Gossip columnist 1930s through the 1950s, the two best-known - and competing - Hollywood gossip columnists were Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons. Well-timed leaks about a star's purported romantic adventures helped the studios to create and sustain the public's interest in the studios' star actors. As well, the movie studios' publicity agents acted as unnamed "well-informed inside sources" who provided misinformation and rumors to counteract whispers about celebrity secrets — such as homosexuality or an out-of-wedlock child — that could have severely damaged not only the reputation of the movie star in question, but the movie star's box office viability. Having fallen
Virtuous Wives Virtuous Wives Virtuous Wives is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Loane Tucker, and stars Anita Stewart. Future gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (billed as Mrs. DeWolf Hopper) co-starred. Based on the novel of the same name by Owen Johnson, the film was produced Anita Stewart's, production company. It was also the first film produced by Louis B. Mayer. Based upon a review in a film magazine, Amy (Stewart) and Andrew Forrester (Tearle) are happy in the first few weeks of their married life with the comforts that his $25,000 income brings. Andrew turns down a business