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
The Third Degree (1919 film) The Third Degree (1919 film) The Third Degree was a 1919 American silent crime drama directed by Tom Terriss produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. It is based on the 1909 play of the same name by Charles Klein. Filmed several times throughout the silent era, this version starred Alice Joyce with actress/gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in a supporting role and was the next to last silent version of the play, the last being released in 1926 starring Dolores Costello. "The Third Degree" is now considered to be a lost film. As described in a film magazine,