightly beatings degrading punishments and psychological

torment christina recounted being slapped whipped with hangers and even

choked in a rage by Crawford a far cry from the loving mother Joan portrayed in

publicity photos the book painted Crawford as a narcissist more in love with her fame than her kids calling her

the real wicked witch of the West joan’s two younger twins denied the abuse but

Christina’s memoir became a cause celebra and was made into a Hollywood film it turned no wire hangers into a

notorious catchphrase attributed to Crawford’s tirades beyond the abuse claims Crawford’s adoption history had

its own dark secrets she adopted five children in total and it later came out

that her youngest two were obtained through the Tennessee Children’s Home Society an infamous baby trafficking

ring run by Georgia Tan crawford likely did not know of the illicit practices

but the circumstances of her acquiring those babies were murky joan kept tight

control over her image as a devoted mother even as behind closed doors her

family life was crumbling the publication of Mommy Dearest blew the

lid off that carefully managed image the world was stunned to learn that the Grande Dam of MGM was allegedly a terror

at home wielding abuse and cruelty where she showed smiles on camera whether

entirely true or somewhat exaggerated the legend of Joan Crawford’s monstrous

motherhood endures as one of Hollywood’s darkest family secrets one the star took

to her grave and which her daughter exposed with a vengeance rita Hworth’s childhood trauma

concealed by Hollywood glamour with her shimmering beauty and iconic dance routines Rita Hworth was the 1940s

ultimate bombshell dubbed the love goddess but Hworth’s sultry smile masked

a horrifying family secret from a young age she was sexually abused by her own

father eduardo Canino was a Spanish-born dancer who made his young daughter his

partner in a family dance act on their touring circuit Eduardo raped Rita

repeatedly during her early adolescence a fact she confided years later to her

third husband Orson Wells her biographer confirms that Rita’s mother Vulga knew

something was wrong she even slept in the same bed as teenaged Rita when she could trying to protect her but the

abuse continued in secret in the patriarchal image conscious studio system such a scandal would have ended

Rita’s career before it began so it remained completely hidden from the public hworth herself once lamented “I

didn’t have childhood.” A subtle reference to the innocence stolen from her the psychological scars manifested

in her tumultuous love life five broken marriages including to Wells and Prince

Ali Khan and a pattern of choosing controlling or abusive men wells later

said the abuse cut her soul and twisted her she could never find lasting

happiness in the 1940s Rita Hworth’s shocking origin story was known only to

a few she buried it under a new identity and a vivacious on-screen persona not

until decades later did the full truth of her childhood emerge in biographies

the ultimate sex symbol had been a victim of incest and pedophilic abuse it

is a testament to Hollywood’s power to manufacture illusion that someone enduring such trauma could appear so

tantalizingly carefree on film her dark family secret thoroughly concealed

behind the studios silver sparkle spencer Tracy’s double life and guilt-ridden family secret on the

surface actor Spencer Tracy was a Hollywood success story two Oscars a

devout Catholic family man and later a famous long-term romance with Katherine

Hepburn but Tracy’s private life was marked by profound guilt and a secret

domestic arrangement that defied the public image of the era in 1924 Tracy’s

first child John Tracy was born deaf spencer an Irish American Catholic was

devastated by his son’s disability and irrationally blamed it on his own sins

he saw Jon’s deafness as punishment and carried lifelong guilt over it tracy and

his wife Louise founded a groundbreaking clinic for hearing impaired children but Spencer could never fully forgive

himself this guilt compounded Tracy’s alcoholism and depression tormenting him

in private even as he maintained a stoic front on set meanwhile as his career

soared in the 1940s Tracy entered a passionate relationship with co-star

Katherine Heppern for 25 years they were devoted companions yet they never

married why because Tracy a strict Catholic refused to divorce his wife

Louise despite their arangement instead he led a double life

living separately from his wife and children spending much of his time with Heburn all while remaining officially

married to Louise until his dying day this open secret was well known in

Hollywood circles but the public was kept in the dark fan magazines continued

to depict Tracy as a family man and Hepern as just a close friend tracy’s

family situation was effectively whitewashed to preserve his reputation and avoid offending

sensibilities only after Tracy’s death in 1967 did Heepburn speak openly about

their love spencer Tracy’s story illustrates a clash between personal

happiness and public image a man haunted by guilt over his child and bound by

religious conviction even as he found comfort in a relationship that had to remain a Hollywood secret for decades

rock Hudson’s closeted marriage and secret sexuality to 1950s moviegoers Rock Hudson was the

epitome of the straight romantic leading man dashing eligible and ardently

pursuing Doris Day on screen in reality Hudson was a closeted gay man forced by

the studio system to live a lie to protect his superstar image his sexual orientation was an open secret in

