famous scandals of the 1920s famous scandals of the 1920s

Teapot Dome Scandal. The boys of today must be protected from the young girl vamp, complained a New York mother to the New York Times in 1922. Cheating was bad, but gambling was no better: It was illegal. Chaplin found his reputation shattered by his soon-to-be exs accusations. Julie Miller, Vanity Fair. READ MORE: How the Ponzi Scheme Got Its Name. The proliferation of get-rich-quick scams in the 1920s was so intense that titans of industry began to worry about the con artists' and fly-by-night firms' corrosive effect on the system, even if. In a day when a womans reputation could still be irreparably damaged by divorce or an illegitimate child, petting let flappers thumb their nose at the convention while still protecting themselves against the repercussions of sex. Eve Blue, a college undergraduate, was there for the fun. These men were celebrated for their pluck, courage and daring, says Nate Hendley, author of the 2016 book The Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts and Swindles in American History. According to acquaintances when together they fought constantly and with equal exuberance. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The latter was soothed by Payton and Tone marrying after he recovered. American actors such as Gloria Swanson (b1899), Mary Pickford (b1892), and Clara Bow (see below) would make their names in the silent films of the 1920s, joined by the likes of Gary Cooper (b1901) John Gilbert (see below) and the British actor Charlie Chaplin (b1889). Five years later, a group of women and vice officers campaigned to end petting parties in the theater balconies of Kansas City. The Biggest Political Scandals in American History - HISTORY The Biggest Political Scandals in American History From adulterous affairs yielding secret children to hotel break-ins and. She created scandal by aborting a pregnancy in which the father was a leading man in one of her films, married to another (William Powell). Ordinary members of the public could sit down at the breakfast table and over tea and toast, read every juicy, salacious, delicious detail of who did what and to whom. So much so that when Haynau visited a brewery during a trip to London in 1850, the draymendrivers of the wagons used to deliver the barrels of beerattacked him with whips, brooms, and stones. Entwistles promise as an actress was stressed in the sensationalized reports of her death, including her performance on a New York stage with luminary Billie Burke (later Glinda in The Wizard of Oz) and a young actor by the name of Humphrey Bogart. According to Lita, Chaplin had demanded an abortion prior to their marriage (which she couldnt have because she wasnt pregnant) and told her that their marriage would be short. It was 1931, and the air in Chicagos 57th Street art colony crackled with sexual tension. Prohibition began in the United States, and . Gustavo Turner, Discover Los Angeles. The married (and very Catholic) Kennedy was soon involved in an extramarital affair with the actress, one which saw him maneuver to dominate her career, her social life, and her financial affairs. It was the body of Elizabeth Short, who became known as the Black Dahlia in the sensationalized aftermath of her murder. Instead they hired young agents who stood out in the hot sun and convinced buyers to put down a non-refundable down payment on a parcel. She was linked to sexual relationships with both men and women, among the latter were Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Hattie McDaniel of Gone With the Wind fame. And to some, the very thought of a party devoted to sexeven a relatively chaste versionwas cause for outrage. Roscoe's roommate had thrown a party in their suite which was crashed Virginia Rappe who fell seriously ill and died a few days later. 1991, The Mysterious Death of Massachusetts Movie Star Thelma Todd. Online, Medium Hollywoods Golden Age Era Of Secretly Bisexual, Homosexual And Lesbian Stars, Alabama Public Radio Tallulah! Chaplins reputation never fully recovered. Warned by her father to avoid men and alcohol in New York, she told an interviewer, He never said anything about women and cocaine. It was she who uttered one of the most deflating political put downs of all time, referring to Republican Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey as resembling the little man on the wedding cake. Why? The ruse worked a little too well: She was hauled off to a mental institution. But Hardings scandalous behavior didnt end when he left his bedroom. Needless to say, the tabloid press loved her. Eventually, though, the market stalled, prices fell, and many were stuck with properties worth far less than theyd expected. Flynn was eventually acquitted in both cases, and during the trials, his attorneys managed to point out both girls had been previously involved with other married men, of lesser fame and wealth. She abandoned her unhappy marriage to Ruskin in 1854 and filed for annulment on the grounds that she was still a virgin. