Gossip Girls: Louella Parsons And Hedda Hopper (The Feud, Episode 3) /
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
In 1938, washed-up actress Hedda Hopper is installed as a movie gossip columnist with the express purpose of puncturing the success of Louella and Hearst. But Hedda quickly establishes a voice of her own, revolutionary for its insistence on making movie gossip political. Once friends, Louella and Hedda become bitter rivals, egged on in their feud by a third party who sees Hedda as an ally in right-wing conservatism.
Hedda Hopper, 3rd from left, with Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames, Ann Harding in Holiday (1930)
SHOW NOTES:
Sources specific to this episode:
Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
"Krok" by Simple Machines
"Pips and Boil" by Confectionery
"Crumpet" by Confectionery
"Heath" by Moon Juice
"Mr Mole and Son" by Love and Weasel
"One Quiet Conversation" by K2
"Pxl Htra" by The Fence
"Eggs and Powder" by Muffuletta
"Trenton Channel" by Reflections
"Respite" by Desert Kalimba
"Net and the Cradle" by Muffuletta
"Copley Beat" by Skittle
"Ewa Valley" by Cloud Harbor
Louella Parsons (left) Hedda Hopper (right) c. 1930s
Credits:
This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.
Special thanks to our special guests. Julie Klausner played Louella Parsons. Julie wrote, created and starred in Difficult People, which you can watch on Hulu. She and Tom Scharpling also have a podcast, Double Threat, which you can and should find wherever you get your podcasts. Cole Escola played Hedda Hopper. Cole is an actor who appears on Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris.
Our editor this season is Evan Viola.
Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.
Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.
Logo design: Teddy Blanks.