We remember the wonderful Paul Newman who died Friday of cancer at the age of 83. How wonderful he was on screen, on stage, and in real life. A caring, thoughtful man of all seasons who touched so many lives and made them. >> Before his death, Paul Newman named the most evil actors of Hollywood’s golden age, shattering the glittering facade that had blinded fans for decades.
Behind the smiles and golden Oscars, Newman exposed a truth so disturbing it stunned the entire industry. >> Indicate that he really doesn’t know anything about acting and doesn’t really care about it. I think he’s an intellectual >> Was it about the way they treated people on set? Was it how they lived their private lives hidden behind the glitz? Sit tight because as we go deeper, we’ll uncover exactly who Paul Newman believed didn’t deserve the love and admiration they received.
And trust me, you won’t want to miss the shocking final name on this list. Number nine, Bing Crosby. With his smooth baritone voice and Christmas classics, Bing Crosby projected an image of the perfect family man, simultaneously hiding a shocking private reality that placed him among Hollywood’s darkest figures in Paul Newman’s reckoning.
Throughout the 1940s, Bing Crosby’s public image shown immaculately as he was celebrated as a devoted father, actually receiving multiple father of the year awards. His four sons with first wife Dixie Lee appeared in countless articles as mischievous, funloving rascals, members of what media outlets championed as the ideal Hollywood family.
Behind closed doors, life inside Bing Crosby’s home was very different from the charming public image people saw. In his 1983 memoir, Going My Own Way, Bing’s eldest son, Gary Crosby, painted a haunting picture of his childhood, describing their 20 room Hollywood mansion not as a dream home, but as what he called a house of terror.
He recalled dinners where silence was strictly enforced with the children forbidden to speak at the table, creating an atmosphere of tension rather than family warmth. Gary also revealed that physical punishment was a regular part of their upbringing with beatings so harsh they sometimes drew blood. On top of that, he endured constant ridicule about his weight, often being saddled with degrading nicknames like bucket butt, which left lasting emotional scars.
It was a stark contrast between the polished entertainer the world adored and the father Gary said he feared inside the home. Gary described being weighed weekly by his father, and if he had gained weight, he was ordered into his father’s office for a whipping. My father would come home at 6:00, and by 6:05, he’d heard the news of what I’d done.
Then I’d get bent over and buy pants taken down and beat till I bled,” Gary recounted. Although direct quotes from Newman specifically about Crosby aren’t available in the factual key points, Newman evidently viewed Crosby as emblematic of Hollywood’s hypocritical moral character. Newman, known for his strong ethical stance, reportedly condemned the stark contrast between Crosby’s wholesome public image and his private brutality.
Newman primarily took issue with the system that allowed such behavior to continue unchecked. He saw Crosby as representing a broader pattern of misconduct in Hollywood where those with power could operate without consequences. Within this context, Crosby’s case was initially shocking. The beloved Kuner, whose voice melted hearts, was allegedly one of the most aggressive fathers in Hollywood.
The consequences of Hollywood’s protective silence surrounding Crosby’s behavior proved devastating for his family. All four of Crosby’s sons from his first marriage struggled with alcoholism. Most tragically, two of his sons, Lindsay and Dennis, eventually died. The brothers accumulated 11 wives between them, at least five drunken driving arrests, two affiliations with Alcoholics Anonymous, and a paternity suit.
Gary turned to barroom fighting and excessive drinking, which subsequently damaged his performing career, as promoters could never be sure he would show up or behave professionally. Perhaps most telling was Crosby’s control extending beyond his death. He established trusts for his sons, but placed the money where none of them can touch until age 65.
As Philip Crosby explained his father’s reasoning, “My father thought, “How much trouble will they be able to get into then?” The divided family responses underscored the complexity of Crosby’s mistreatment. Lindsay supported Gary’s account, hoping it would clear up a lot of the old lies. Alternatively, Philip called Gary a whining, bitching crybaby and claimed, “I was happy to be who I was, even if I had the hell kicked out of me.
” Bob Crosby, Bing’s brother, defended him by explaining they were simply brought up that way, illustrating how generational cycles of mistreatment became normalized within Hollywood’s power structure. The industry’s silence altogether enabled Crosby’s behavior to continue, leaving permanent scars on those most vulnerable to his rage.
Paul Newman wasn’t just charming on screen. He also had a brutally honest side. Before he died, he revealed the actors he thought were truly evil in Hollywood’s golden era. Curious who made him cringe? Watch till the end. You won’t believe some of these names. Number eight, Marlene Dietrich. Beneath the smoky glamour of her carefully crafted mystique, Marina Dietrich wielded seduction as a weapon, earning her a place among Hollywood’s most emotionally manipulative figures in Paul Newman’s reckoning of golden age celebrities.