Hollywood but wholly hidden from the public the studios went to great lengths to keep it that way in 1955 Hudson’s

agent famously arranged a marriage between Rock and the agents own secretary Phyllis Gates to quash rumors

and stave off Confidential magazine’s threatened expose this sham marriage lasted only 3

years and was quietly dissolved once the gossip danger passed privately Hudson

indulged in the freedom of his true life hosting legendary all-male pool parties described as blonde bananalas but he

always maintained a bachelor persona in fan magazines the secret held until the

1980s in 1985 Hudson’s battle with AIDS became public when he was gravely ill

effectively outing him to the world the revelation that this matinea idol was gay marked a turning point in cultural

perceptions hudson’s death later that year was front page news and prompted massive discussion about AIDS and the

hidden lives of gay actors but during his prime every trace of his real love

life was suppressed the studio systems strict morality codes and postwar ideals

demanded Hudson play the role of heterosexual heartthrob offscreen as well as on close friends like Elizabeth

Taylor kept his confidence and the press out of either complicity or fear of liel

kept his secret until literally his dying months rock Hudson’s story is emblematic of an

era when Hollywood manufactured not just on-screen stories but off-screen

personal lives his double life complete with a studio arranged marriage as a

prop remained one of Hollywood’s most poignant secrets until it could be hidden no more jack Nicholson’s sister

was really his mother in 1974 a jaw-dropping secret about actor Jack

Nicholson came to light my doctor a shrink that I used to go to all the time he says that in 50 or 60% of the cases a

pill really helps one even Jack himself hadn’t known

for 37 years that year Time magazine researchers preparing a cover story on

Nicholson uncovered that the woman Jack thought was his older sister June was in

fact his biological mother and the woman who raised him was actually his

grandmother back in 1936 18-year-old June Nicholson had

become pregnant out of wedlock in the Nicholson’s conservative Catholic family from New Jersey this was a dire

predicament jun’s mother Ethel May concocted a cover story she would raise

baby Jack as her own son and June would be told of Jack’s sister thus Jack grew

up believing his grandmother was his mom and that June who was often absent pursuing a career as a showgirl was just

his cool older sister the family took this secret to extraordinary lengths

even other relatives were kept in the dark or sworn to silence it worked for

decades nicholson had no clue both Ethel and June had passed away by the time

Time magazine stumbled upon Jack’s birth records when a reporter informed him of the truth Nicholson’s response was shock

but also be amusement it’s a pretty dramatic event but it wasn’t what I’d

call traumatizing i was pretty well psychologically formed indeed in a

darkly comic twist Nicholson remarked it was a prime candidate for a soap opera

plot the story made headlines but Jack handled it with zen-like calm still the

revelation rewrote his life story the women he thought were his mother and sister had reversed roles for his entire

childhood to avoid scandal nicholson’s case is often cited as one of Hollywood’s strangest family secrets and

it wasn’t even orchestrated by a studio but by his own flesh and blood it shows

how deeply the stigma of illegitimacy ran in mid-century America that even a

movie stars identity could be built on such a lie bobby Darren raised by his

grandmother thinking she was mom the teen idol who sang Splish Splash and Mac

the Knife had a personal history worthy of a melodrama bobby Darren grew up in a

working-class Bronx family doted on by his mother Polly and older sister Nenah

not until Darren was 31 years old did he discover the truth polly was actually

his grandmother and Nenah was in fact his biological mother nah had become

pregnant at 18 out of wedlock and in the 1930s New York the shame could have been

ruinous so the family devised a cover up identical to the Nicholson families they

decided the baby would be raised as Nah’s younger brother and Polly stepped in to act as mother bobby’s puditive