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 against the Austrian Empire, a man stood out for his violent tactics in suppressing the revolutionaries: Julius Jacob von Haynau, an Austrian general who earned the nickname, the Hyena. News of his brutality, particularly against Hungarian women, excited much anger in the English public. Instead, the older Ruskin put off consummating the marriage. According to Halpins affidavit, when the child was born, Cleveland used his political influence in the city to have Halpin committed, and sent the child to an orphanage. Flappers reputations were made worse by petting, but the practice also reflected traditional values by avoiding premarital sex. She also attracted her share of inappropriate attention, including untoward advances from 50-something Stanford White. During the 1950s the phrase In like Flynn meant that someone was in an enviable position, with the success of whatever venture was being undertaken all but ensured. Annie Besant, a noted feminist, Theosophist, and womens rights activist, and Charles Bradlaugh, an infamous atheist, published The Fruits of Philosophy: the Private Companion for Young Married Couples, a pamphlet by an American doctor, Charles Knowlton, and previously judged obscene. She accepted his excuses, took to public speaking to support their life together, even going so far as to follow him to Scotland and Ireland so their affair could continue, but eventually, she expected a wedding. When she learned that he had similarly stalked other actresses (including Zsa Zsa Gabor and June Allyson) and of his underworld contacts, she broke off their affair. Some said that Jack deliberately placed his medicine where his wife would confuse it with nostrums of her own and thus take it accidentally. Scotland Yard raided the house. After his departure from the scene Swanson was nearly broke, virtually unemployable following the debacle of her most recent film, and soon to be divorced by her irate husband. The Watergate Scandal, as it came to be known, altered American politics forever, and changed the way Americans looked at their elected officials. The proliferation of get-rich-quick scams in the 1920s was so intense that titans of industry began to worry about the con artists and fly-by-night firms corrosive effect on the system, even if they were willing to look the other way at the misrepresentations that their own kind sometimes perpetrated. Its been said, often and obviously, that sex sells. Clinton vehemently denied the allegations, which were later revealed to be true. But after U.S. postal inspectors started probing his scheme, it collapsed, and Ponzi went to prison. Theresa eventually took him to court seeking alimony. In 1935 she was found dead at the wheel of her Lincoln automobile, an event which the amiable LAPD agreed to treat as a suicide after being so urged by Luciano and others. During its so-called Golden Age, Hollywood produced scandals which went beyond mere titillation of the public. In the 1940s the Swedish-born actress Ingrid Bergman displayed her versatility as a performer with roles as Ilsa in Casablanca, a near saintly nun in Bells of St. Marys, and an actual saint, as well as virgin, in the title role in Joan of Arc. From 1941 until his death, the two maintained an affair which was an open secret in Hollywood. Franchot Tone was a film and stage star of sufficient stature to marry Joan Crawford in 1935. Pickford was a notorious man about town, with the result of being stricken with syphilis, then treated with highly toxic mercury. Cleveland will go down in history as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, but his first term in office was nearly waylaid by a campaign scandal. She was committed to an asylum. The ensuing scandal was multi-pronged. Pres. Wikimedia. It was the largest divorce settlement in American history at the time. After his father died in 1898, Paget, the 5th Marquis of Anglesey, inherited property that earned roughly 110,000 annually (today, that would be equivalent to 55 million). Wikimedia. In 1874, it was revealed that he had fathered an illegitimate child and was paying the mother support. Sex with minor females those under the age of 18 in California was statutory rape, and Flynn found himself so charged by not one, but two underage young ladies, threatening his reputation, his career, his marriage, and his freedom. November 21, 2015, Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. When Charles demanded a divorce, Harriet attempted to evade a separation by claiming insanity, eating coal, and smashing dishes. Average, law-abiding citizens had no problem buying illegal booze from such people. Here are some of the greatest scandals to emerge from Hollywood during its Golden Age. All Rights Reserved. Check out 11 scandals that caused more than one decent citizen to nearly drop her hand fan. To save her virtue, though the train was in motion, she escaped to the step outside the first class railway carriage and clung there, screaming for help. Once word got out, Pickfords career might have been derailed if not for the fact that Moore was reported to be abusive. Wilful Peggy (1910), The New York Hat (1912), Tess of the Storm Country (1914), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917), Stella Maris (1918), Daddy-Long-Legs (1919), Pollyanna (1920), Sparrows (1926) FURTHER READING Balio, Tino. Check out 11 scandals that caused more than one decent citizen to nearly drop her hand fan. Actor Vic Morrow (right) with Ric Jason on the set of the popular 1960s series Combat!. Wikimedia. 