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“Step right up to see the greatest collection of West coast wild-life ever assembled in one place!” — tagline for “Hot from Hollywood” gossip column, Movie TV Secrets magazine

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Exploring lives that were at once ordinary and unique, fabulous and tedious, fulfilling and tortured, abundant and deprived.

Can You Judge a Fan Mag by Its Cover? A Visual Tour

From their beginnings in 1911, fan magazines were designed to construct “an audience of spectators and, by extension, consumers” (Sally
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On and Off

“Here we have Joan [Crawford], four handsome men. We could have given you as many as ten. They’re all ‘related,’
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Some Lies We Want to Hear, Some Truths, Not So Much

NOTE: This is part two of an exploration of the enduring influence of the Hollywood media machine on our lives
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Hollywood Inferno: The Fan Mags and a Real-Life Weather Disaster

NOTE: Given current events, in which — as someone just posted on FB — nature’s being all sweet and pretty
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In Search of Suzanne (and/or Something Else)

NOTE: This is part one of an exploration of the meaning of celebrity in our lives and psyches, as assisted
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‘Tis the Season

“This is the season for gifts for your near and dear. This is the season of cards for those far
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  • “Step right up to see the greatest collection of West coast wild-life ever assembled in one place!” — tagline for “Hot from Hollywood” gossip column, Movie TV Secrets magazine
    Movie TV Secrets magazine
  • “All the loudest whispers from our very own private ear!” — tagline for “Star Scoops,” Movieland and TV Time
    “Star Scoops,” Movieland and TV Time
  • “The column the stars read” — tagline for “Hotline to the Stars,” Movieland and TV Time
    “Hotline to the Stars,” Movieland and TV Time
  • “Put your eye right up to the key hole and take a peek at the flings the Hollywood stars want to hide from you” — tagline for “Hollywood Snooper,” Movie Tattler
    “Hollywood Snooper,” Movie Tattler
  • “Red hot gossip right off the griddle” — tagline for “Inside Stuff,” Inside Story
    “Inside Stuff,” Inside Story
  • “Who knows what goes on in the heart of Hollywood?” — tagline for “Pamela Mason Knows,” Photoplay
    “Pamela Mason Knows,” Photoplay
  • “All the lowdown on the hi-jinks of Hollywood’s fabled citizens” — tagline for “Dateline: Hollywood!” Screen World
    “Dateline: Hollywood!” Screen World
  • “Star secrets from coast to coast” — tagline for “Gossip,” TV Picture Life
    “Gossip,” TV Picture Life
  • “Get in orbit with the stars!” — tagline for “Pop Stars Are Poppin’!” Teen World
    “Pop Stars Are Poppin’!” Teen World
  • “Read the hottest, on the spottest news about your favorites here” — tagline for Armand Archerd’s “Star Close Ups,” Movie Stars
    “Star Close Ups,” Movie Stars
  • “All the intimate details of life and love among Tinseltown’s exciting young celebs” — tagline for “Hollywood’s Younger Set,” Movie World
    “Hollywood’s Younger Set,” Movie World