Louella Parsons
American gossip columnist (1881–1972) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Louella Rose Oettinger, (August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) known professionally as Louella Parsons, was an American gossip columnist and a screenwriter. At her peak, her columns were read by 20 million people in 700 newspapers worldwide.
Louella Parsons | |
---|---|
Born | Louella Rose Oettinger (1881-08-06)August 6, 1881 Freeport, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | December 9, 1972(1972-12-09) (aged 91) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1902–1965 |
Spouses | John Dement Parsons
(m. 1905; div. 1914)John McCaffrey Jr.
(m. 1915; div. 1929) |
Children | Harriet Parsons |
She was the first writer of a dedicated column on motion pictures in the United States, writing one in 1914 for the Chicago Record-Herald.[1] She later started a similar column for the New York Morning Telegraph, being lured away by William Randolph Hearst's New York American in 1924 because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies.[2] She subsequently became an influential figure in Hollywood and remained the unchallenged "Queen of Hollywood gossip" until the arrival of the flamboyant Hedda Hopper, with whom she feuded for years.