1. It was a party that proved to be his downfall. The trial played to a packed courtroom. Petting had a flexible meaning for participants of the events. In reality, Hendley explains, what Ponzi actually did was simply take money from new investors and give it to old investors, without actually investing in anything tangiblein other words, he merely recirculated cash.. Hepburn was from upper-crust New England stock, presenting a prim, proper, and athletic image to her fans, who had for several years been involved in a relationship with Howard Hughes. One of the greatest scandals in Hollywoods, indeed in all of American history, was the abuse of power routinely practiced by the man who considered himself to be the greatest lawman in America throughout his long and self-serving career. Most of the information he collected and held secretly was intended to be used for his personal benefit, and the vast majority of the information was collected without regard to its accuracy or its relevance to the mission of the FBI, as were most of Hoovers personal files. Several of the men involved in the pedophilia ring including Somerset fled the country to avoid prosecution. Wikimedia. Whether suicide or murder, there is little doubt that the premature death of Olive Thomas once called the most beautiful woman in the world was painful in the extreme. Much of the hand-wringing about petting parties focused on the supposed immorality of the young woman who attended them. agriculture. The Boston-based Ponzi told investors that hed discovered a way to make a fortune by buying Spanish mail coupons and redeeming them for U.S. stamps, to take advantage of the weakness of Spanish currency. The crime was never solved and the sensational nature of the murder, widely covered by an ill-informed and voracious press, was a scandal in Hollywood for years. Harlow seemed primed for another scandal but before it could become the talk of the town she died suddenly, at the age of 26, of kidney failure. Banker and financial swindler, Charles Ponzi, circa 1920. At the same time, many people lacked the financial literacy to understand the difference between investing in a legitimate company and a scheme such as the one operated by Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who claimed to have become a wealthy man through sheer ingenuity and hard work. In 1921, Fatty Arbuckle was accused of raping and killing Virginia Rappe. But the reality wasnt as simpleor as scandalousas it seemed. The young flapper had just experienced a petting partya 1920s and 1930s fad that titillated youth, scandalized adults and stoked the myth of the immoral flapper. READ MORE: Americas Forgotten Mass Imprisonment of Women Believed to Be Sexually Immoral, Flappers dancing while musicians perform during a Charleston dance contest at the Parody Club, New York City, 1926, The gatherings may have raised eyebrows, but petting parties werea far cry from orgies, historian Paula S. FasstellsNPR: They both encouraged experimentation and created clear limits.. She wasnt, though she later bore him two sons. , 1877 was not a good year to argue against sexual repression. Flynns acquittal did not restore his reputation in much of the publics opinion. Katharine Hepburn was interred in Connecticut, thirty-six years after Tracys death. However, the plethora of old Hollywood scandals that have since come to light prove that the movie industry has always been a dark place behind its bright lights. The affair continued until at least 1930 when Kennedy summarily dumped his paramour in the aftermath of her completing a film, Queen Kelly, which was a critical and box office failure. So damaged were delicate public sensibilities that Besant and Bradlaugh were put on trial. She was 30 years old. Chaplin was not alone. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. They did so discreetly. As it turned out, this wasnt the first time Jones had made himself at home in the palace. To understand famed Australian swimmer Annette Kellermans bravado, you have to have a grasp on how hopelessly proper the beaches of the early 1900s were. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! His cabinet members, known as the Ohio Gang because of their wanton corruptness, were involved in so many shady dealingsthe Teapot Dome Scandal stands at the top of that listthat Harding left office with a reputation as one of the worst presidents in U.S. History. In London, at the Druids Hall (the meeting place for the Ancient Order of Druids and occasionally hired out to non-Druids) during a masked ball, George Campbell, thirty five years old, and John Challis, sixty years old, were apprehended by the police for exciting others to commit an unnatural offense. Both men were dressed in womens clothes. READ MORE: Warning Signs Investors Missed Before the 1929 Crash. Talullah: My Autobiography. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images. He denied the adultery. Olive Thomas was a former Ziegfeld Girl, called the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (if so existing photographs dont do her justice), and soon Pickfords bride, though their marriage was what today would be called a long-distance relationship. After some likely exclamations of I say! and protracted harrumphing, both Gordon-Cumming and the prince were dragged through public mud. February 14, 2014, When Congress Slut-Shamed Ingrid Bergman. Americans love a rags-to-riches story, Hendley says. The Life and Times of a Leading Lady. Here are 10 celebrities and their scandals you may or may not be familiar with. But they also came to an end because the flappers who dared to pet in public helped make open sexual expression more commonplace. Jude Sheeran, BBC News. They republished it anyway. Tune in to Comedy CentralTuesdays at 10:30/ 9:30con Comedy Centraland on the Comedy Central app to see what they're up to next. The Twenty-first Amendment, ratified in December 1933, repealed Prohibition. Intentionally or not, the message that filtered down to the public was: Be bold. Almost a century after the event, the mystery of what really happened that Labor Day remains unanswered, though Fatty Arbuckles reputation as a rapist and worse is still whispered about in Hollywood. Swansons divorce from her second husband had included revelations that she had been unfaithful with at least thirteen men, including Hollywood luminaries Cecil B. deMille and Rudolph Valentino. Though made by an American studio, it was filmed entirely in Europe. On the podcast | America's "Roaring Twenties": everything you wanted to know Some 40,000 investors entrusted Ponzi with $15 million. Stompanato was killed and Turners daughter was charged with manslaughter. Explore American politics in the 1920s to understand why this was a period of transition and corruption. Spreading the money about helped her ensure that those whose careers would be damaged by the shock of an arrest on a morals charge were absent from the premises on those occasions when raids were scheduled, as Lee recounted in a book about the brothel entitled Ladies on Call. Those frontiers suggest the potentialand actual exampleof great riches, and boom times make credit easier to obtain., People wanted to follow the example of heroes such as automobile mogul Henry Ford and aviator Charles Lindbergh, who had dared to dream. Still others, cognizant of the fact that Mary Pickford despised her sister-in-law, believed Mary arranged for Olive to ingest the mercury through means not fully explained. In 1941 actor Spencer Tracy, one of Hollywoods most successful and in-demand leading men, began seeing actress Katharine Hepburn. Widespread press reports speculated that she had been murdered, fed by the fact that her car was parked in an area thick with sticky mud, though her shoes were clean. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. He liked them young, both his first and second wives were sixteen when he married them, and the second, Lita Grey, convinced Chaplin that she was pregnant with his child, leading to a hasty marriage (he could otherwise have been imprisoned for having sex with a minor). The revelations caused unflattering comment on her character in the papers. It was particularly egregious if you happened to be a feminist or an atheist, which Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh were, respectively. She succeeded in trashing Chaplins reputation while relieving him of $800,000 (about $11 million today). This bombshell resulted in the infamous Mordaunt divorce trial. Library of Congress. They were let off with stern warnings. Mustaches bristled when a gaming scandal involving the Prince of Wales become the talk of Britain in 1890. At least occasionally, those business leaders fretted about the potential threat posed by Soviet communism.. The Teapot Dome Scandal was an American political scandal of the early 1920s. April 2008, The Sunset Strip: The Story of a Hollywood Icon. A scene from the film The Soul of Youth, the director of which, Desmond Taylors murder was never solved. Mordaunt confessed to her husband, Charles, after her child was suspected of having syphilis. All Rights Reserved. The 1920s were a time of great economic change in the United States. Online, The Tragic Story of Peg Entwistle, the