Throughout her career, Dietrich maintained numerous overlapping affairs, often treating lovers as disposable play things in her personal game of power. Consequently, her cold manipulation became legendary. She routinely passed intimate letters from lovers to her husband, occasionally with biting comments.
This behavior reflected her on-screen persona in films like The Devil is a Woman, where she portrayed Kcha Perez, a character who deliberately seduced and discarded men, transforming respected individuals into willing victims she could manipulate for pleasure. Her list of conquests revealed a pattern of calculated seduction regardless of relationship status.
Dietrich pursued affairs with Gary Cooper during his relationship with Lupez, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. while he was married to Joan Crawford and James Stewart with whom she allegedly became pregnant before having a surreptitious abortion without informing him. Primarily, these relationships demonstrated not passion but control, a dynamic where emotional exploitation became Dietrich’s signature.
In contrast with Dietrich’s carefully maintained public image as an anti-fascist icon who refused to return to Germany despite financial hardship, Newman apparently saw through to the emotional devastation she left in her wake. Her director and reported lover, Yseph von Sternberg, described their working relationship as one where she behaved as if she were there as my servant.
Yet away from the set, she collected tribute from men of rank and fame while maintaining a coldeyed mechanic demeanor. Newman, known for his strong moral code and faithful marriage to Joanne Woodward, presumably found Dietrich’s casual dismissal of lovers particularly disturbing. Her star persona deliberately split between the loving and glamorous mother and the confident and manipulative woman, creating a dichotomy that allowed her to exploit both masculine and feminine traits to maintain power over others.
The price of Dietrich’s manipulative approach extended beyond individual heartbreak to professional damage. Bon Sternberg’s career never recovered from the failure of their final collaboration, as illustrated by his bitter recollection that after their partnership ended, Dietrich would finish scenes in other films by whispering through the microphone, “Where are you, Joe?” John Gilbert’s death was reportedly one of the most painful events of her life.
Yet Dietrich continued her pattern of emotional exploitation unabated. Her relationships with women followed similar patterns. Her affair with cabaret hostess Fred lasted decades, but ultimately ended in the 1970s, showing Dietrich’s consistent pattern of extended control. As with other Hollywood figures, Newman condemned, Dietrich represented a fundamental misuse of power, not through physical violence, but through emotional manipulation that left profound scars on those who fell under her spell.
Number seven, Errol Flynn. Errol Flynn embodied the dashing hero to millions of moviegoers with his swashbuckling roles in films like Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood. Yet beneath this carefully crafted public image lurked one of Hollywood’s most notorious predators, whose behavior would later earn him a place among those Paul Newman condemned.
Flynn’s charming on-screen persona masked deeply troubling private behavior. Despite his heroic roles, Flynn developed a reputation for womanizing, heavy drinking, and pursuing alarmingly young women. His predatory nature became public knowledge in 1942 when he was charged with statutory non-consensual sex of two teenage girls, 15-year-old Peggy Satderly and 17-year-old Betty Hansen.
The trial revealed shocking details about Flynn’s character, including his admission to a consensual encounter with one of his accusers while dismissing concerns about her age with the callous quip, who approaches a prospective sweetheart, asking her to whip out her birth certificate. The courtroom proceedings exposed Hollywood’s toxic culture as Flynn’s defense team viciously attacked the character and morals of both accusers, portraying them as scheming opportunists.
One attorney declared during closing arguments, “I say we did not smear these girls. I say they smeared themselves before they ever took this witness stand.” This character assassination strategy proved effective. Flynn was acquitted on all counts in February 1943. Newman, known for his moral stance against Hollywood’s misuse of power, reportedly expressed disgust at how Flynn had escaped justice through privilege and fame.
Furthermore, Newman was particularly disturbed by Flynn’s unrepentant attitude following the trial. Instead of showing remorse, Flynn essentially admitted guilt in his autobiography, writing, “I might have been guilty as hell under the law.” That is, but in the world of day-to-day common sense, everybody knew that the girls had asked for it.
This cavalier dismissal of serious accusations exemplified exactly what Newman found reprehensible about certain Hollywood figures. The belief that fame granted immunity from moral standards. Additionally, Flynn’s behavior had already raised red flags among industry insiders. His Robin Hood co-star Olivia de Havland once found a dead snake in her underwear as she went to put them on.
A cruel prank Flynn later admitted responsibility for in his autobiography. Flynn’s acquitt and continued success afterward perfectly illustrated the culture of impunity in golden age Hollywood. Despite the trial, Flynn’s career hardly suffered. Significantly, the phrase in like Flynn entered the American lexicon, celebrating his supposed sexual conquests and ability to escape consequences.