father was said to be Pauliey’s late husband this secret was so tightly kept

that Darren went through his entire meteoric rise to fame oblivious to his true parentage in the late 1960s a

relative finally spilled the secret to Bobby shattering his sense of identity

darren confronted Nenah and Polly who confirmed the story back to Atlantic City we open tomorrow at the Steel Pier

the Steel Pier six shows a day for seven days good night 42 shows you’re about to

by then Darren’s beloved mom Polly was elderly and in poor health and Nenah had

been more like a cool aunt figure all his life the revelation took a toll on Bobby friends say he was never the same

after learning who his mother really was he became reclusive for a time and it

added to the stress on his weak heart he died at just 37 taking the secret with

him publicly the full story became widely known through postuous biographies bobby Darren’s case much

like Nicholson’s underscores how generational shame led to family role reversals the women in Darren’s family

kept the secret out of love and fear never imagining their golden boy would become a superstar Jerry Lewis’s

forgotten daughter and disowned son comedy legend Jerry Lewis was famous for his

zany on-screen antics but his private family life contained turmoil and

secrets he worked hard to suppress perhaps the most heartbreaking is the story of Susan Minor Jerry’s

illegitimate daughter born in the early 1950s after an affair with model Lynn

Dixon lewis married at the time never acknowledged Susan as his own in fact

Susan grew up only hearing whispers that her father might be Jerry Lewis for decades Jerry stonewalled her and

refused to take a paternity test susan who eerily resembles Jerry ended up

homeless on the streets of Philadelphia by her 60s still claiming to be Jerry Lewis’s daughter without any support

friends urged Jerry to help the woman but he coldly ignored her plight even

when a DNA test eventually indicated Jerry was likely her father he offered no comment this cruel neglect remained

largely out of public view until after Lewis’s death in 2017 when media covered

Susan’s situation and the tragic irony of a man who raised funds for Jerry’s

kids yet abandoned one of his own another secret Lewis kept was his

disowned adopted son Ronald in 1949 Jerry and first wife Patty adopted baby

Ronnie but after the couple had six biological sons Ronnie’s presence became

complicated by early adulthood Ronald had cut ties with the family so complete

was the arangement that in interviews Jerry would claim he had five sons pointedly omitting Ronnie as if he never

existed his own longtime publicist professed ignorance that Jerry even had an adopted son it was later said Ronald

changed his name and disowned the Lewis family but some insiders suggest Jerry

pushed him out when Lewis died his will pointedly left all six of his sons

nothing and made no mention of Susan the comedian who made the world laugh was

behind the scenes a man who could be astonishingly cold to his own flesh and blood these family secrets only dribbled

out in news reports and biographies over the years as Lewis himself steadfastly

refused to comment maintaining the carefree image of the nutty professor to

the end marlon Brando’s hidden brood and family tragedies marlon Brando

Hollywood’s ultimate rebel had a personal life as dramatic as any movie script and he kept many aspects of it

secret what were the shows that you’ve done in New York name one or two for I was in Canada with Katherine Cornell yes

and I was in uh Eagle Rampant with Tula Bankhead brando’s romantic adventures

were legendary spanning numerous wives mistresses and one night stands across

the globe this resulted in a large number of children at least 11 acknowledged and several rumored beyond

that he officially had three children with his first two wives three more with

his Tahesian wife Torita and three with his longtime Guatemalan housekeeper plus

he adopted a few but during Brando’s life the public was scarcely aware of

most of them for instance in the late 1980s it quietly emerged that his

housekeeper Maria Christina had borne him three kids a fact never trumpeted he

seemed to want those children kept out of the limelight even some of his older children were largely hidden from press

coverage brando’s Island of Misfit family members only really came to public attention through sensational

tragedy in 1990 Brando’s son Christian shot and killed the abusive boyfriend of

Brando’s daughter Cheyenne in the actor’s own home the ensuing highly

publicized trial revealed an utterly broken family christian claimed years of

neglect and Cheyenne spiraling with mental illness later died by suicide in

1995 brando was shattered these events forced into the open what Brando had

managed to keep mostly private his family was in chaos years earlier

Brando’s promiscuity had already led to at least one secret child he never met

in 1954 an English actress had Brando’s baby and placed him for adoption a story

that only emerged decades later marlon Brando’s life was a paradox a champion

of truth and naturalism in acting he was deeply evasive and protective when it

came to his family he cloistered his children on his private Pacific Island and behind the high walls of his