Actress Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign. and being excited in the presence of a visiting priest. In the 1930s the sign, already famous, read Hollywoodland, and it was from the H that a young actress, despondent over her career, committed suicide by jumping in 1932. The 1950s slang In Like Flynn, meaning one had it made, failed to take into account his legal difficulties over underage women. But even the innuendo collected by Hoover for personal reasons often took a backseat to the scandals which emerged from the stars decadent lifestyles. History, FBI.gov. Their affair was the talk of society in both Hollywood and Boston, where Rose Kennedy chose to ignore it, at least publicly. Divorced again, Tone began pursuing Barbara Payton, another actress who was also involved with an actor and former boxer named Tom Neal. Witnesses gave accounts of Saurins supposed crimes, which included eating strawberries and cream (the wicked woman!) She probably didnt mind that much, since she and Millais had eight children together. The boy hadnt stolen the moneyhed earned it sleeping with gentlemen at a house on Cleveland Street, and so did other young telegraph boys. The files were held for the purpose of blackmail, and were extensive collections of personal information and activities. She was arrested in 1907 for subjecting fellow beach-goers in Massachusetts to such horrors. To the Protestant jurys great disappointment, the mother superior later testified she hadnt meant that kind of excitement. Ingrid Bergman, with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcocks Notorious, was forced to live in exile from Hollywood for several years after her affair with Rossellini. He documented, often through little more than innuendo, potential homosexual activity, drug use, alcohol use (both during and after prohibition), sexual peccadilloes, extramarital affairs, and political beliefs. There was, after all, that pesky fact that he was a foreigner (Flynn was Australian) and xenophobia was at its height in the early days of the Second World War. Evelyn Nesbit arrived in New York City in 1900 as a 15-year-old ingnue, climbing the social ranks and forging a modeling career. Payton vacated the marital home and returned to Neal, and Tone, perhaps wisely, decided to resolve the issue in court rather than in another bout. LAPD. Americas Forgotten Mass Imprisonment of Women Believed to Be Sexually Immoral, The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea Pigs. Mary was an underage actress whose letters to Taylor were allegedly removed by the helpful LAPD. What Happened In Room 1219? Florida, which attracted northerners who were eager to escape winter weather, also became a paradise for land speculators, who bought properties at cheap prices and sold them for large profits. In 1949 the married Bergman (her husband was neurosurgeon Petter Lindstrom) began an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini (an earlier affair she had with American actor Gregory Peck was kept hidden at the time). Virginie was forever shunned by high society. She had no children, but at least four abortions at a time when the procedure was illegal throughout most of the country. Scandals in the Hollywood periodicals of the day, later amplified by the mainstream press, were fed by the FBI files as Hoover attempted to discredit Hollywoods elite. The two companies allowed to use it had not put in a substantial bid to use the fields, therefor the Senate started an investigation. In April 1958, after a heated argument in her home during which Stompanato allegedly threatened to kill her, Turners daughter came to her mothers defense with a kitchen knife. There are many reasons why mysteries in the 1920s may have remained unsolved. The shocking expose not only opened the floodgates for other women to declare similar affairs, it actually ended up getting Clinton impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. Her role in The Postman Always Rings Twice established her as a serious actress at the same time her well-publicized personal life called her morals into question among those inclined to do so. Prince Victor Albert, nicknamed Prince Eddy was also an alleged customer. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. To many Americans, petting parties epitomized everything that was evil about the Jazz Age. 