Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American actress and gossip columnist, notorious for feuding with her arch-rival Louella Parsons. She had been a moderately successful actress of stage and screen for years before being offered the chance to write the column "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" for the "Los Angeles Times" in 1938. At the height of her power in the 1940s she commanded a 35 million strong readership. She was well known for her political conservatism, and during the McCarthy era she named suspected communists. Hopper continued to write gossip until the end,
William Hopper William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor roles in more than 80 feature films in the 1930s and '40s. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he left acting, but in the mid-1950s, he was persuaded by director William Wellman to resume his film career. He became best known for his work in television, as private detective Paul Drake in the CBS series, "Perry Mason".