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
William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr., was born January 26, 1915 in New York City. He was the only child of actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) and his fifth wife, actress Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966). He had one older half-brother, John A. Hopper, from his father's second marriage in the 1880s. Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movie "Sunshine Dad". His mother divorced his father in 1922 and moved to Hollywood with their son. Hedda Hopper became one of America's best-known