Mullholland Drive estate but ultimately the darkness within his family became

headline news forcing Brando to confront the consequences of a lifetime of

personal excess and secrecy it’s a Shakespearean saga that underscores how

even Hollywood’s mightiest icon could not fully script or contain the tragedies of his own household ingred

Bergman’s exile for love a fair and illegitimate child today the name Ingred

Bergman is synonymous with grace and talent but in 1950 Bergman became the

center of a moral firestorm that nearly ended her career why should I be afraid

oh I don’t know i just thought well I ain’t afraid of nobody but you ain’t

been out forever so long have you the Swedishborn star had enjoyed a spotless reputation until she left her

husband and young daughter in 1949 to work with Italian director Roberto

Roselini bergman and Roselini fell passionately in love while making Stromboli and she became pregnant with

his child before any divorce or marriage the scandal of this illicit affair and

out of wedlock pregnancy sent conservative America into a frenzy remember this was an era when Hollywood

actresses were expected to uphold family values the backlash was swift and

merciless bergman was denounced on the floor of the US Senate as an instrument

of evil by a enraged senator the media dubbed it scandal italiano fan mail

turned to hate mail labeling her a home wrecking adulteress unfit to be on

screen churches boycotted her films she was even banned from the Ed Sullivan

show for a time essentially Bergman was exiled from Hollywood she remained in

Europe married Roselini and gave birth to their son Renato and later twin

daughters for 7 years Bergman did not set foot in Hollywood a stunning

ostracism for an actress of her stature all because she followed her heart by

1956 sentiment had softened and she won an Oscar for Anastasia signaling her

redemption when she finally returned to Hollywood to present at the Oscars in 1959 the scandal had faded but for much

of the 1950s Ingred Bergman’s personal life was a dark secret in prudish

American eyes one that forced her into artistic exile her case even helped

mellow American attitudes toward private lives of stars the outrage was so extreme that many

later viewed it as hypocritical bergman herself called the experience absolute

hell in the end she triumphed but the child born of her affair bore the brunt

of being introduced to the world amid scandal lon Cheney Senior’s silent

heartache hiding his parents’ deafness lon Cheney Senior the legendary man of a

thousand faces of silent horror films carried a poignant family secret that

shaped his mastery of pantoime both of Cheni’s parents were deaf and from childhood Lon became

fluent in sign language and non-verbal expression to communicate this was not

something he advertised in Hollywood in fact Cheney kept his parents’ deafness hidden even from his first wife Clea for

a time in the early 1900s disabilities carried stigma and Cheney perhaps feared

that knowledge of his family background would invite ridicule or pity according

to biographers Clea only discovered the truth when she met Cheny’s parents over a holiday lon had not prepared her and

she was taken aback to learn her in-laws could neither hear nor speak clea

reacted poorly reportedly screaming that she didn’t want to risk having a dumb thing this deepened a rift in their

marriage the tension culminated in 1913 with a dramatic incident clea

emotionally distraught walked onto the stage of a theater where Lawn was performing an attempted suicide by

drinking a vial of mercury chloride in front of the audience she survived but

her actions scandalized the community effectively ending Cheneyy’s vaudeville job and their marriage lon Cheney was

left a single father to their young son he relocated and reinvented himself in

Hollywood but the trauma lingered cheney rarely gave interviews and when he did

he omitted personal details likely a reaction to how his family secret of deafness had contributed to personal

tragedy interestingly Cheny’s upbringing is also credited for his exceptional ability to

convey emotion without words on film the silent film medium was a perfect match

for skills he learned as a child of deaf adults this bittersweet secret was something Cheney kept quiet even as it

gave him the tools to become an icon of the silent era it only became widely

known long after his death when film historians highlighted it as central to understanding the man of a thousand

faces viven Lee’s battle with bipolar disorder behind the scenes to audiences

Vivien Lee was the picture of Poise Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind

and Blunch Dubois in a street car named Desire how did you ever get out of jail why

didn’t they hang you oh that not much trouble there’s nothing much the money won’t buy i observe has

even bought you the honorable Mr wils but privately Lee fought a debilitating

mental illness that was carefully kept out of the public eye lee suffered from bipolar disorder then often called manic

depression throughout her adult life in the 1940s and 50s mental illness was

heavily stigmatized studios feared an unstable star would be unbankable if word got out so Lee’s condition remained

a closely guarded secret managed quietly by her inner circle and doctors she

would have severe mood swings euphoric highs where she’d barely sleep and engage in reckless sexual encounters

followed by crushing depressions marked by exhaustion and breakdowns

her husband actor Lawrence Olivier and others witnessed frightening episodes

once during a stage performance in 1953 Lee had a manic break and began

screaming obscenities at Olivier in front of the crew then moments later acted as if nothing had happened i can’t

go until this this misunderstanding is cleared up you’re not going to cheat Miss Melly out of the satisfaction of publicly ordering you out of our house

there was nothing wrong india hates me so I I can’t go i couldn’t face it on the set of Elephant Walk

1953 she suffered a breakdown and was replaced in the film at times she was

taken to psychiatric clinics for electroshock therapy the primitive treatment of the era but to the press

the official statements were that she was exhausted or had a nervous strain

friends later noted that Viven and Larry Olivier developed coded ways to signal

if she was near the edge in public Lee tried to maintain her glamorous image

but those close to her saw the cracks the impulsivity the insomnia the mood

flips that left even Lee terrified of herself still this was never discussed

openly while she was alive only in memoirs and biographies years after her

death in 1967 did the full extent of her mental illness come out showing how

remarkable it was that she delivered such controlled iconic performances while privately living in turmoil at the

time Lee’s struggles were explained away as fainting spells or hidden entirely

hollywood protected one of its biggest stars and she too was desperate to keep her condition secret once telling an

interviewer “She had been quite sane all my life the truth was far more complicated and tragically Lee’s bipolar

disorder worsened with age contributing to the breakdown of her marriage and affecting her health her life story only

fully pieced together later is one of heroic public strength masking private pain a secret battle with mental illness

in an era illquipped to understand it gene Tierney’s disabled daughter and

heartbreaking sacrifice 1940s Screen Siren gene Tierney experienced a

personal tragedy that she and the Hollywood studios strove to keep out of the limelight thank you but I can’t

possibly become a patient of yours you are already the fact that I know of your kleptomania the fact that I know that

your mind is sick and in 1943 at the height of Tierney’s career she gave

birth to a daughter Daria who was profoundly disabled deaf nearly blind

and severely developmentally impaired the cause was a cruel twist of fate when

Tierney was pregnant a fan breached a quarantine to meet her infecting Tyranny with reubella at exactly the wrong

moment in her pregnancy the disease passed to baby Daria causing irreparable

damage tyranny was devastated and racked with guilt in an era with limited

support for special needs children Daria needed constant medical care tierney and

her husband designer Oleg Cassini made the agonizing decision to institutionalize Daaria as a young child

in order to give her a stable environment and treatment that Tyranny could not provide while working this

fact was kept intensely private tierney feared the public knowing might invite cruel gossip that Daria’s condition was

somehow hereditary or her fault outwardly Tierney carried on her career

appearing in films though inside she was suffering from severe postpartum depression and guilt by the early 1950s

Gene Tierney’s mental health deteriorated she was hospitalized for depression and underwent shock therapy

friends noted that the trauma of Daaria’s situation haunted her yet Tierney rarely spoke of Daaria in public

and press coverage in the 1940s made only vague references to her taking time off for maternity the full story wasn’t

widely known until Tierney published her memoir self-portrait in 1979 openly discussing Daaria she wrote

movingly about visiting her daughter in the institution over the years hollywood contemporaries were aware but the public

largely wasn’t in 1957 an Agatha Christy mystery was even inspired by Tierney’s

Reubella tragedy but few connected it to her then Tierney’s graceful image never

betrayed the pain of a mother who had to give up her child for the child’s well-being it’s a somber secret that

shows a different side of Hollywood’s golden age beyond the bright lights there were stars privately enduring

