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RKO thought Lucille Ball was only good enough for ‘B’ pictures–then she bought the studio
Joan Crawford showed Depression-era women how to survive by their wits
Sheilah Graham was the gossip columnist who sobered up F. Scott Fitzgerald enough to write his last novel
Lynn Bari started out as an MGM showgirl at 13. She came of age when Hollywood was a woman’s town
June Havoc endured a monstrous stage mother in vaudeville and then horrors in the dance marathon racket before she went to Hollywood
June’s sister Gypsy Rose Lee survived by turning burlesque into a highbrow art form even though censors prevented her name from appearing in the credits
Susan Hayward lost an Oscar to scandal but ignored bad publicity as Queen of 20th Century Fox
Two studios shared Mae Clarke’s contract, worked her relentlessly, until she was under care of shady doctors who nearly let her die in a psychiatric ward
Carole Landis had a famous figure but was really born for screwball comedy
Ann Todd had a smoking hot affair with James Mason while they made a picture where she played the genius
Geraldine Fitzgerald earned an Oscar nomination for her first Hollywood picture yet had Jack Warner insist she wasn’t in Ingrid Bergman’s league.
Yvonne De Carlo paid her dues in burlesque then leveraged ballet training into top-billing
After Esther Williams scolded Louis B Mayer, she gained the first lucrative endorsement deal for an MGM star
