Hedda Hopper (May 2, 1885 – February 1, 1966) was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.

She had but one husband, actor DeWolf Hopper (married May 8, 1913-divorced January 20, 1924). They had one child, actor William Hopper who played Paul Drake on the long-running series Perry Mason.

Hopper became known and often despised as well for "naming names" of suspected or alleged Communists, many of them simply committed liberals, during the era when McCarthyism gripped Hollywood

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The Queen Bee and the Stork Club or

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

by Gordon Williams

History is a combination of reality and lies. The reality of history becomes a lie. The unreality of the fable becomes the truth. Jean Cocteau, 1889-1993

William Hopper, who was best known for his role as Paul Drake in the television series Perry Mason was my step-father. His mother, Hedda Hopper, had a syndicated newspaper column and a national radio program. I grew up wondering why Bill and his mother were estranged. I know that Hopper and her son had frequent arguments about her caustic journalistic style,

So finally curiosity got the better of me and through the Freedom of Information Act, I sent off for Hedda's FBI files. To my surprise, the volume I received was two inches thick and cost the government three bucks to mail.

From the very first moment I opened her files, I realized that one reason Hedda's son avoided her might have been because of her political beliefs. In her day, Hedda was one of the most powerful people in Holly wood. One bad word from her and you didn't work, so one had to lick her boots if you wanted an acting job in old Hollywood. Politically, she made the John Birch Society look progressive and counted such figures as Barry Goldwater, Joe McCarthy, Howard Hughes, Ronald Reagan, J. Edgar Hoover, and William Randolph Hearst as close personal friends. Hedda would never get on an airplane unless Howard Hughes had the craft personally inspected. When staying at the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, Hedda would receive a piece of fine jewelry on her plate at every meal.

However, what I found most interesting was Hedda's relationship with J. Edgar Hoover. As it turns out, Hopper was in constant contact with the former director of the FBI. What better set-up could the writer of a gossip column ask, than to have the resources of the federal government at her disposal? This explains why she had unlimited sources of "dirt" on people in the entertainment industry. I'm sure, in turn, she provided Hoover with plenty of information that went beyond idle gossip-who was seen with whom-to out-and-out red-baiting.

J. Edgar constantly denied that the Mafia even existed. The Mob paid him off by giving him inside tips at the race track. So instead of fighting organized crime, Hoover squandered government resources collecting information on almost everyone in the motion picture industry for fifty years. Was this just the bizarre hobby of an uptight little man with too much power? Or did the government have a motive for suppressing all the freethinkers in Hollywood? In one of her early letters to Hoover (April 7, 1947), Hedda writes,

I loved what you said about the commies in the motion picture industry. But I would like it even more if you could name names and print more facts. Who's keeping the truth from the American public? Is that one of the jobs Eric Johnnson was paid to do? I'd like to run every one of those rats out of the country starting with Charlie Chaplin. In no other country in the world would he have been allowed to do what he's done. And he's finished another picture, and Miss Mary Pickford is back in New York helping him sell it. It's about time we stood up to be counted.

In his autobiography, Charlie Chaplin categorically denied ever being a member of the Communist Party. However, the government and the press hounded him to the point that he had to move to Europe and never returned to the United States again. Chaplin's only crime was being a progressive and promoting friendship between the United States and the former Soviet Union. As a matter of fact, Chaplin met with dignitaries, including Ghandi, from all over the world. Was Hollywood infiltrated by Communists-or by the far right? Most likely the latter. Let's not forget that Ronald Reagan got his start in politics as President of the Screen Actors Guild, a post he couldn't have received without the help of Hedda Hopper! In a 1947 report to a Joint Fact-finding Committee on Un-American Activities in California, Hoover reported that in 1934 a considerable sum of money was sent from the Soviet Commissar to a Communist in Hollywood to recruit movie stars into the party, capturing key trade unions and having control over everything on wheels, from sound trucks to tray dollies in the cafeterias. According to Hoover, the Communist Party infiltrated a myriad of front organizations with pseudo-liberals, commies and parlor pinks. These organizations included the League for Women Shoppers, the old John Reed Club, and the Hollywood Theatre Alliance.

Hollywood is a veritable mecca for the Communist cultural elite, claimed Hoover in an ardent frenzy. The above goes to show that even at the end of WW II, the powers-that-be were desperately scrambling to have someone as an adversary. As the case is today at the end of the Cold War, the Armed Services had to prove they weren't obsolete. It's like that old Lenny Bruce schtick, "If we ain't got no enemies, we'll go out and create some."

In another letter to Hoover, Hedda applauded the 1947 investigations of the studios by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Promptly ostracizing "lefties" such as John Houston, Lauren Bacall, Humphry Bogart, Danny Kaye, and anyone who dared to oppose the witch hunt on grounds of privacy, Hedda saw only Red when it came to her politics. Another interesting item in Hedda's file was a newspaper clipping with the headline "'Town Meeting' Meets Hollywood Dilemma."

Planned broadcasts of America's Town Meeting of the Air from here Sept. 4, with topic, "Is there Really a Threat of Communism in Hollywood?" has touched off ticklish situation. With Hedda Hopper set to take affirmative and Emmet Lavery negative side of debate, show's producers are having tough time lining up two more Hollywood names to fill out teams. Many fear hooking up with Avery will lend pink tinge, but more important, no star yet approached wants to oppose Hedda Hopper.