heartbreaks that no amount of fame could remedy clarabau America’s ITG girl

survived family horror clarabau the original ITG girl of the 1920s seemed to

personify the jazz age flapper vivaceious carefree and sexy

oh yeah she came with Jack Carter mother mother

i was just thinking but buried in her past was a nightmare childhood that the studios worked hard to conceal lest it

tarnish her vivaceious image bao grew up in extreme poverty in Brooklyn the

unwanted only surviving child of a mentally ill mother and a physically abusive possibly intellectually disabled

father the family’s hardships were an open secret around their tenement but

Hollywood knew nothing of it when Bose’s star rose at the peak of her fame few

could imagine that offscreen this glamorous star had endured her mother trying to kill her and her father raping

her yet according to Bose’s biographer David Sten and Bose’s own later accounts

that’s exactly what happened her mother Sarah Bo suffered from psychosis and

epilepsy when Clara was a teenager on the verge of success Sarah one night

held a butcher knife to Clara’s throat saying “I’m going to kill you Clara because if I can’t have you no one

will.” Clara managed to fend her off and lock her up until help arrived but the

incident left deep scars not long after her mother was institutionalized and

died around the same time Bose’s father sexually assaulted her clara fled to

Hollywood determined to bury these traumas the studio publicity machine spun a tale of a happy Brooklyn tomboy

discovered in a magazine contest omitting any hint of madness or abuse b

herself rarely spoke of her past though she did once allude that her father did

two things no father should do to his daughter a likely reference to incest

throughout her career she experienced breakdowns and erratic behavior that in hindsight can be traced to untreated

PTSD from her youth yet at the time gossip columnists instead painted her as

an uneducated dumb party girl when she stumbled clara’s horrific family secret

remained largely unknown until biographical research in the 1970s and 80s unearthed the truth it recast

Clarabo’s legacy far from a carefree flapper she was a survivor of violence

and mental illness who against all odds became the symbol of an era the fact

that she managed to charm audiences while carrying that burden speaks volumes about Hollywood’s capacity for

both mythmaking and neglect of a star’s well-being barbara Stanwick’s adopted

son a family fracture under wraps tough as nails on screen and fiercely

independent off barbara Stanwick was one of Hollywood’s most respected actresses

joan Lesley oh darn well maybe it’s for the best of can I tell my husband it’s

all over between us i think so but one chapter of her life was steeped in sadness and secrecy her estrangement

from her adopted son Dion Anthony Fay in 1932 Stanwick and her first husband

actor Frank Fay adopted an infant boy hoping to cement their shaky marriage

the marriage failed and Stanwick gained sole custody of young Dion as a single

mother dedicated to her career Stanwick was strict and demanding she truly tried

to be a good mother but by the time Dion reached his teens their relationship had

soured reports say he struggled with behavioral issues and perhaps felt

overshadowed by Stanwick’s fame by the 1950s mother and son were essentially

estranged stanwick rarely spoke of him publicly gossip columnists only

occasionally mentioned Dion’s teenage troubles or run-ins with the law in a

1960 interview Stanwick flatly said “I have no son.” Cutting off inquiries

hollywood largely kept mom respecting Stanwick’s privacy and perhaps intimidated by her nononsense persona

what were you doing at the Amazon looking for snakes i’m an orpheologist i

thought you were in the beer business beer ae what’s the difference between beer and ale yes dion drifted aimlessly

and he alleged that Barbara had disowned him for being gay though evidence for that is scant beyond hearsay in truth

they had been distant long before likely due to clashing temperaments when

Barbara Stanwick died in 1990 it came to light she left Dion a mere $5,000 out of

her large estate it was effectively a token to avoid legal contest while her

fortune went to charities and a few close friends this final act confirmed

how complete their rift was yet Stanwick had never aired any dirty laundry about

it she kept a tight lid on her personal life the press in turn admired her

enough to rarely pry thus the tragic distance between Stanwick and her only

child remained a largely untold story during her lifetime only later

biographies highlighted how this arangement pained her one writer noted the child resembled her in just one

respect both were effectively orphans it’s a subdued Hollywood secret lacking

the fireworks of scandal more a slow quiet heartache that one of cinema’s

strongest women carried alone never letting the public see the cracks in her armor gary Cooper and Patricia Neil’s

