Passing Memories of Old Hollywood

You can’t beat personal memories when it comes to Hollywood. Thank you to The English Professor for sharing her experiences of Hedda Hopper and Tex Ritter whom she met through her film publicist father.

Hedda Hopper in 1929. By Bain News Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The English Professor at Large

A friend mentioned the dearth of gossip columnists today, and brought up the name of Hedda Hopper. She was one of the top ones for years. A former actress,she found another more lucrative, certainly more powerful, career as a columnist. She could make or break a career. The first time I met her was with my father at her beautiful home. A new actress had come to town and Hedda had invited my father to meet her, especially for him to give her some sound publicity advice. She was Amanda Blake, a gorgeous redhead who was destined to become Miss Kitty of “Gunsmoke” years later.
My father sometimes escorted Hedda to see talent, and once in a while I, a teenager, went along. I remember her as being bright,extremely attractive(especially in those extravagant hats of hers),talkative, and amusing.After my father died of a massive heart attack in New York,Hedda wrote…

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