Personally, I can see why anyone would be wary of opposing Hedda in a debate. It would have been death to anyone's career. Also Hopper did her homework. In a letter (August 7, 1947) before the broadcast, she asked Hoover,

Would you give me some facts to hurl back at the angry mob in the [audience] who is going to ask embarrassing questions. Naturally, I won't be able to accuse certain stars of being registered Communists, as even those who are deny it, always have always will. But you're so wise and have so many facts at your fingertips that I feel that I can call upon your friendship for help. I know you're just as anxious to rid the country of our enemies as I am. If you had your way I feel sure you'd name names, which is the only way we'll get rid of them. Some day they've got to stand up and be counted. Your information will be confidential. I will not use your name unless you give permission. In that case I'd be very proud to say, "Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, who is my choice for President, tells me so and so." Blessings on you always.

Hoover replied to her request with a stack of files and clippings from Pravda and the Daily Worker. The actor Robert Taylor was attacked for his lack of "political morality" for making the film Song of Russia. Taylor had to report to a closed session of the House Committee of Un-American Activities. According to Chairman J. Parnell Thomas, Taylor said he "was virtually forced to play in Song of Russia, which he [Taylor] considered Communist propaganda."

Hedda's correspondence mentions meetings with Hoover at the Stork Club and there are numerous letters arranging "off the record visits." One internal memo is a request by Hedda Hopper to have an investigator look into the background of Michael Wilding, movie actor and former husband of Elizabeth Taylor. In Hopper's book, The Whole Truth and Nothing But, she refers to Wilding and Steward Granger as "playmates." Hedda was being sued for $3 million by Wilding and enlisted the FBI's assistance in investigating Wilding's background and the matter in question. On top of everything else, Hopper was a racist. According to FBI records, she was on the American Nazi Party mailing list. The entire list was completely blacked out except for Hedda's name and address. I have sent off for a complete list, but so far have not had a reply. On one occasion my stepfather was anxiously awaiting a visit from Jesse Owens. Hedda warned her staff and Bill not to be alarmed if they saw "a nigger running around the house." Little did she know that the legendary athlete was standing right behind her. Bill was humiliated and described the incident as one of the most embarrassing of his life.

In the days when even Sammy Davis, Jr. couldn't use the front door of a Vegas Hotel, there was a rumor of an interracial romance and possible marriage between two celebrities. Again, Hedda contacted the FBI stating that if this became known, it would shock the entire industry and she would appreciate it if "my dear Edgar" could "pin this matter down one way or the other." Both parties were contacted by FBI field agents and had to deny any relationship.

The list of people and organizations Hedda Hopper and J. Edgar slandered is almost endless. It would behoove anyone who had been in the public eye to write the FBI and request his/her file under the Freedom of Information Act. Why did Hedda step on so many people? Probably for the most part for poser and just plain greed, and also perhaps for revenge. In the beginning of her career, Hedda was an unsuccessful actress who never landed a job and who was most likely jealous of anyone who did. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps the only way she could have made it as a journalist was to jump through Mr. Man's hoops. But she seemed to jump through them willingly and well. Today in Hollywood, bad publicity is considered good publicity but in Hedda's day, it meant you didn't work. And Hedda ruined many a career. According to her correspondence, "a career was a small matter compared to keeping the country safe from communism." Her barbs ranged from innuendoes, such as so-and-so's in the pink, to outright attacks against films she deemed subversive. In a speech before 6,000 members of the American Legion of American Women, Hopper attacked many films that are considered classics today, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (because it implied that there were no honest men in our nation's capital) and Meet John Doe (because it qualified for a command performance at the Kremlin). She urged all Americans to boycott pictures with actors who had Communist connections or any film made at Metro Goldwyn "Moscow."

So why was Hoover and the government involved in red-baiting at the studios? I doubt J. Edgar Hoover or Joe McCarthy caught any real Communists. I think the aim of the American inquisition was to gain control of the motion picture industry because if you control the media you control the people. This is very evident today. If the government wants support for its policies in the Mideast, just have Chuck Norris make a few films depicting stereotypical hooknosed Arabs invading America. Give your operation a catchy name like Desert Storm, and your constituents will go for anything. The government has been doing this since John Wayne was making pictures. Fortunately, even the Duke couldn't drum up much support for Vietnam.

As a child I was disappointed that I never got to spend much time with Hedda. Now I feel fortunate that I didn't get exposed to her infested programming during my formative years. After all, anyone who considered Richard Nixon her protégé would have made a very dysfunctional stepgrandmother.

And from James Mason:

Hedda Hopper was ten times the bitch that Louella Parsons could ever
be. Whenever I read her column she was saying something vile about
people I liked or respected: She was vile to Rex Harrison, and she
practically went to war against Charlie Chaplin. So much so that I
would say that she, more than any other individual, was responsible
for Chaplin's shabby treatment at the hands of the United States
Immigration Department.
-James Mason (from BEFORE I FORGET/Hamish Hamilton-London, 1981)