Secret Love and Remedy by abortion screen icon Gary Cooper was the

all-American male ideal tall stoic and married to socialite Veronica Rocky

Cooper but in the late 1940s the married middle-aged Cooper began a passionate

affair with a rising young actress Patricia Neil 25 years his junior they

met filming The Fountain Head and fell deeply in love destroyed by a world where you have no chance why are you

afraid i know what they’ll do to you you had the genius that made the Enright house for Patricia Neil it was her first

real romance for Cooper it was a midlife infatuation that made him contemplate

leaving his wife and children the affair was kept out of the papers thanks to studio interventions and the discretion

of the press in that era however in 1950 Neil became pregnant with Cooper’s child

a potentially explosive development according to Neil’s autobiography Cooper

panicked at the prospect of their secret coming out and insisted she have an abortion at the time abortion was

illegal and highly dangerous but Gary arranged everything neil later expressed

bitter regret over this saying it was the one thing she wished she hadn’t done

cooper confided the situation to his wife at some point rocky Cooper confronted Neil in a parking lot telling

her “If you have this baby I will ruin you it cannot be subordinated to the

needs opinions or wishes of others it is not an object of sacrifice.”

Neil felt she had no choice the procedure was done quietly and Neil never bore children in her later

marriage which she believed might have been due to complications from this abortion the emotional fallout was

immense cooper racked with guilt ultimately ended the affair and returned

to the fold of his family he even had a religious reawakening and confessed his

sins to a priest neil heartbroken suffered a nervous breakdown and fled

Hollywood for Broadway for several years this entire saga was hidden from the public until many years later at the

time the fan magazines only hinted that Pat Neil was a home wrecker which hurt

her reputation but the full truth was kept secret only in the 1980s did Neil

speak openly about it by which point Cooper had died the Cooper Neil affair

remains one of Hollywood’s classic clandestine love stories two big stars a

pregnancy taken care of in secret and a lot of lingering sorrow it shows the

extremes to which actors went to avoid scandal in that era even at great personal cost leslie Howard’s

illegitimate daughter lost to history during the 1930s English actor Leslie

Howard was the epitome of refined gentility on screen but he too harbored

a secret that only emerged much later howard reportedly fathered a child out

of wedlock with a young protetéé escape too i’m so very tired of it all i’ve

struggled for food and for money i’ I’ve picked cotton till I can’t stand it another minute in 1924 an ambitious

teenager named Roshene Marcus became involved with Howard she gave birth to a

daughter Carol that year for the sake of propriety Howard and his wife relayed

that the baby was not his effectively erasing himself from Carol’s life

however industry insiders suspected the truth carol Marcus grew up to be a

vibrant figure in her own right throughout her life rumors swirled that she was Leslie Howard’s daughter howard

never publicly acknowledged Carol in fact when asked about extrammarital affairs he remained koi it wasn’t until

biographers dug into Howard’s letters and Roshene’s accounts that they confirmed Leslie Howard reportedly

fathered a daughter by Rashene Marcus in 1924 the secret was kept remarkably well

during Howard’s lifetime the press and public had no inkling that the distinguished actor had a love child in

America well isn’t it enough that you’ve gathered every other man’s heart today

you’ve always had mine you cut your teeth on it tease me now have I your heart my darling i love It helps that

Howard spent much of his time in England while Carol was raised in New York carol

herself only learned of the possibility in adulthood and spoke about it lightly

saying she could neither confirm nor deny Howard’s paternity she did possess

a striking resemblance to him sadly Leslie Howard died in 1943 when his

plane was shot down in World War II taking any chance of a resolution with him carol Marcus Matau went on to become

a Hollywood writer and socialite but the mystery of her birth lingered as an

anecdotal footnote among Hollywood’s family secrets this one is less scandalous perhaps but poignant a

distinguished actor with a secret child he never claimed likely due to the rigid moral climate of his time it reminds us

that for every explosive scandal that made headlines there were quieter secrets like Carol’s parentage that

remained in the shadows known only to a few and only fully revealed long after

those involved were gone [Music]