Hedda Hopper column, entitled "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood", debuted on February 14 (St. Valentine's Day), 1938. Hopper could not type, or spell very well, so she dictated her column to a typist over the phone. Initially facing stiff competition against Louella Parsons, who had a monopoly on Hollywood gossip, Hopper used her extensive contacts forged during her acting days to gather material for her column. Her first major scoop had national implications: in 1939 Hopper printed that President Franklin Roosevelt's son James Roosevelt was divorcing his wife Betsey after being caught in an affair with a nurse at the Mayo Clinic. Part of
By Right of Purchase By Right of Purchase By Right of Purchase is a 1918 American silent drama film starring Norma Talmadge in a story produced by her husband Joseph Schenck. The film was distributed by Lewis J. Selznick's Select Pictures Company. An up-and-coming actress and soon to be gossip columnist, Hedda Hopper, has a small role in this picture. As described in a film magazine, against the promptings of her heart, Margot Hughes (Talmadge) marries Chadwick Himes (O'Brien) and completely ignores the fact that her husband is very much in love with her. As a result, Chadwick comes to believe that it is