Hedda Hopper
Born Elda Furry on
May 2, 1885
in Hollidaysburg, PA
Died
Feb. 1, 1966
of pneumonia in Hollywood, CA
It is customary, in a nostalgic sort of way, to proclaim the "passing of an era" when a person closely identified with a certain epoch dies. Thus, when actress-turned-gossip columnist Hedda Hopper died, the end of the great age of movie chroniclers was cited. Her death represented a much greater loss to the film industry than the permanent absence of a popular column she wrote for the Los Angeles Times. In her writing career, which spanned nearly 30 years, Hopper became what one close friend called a "Den Mother" to the glamour folk of Hollywood. Before she took a pen to cover Hollywood, Hopper lived on screen. As an actress, she began in vamp parts and turned to supporting roles, appearing in dozens of films, becoming known as "Queen of the Quickies." In 1936 she started a gossip radio show, "The Hedda Hopper Show," and two years later began her nearly 30-year tenure as a newspaper gossip columnist. In her last films, she mostly played herself, a tribute to her influence in Hollywood. Her son William became famous as investigator Paul Drake in the "Perry Mason" series.
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One thought about Hedda Hopper
I never met the woman, but my Mom knew her (she's 93 now) and my great aunt, was a good friend of hers, and also was an actress back in the day. I also many signed pics of Hedda, w/Yule Brenner, and Dick Powell, Van Johnson, and a few others,,they were signed to "B.B" a nickname of my great aunt's. And some pics w/her son in them also signed by him. I just thought you would like to know this. Louise
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