'Petting parties' added some steam to Jazz Age soirees. In other wordsdont hesitate to invest your cash!, Prohibition also played a role in making the citizens susceptible, according to Hendley. Worse, hed once been caught with the queens underwear stuffed down his pants! What had started as a wild bohemian party was now something more intimate. He was so material-minded that his wife, Lilian, demanded an annulment, allegedly because he preferred to cover her naked body in jewels rather than make love. But after authorities began to suspect him of cooking the books and other improprieties, he sold his collapsing company and avoided a mail fraud indictment by fleeing to Shanghai, where he committed suicide. She got the matrimonial ring in a secret church ceremony in 1857. Erin Blakemore is an award-winning journalist who lives and works in Boulder, Colorado. To the queens fury, the married Prince of Wales was called upon to testify about his relationship with Lady Mordaunt in open court. During the party actress Virginia Rappe was heard screaming in a room from which Arbuckle later emerged. The prince was playing at the estate of Arthur Wilson, who hosted a card game that also included army officer William Gordon-Cumming. (Eve Blue eventually gave up on petting parties after she was nearly raped.) Many wanted to use this valuable oil source. In 1936, the wife of Max Baer, the former Heavyweight Champion of the World (and eventually the father of Max Baer Jr, who portrayed Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies), named Jean as one of the women with whom her husband had been unfaithful to his marriage. Later, it was revealed that some of the money allocated for the weapons was funneled secretly to Nicaragua to support the anti-communist Contras, counter to a law barring the U.S. government from supporting them. Morrow and one of the children were decapitated by the helicopters rotor; the other child was crushed beneath the machine. Silent film star Pickford tested her audiences adoration of her by committing an unthinkable act: She divorced her husband, Owen Moore, in 1920, and married Douglas Fairbanks less than a month later. William Taylor was a highly prolific director between 1915 and 1921, and as such, he was one of the first directors to rely on what would later become known euphemistically as the casting couch. He proceeded to spend his windfall on complete frivolity that captivated the public and press: He collected silk gowns, covered his bedroom in velvet, and even modified his cars exhaust to spray perfume. Wikimedia. He operated his grandly named Bayano Syndicate swindle for almost 20 years, far longer than any Ponzi scheme survived until Bernie Madoffs multi-billion-dollar fraud was exposed a decade ago.. Over the next four years, they tried to have children with no success; Crawford suffered two miscarriages and their marriage dissolved when his drinking became out of control. Wikimedia. The boys call me a Sunday School girl because I will not smoke, drink or kiss, said one anonymous participant. In June of 1972, burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington D.C. There was a bubonic plague in India, and Pancho Villa retired. Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images. They repeatedly made lurid claims that . And Tone? In the third, he was acquitted, though the press and the public had long before convicted him. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis via Getty Images. Gloria Swanson was one of the leading actresses in Hollywood, on her third husband when she met Joseph P. Kennedy. Wikimedia. Some scandals are timeless: The Fatty Arbuckle trial, the Black Dahlia, and the Sharon Tate murder are still well-known decades after they occurred. In the 21st century amateur and professional criminologists continue to search for the killer of Elizabeth Short. The 1920's was a grand time for the United States. Luciano was the prime suspect of many, and following her death, he assumed control of her restaurant, an event she had once told him, before witnesses, would occur only over her dead body. and more. Gloria Swanson, in her heyday as a silent film star, circa 1921. Her name was Peg Entwistle, and she had recently completed work on a film by David O. Selznick entitled 13 Women. Women won the right to vote in 1920 with the adoption of the 19th Amendment, the first commercial radio broadcast aired, the League of Nations was established, and the Harlem Renaissance began. Eventually, he went to Australia. After an outcry and trial, all copies were burnt and their sale prohibited.. In Chicago, Leo Koretz, an immigrant from Bohemia, made a mint selling shares in supposedly lucrative rice plantations in Arkansas that didnt actually exist, as well as in a logging company that he claimed owned land with oil beneath it. Here are some of the juiciest Old Hollywood scandals that are just as jaw-dropping to read about today as they were back then. Not all petting parties were intentional affairs; some broke out spontaneously in dance halls, cars or secluded places. The growing demand for petroleum to fuel automobiles also led to oil drilling schemes concocted by promoters who mailed out literature and handed out flyers that promised a fabulous return. The two had tried to keep their affair a secret, as Fairbanks was also married. 26 Famous Gangsters From The Height Of The Public Enemy Era View Gallery One study found that by 1924, 92 percent of college women had tried petting. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. A jump from the H in the Hollywoodland sign ended the life of actress Peg Entwistle.