Did You Hear…? A History of Strange Celebrity Rumors
These strange, silly, and downright bizarre celebrity rumors are completely untrue, of course. In Clint Eastwood’s case, the rumor was attributed to two different publications that jokingly made reference to a resemblance between Eastwood and Stan Laurel, as well as to the fact that Eastwood’s birthday occurred in the same month and year as Laurel’s son. As for young Mikey…whose real name is John Gilchrist…he’s alive and well and working as an advertising executive.
Where do these celebrity rumors come from? And why are we so quick to believe them?
The origins of many celebrity rumors are shrouded in mystery. Others are the result of misinformation or snippets of miscommunication that are spread, unconfirmed and unchecked, until they become fact in the public’s eye. Here are some examples:
One of Hollywood’s earliest celebrity rumors claimed that Clara Bow, the “It” girl and famous screen star of the 1920’s, “entertained” the entire USC football team. It’s true that Bow entertained the entire team, but not in the sexual way that was implied by rumor mongers of the time. In truth, she was a fan of the team and often invited them to her mansion for pool parties and dancing. Unfortunately because of her on-screen persona as a vamp, the rumor was believed for years and unfairly characterized Bow as a symbol of Hollywood promiscuity.
In the 1930’s, author Graham Greene wrote a film review in which he implied that Hollywood’s most famous child star, Shirley Temple, was, in fact, an adult midget. He emphasized Shirley’s supposedly coquettish behavior toward the adult male actors in the cast as a glaring clue to her real age. Twentieth Century Fox sued for libel on Temple’s behalf and won. A number of moviegoers may have questioned the midget rumor as plausible, but the truth was that Shirley Temple was simply a precocious and very talented child.
The great Walt Disney once expressed curiosity about cryonics, the act of freezing a body at the moment of death with the hope of future recessitation. This innocent interest of Disney’s ignited one of the most bizarre celebrity rumors ever. Because of the secrecy surrounding the cause of his death in 1966 (lung cancer) and because his funeral services were extremely private, a rumor circulated that Disney’s body was frozen and buried under the Pirates of Caribbean ride at Disneyland. In fact, Disney disliked funerals and once remarked to his daughter that, “When I’m dead I don’t want a funeral. I want people to remember me alive.” So, in keeping with his wishes, his body was cremated and the ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California, a fact that is confirmed by the official death certificate.
In the early 1970’s, a rumor circulated that celebrities Jim Nabors and Rock Hudson were married in Huntington Beach, California. This rumor was given so much credence that it’s believed to this day. In fact, no such marriage ever took place. The rumor was the result of a mock wedding invitation created by a party-loving gay couple in an attempt to attract guests to their soiree. A movie magazine picked up the story and ran with it. Sadly, the cruel rumor ended the friendship between the two stars, as any sightings of them together added more credence to the story and jeopardized their careers.
Another strange celebrity rumor of the 1970’s concerned actor Ken Osmond, who played the obnoxious “Eddie Haskell” in the series, “Leave it to Beaver.” Word spread that Osmond was actually the rock singer, Alice Cooper, who was the Marilyn Manson of his day. The real story is that Cooper gave a magazine interview and in talking about his childhood, described himself as being like “Eddie Haskell.” And because some readers of the magazine apparently misunderstood Cooper’s statement, another rumor was born.
Even Mr. Rogers, the gentle host of the children’s show, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood,” didn’t escape the spokes of the bizarre celebrity rumor mill. Since 1994 rumors have circulated that Rogers was a Marine sniper/Navy Seal in Korea/Vietnam with 25-42 enemy kills to his credit (details varied). The rumors resurfaced when Rogers died in 2003. In truth, Rogers never even served in the military. Obviously, some hoaxer somewhere thought the idea of Rogers as Rambo was irresistible, and millions of others agreed; thus the rumors spread like wildfire across the internet.
A celebrity rumor with a “seeing is not necessarily believing” twist involved lawyer Johnnie Cochran. Cochran became famous for successfully defending O.J. Simpson in his notorious murder trial. An e-mail made the rounds after Cochran’s death in 2005 that purportedly showed a photo of the lawyer’s tombstone, with the inscription: “O.J. Did It.” Of course, his actual tombstone says no such thing; the e-mail photo was computer-generated.
The above are some of the more outrageous celebrity rumors through the years. So how do we tell which ones are true and which are pure fiction? Simply use common sense in evaluating any rumor. If you have questions or doubts, research the facts. Snopes at http://www.snopes.com is a great site for exposing silly rumors and internet hoaxes. As entertaining and intriguing as celebrity rumors are, oftentimes the truth is much more interesting.