Flynn’s predatory behavior continued unabated after the trial. While the proceedings were ongoing, he pursued 18-year-old Norah Eddington, who sold chewing gum in the courthouse, later making her his second wife. Even more disturbing, when Flynn died at age 50 in 1959, he was involved with Beverly Oddland, whom he had met when she was just 15.
The Flynn case exposed how Hollywood’s powerful men could operate without consequences, setting a precedent that would allow similar behavior to continue for decades. Actor David Nan, once Flynn’s roommate, summed up his character with damning precision. The great thing about Errol was you always knew exactly where you stood with him because he always let you down.
Newman’s inclusion of Flynn among Hollywood’s most evil figures reflected not just Flynn’s individual actions, but also the systemic problems in an industry that protected predators while silencing victims. Flynn’s story represents everything Newman sought to challenge. The dark underbelly of fame, where talent and charm could mask cruelty and mistreatment.
Hollywood’s golden age is often remembered as glamorous, full of glitz, fame, and unforgettable movies. But as Paul Newman revealed before his death, there was a dark side hiding behind the lights. Some actors were reportedly cruel, manipulative, or downright evil. And Newman didn’t hold back. Who were these actors? What made them so notorious? And why does Newman’s perspective change how we see the golden era of Hollywood? Stay with us because by the end you’ll never look at those classic films the same way again.
Number six, Joan Crawford. Beyond the silver screen, Joan Crawford maintained a carefully crafted image as a devoted mother who had adopted five children out of love. However, this facade concealed a horrifying reality of mistreatment that eventually became one of Hollywood’s most notorious scandals, one that Paul Newman allegedly condemned with particular disgust.
The disturbing truth about Crawford’s parenting emerged publicly after her death in 1977 when her eldest adopted daughter, Christina Crawford, published the tell all memoir Mommy Dearest in 1978. The book detailed shocking allegations of physical, emotional, and psychological mistreatment, painting Crawford as an alcoholic monster behind closed doors.
According to Christina’s account, life in her mother’s home was filled with fear and cruelty. She described how Joan Crawford would storm into her room in the middle of the night, often drunk, yanking her out of bed by the hair and beating her while screaming, “No wire hangers!” until her ears rang. These so-called night raids left Christina terrified and always on edge, never knowing when the next outburst would come.
Punishments were not just physical, but also deeply humiliating. She recalled how her mother once shredded her favorite dress in a fit of rage, then forced her to wear the ruined garment for a week straight as a form of shame and control. There were also times when Crawford used food as a weapon, refusing to let Christina eat for days simply because she would not eat undercooked meat.
For Christina, these moments painted a picture of a childhood where love and safety were replaced with fear, intimidation, and survival. Perhaps most chilling was Christina’s recollection of being choked by her mother at age 13. a moment when she forgot Crawford was my mother and realized she was trying to kill me. As Christina later explained, we didn’t have a language for it.
We didn’t have laws for it. We didn’t have a social context for it and we had shame. A tremendous amount of shame coupled with fear. Though Newman maintained professional relationships with many Hollywood figures, his interactions with Crawford revealed deep disdain for her character. In one documented instance, Crawford commented dismissively about Newman’s marriage to Joanne Woodward after allegedly having slept with Newman on a couple of occasions during his first marriage.
When Newman famously stated about his marriage, “Why go out for hamburger when you have steak at home?” Crawford responded with characteristic cruelty. What a clever thing to say. But how true is it? First, I think Woodward is hamburger, not steak. As for Paul, he dines out frequently and on the most succulent filt minion, from what I hear.
Newman reportedly viewed Crawford’s narcissism and treatment of her children as emblematic of Hollywood’s toxic culture of impunity. Unlike many of his contemporaries who defended Crawford after Mommy Dearest was published, Newman stood firm in his belief that power and fame should never excuse cruelty. After Mommy Dearest was published, Hollywood split into camps.
those who defended Crawford and those who believed Christina. Notably, many of Crawford’s friends and co-workers, including Van Johnson, Anne Ble, Maoy, Catherine Hepern, Cesar Romero, and her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. came to her defense. Nonetheless, others like Helen Hayes, June Allison, and Vincent Sherman confirmed they had witnessed Crawford’s excessive discipline.
This division illustrated how fear had shaped Crawford’s relationships. Fear of retaliation, fear of being blacklisted, and fear of confronting uncomfortable truths. Christina herself identified fear as the central element of her childhood. Fear is the water that mistreated children swim in. she stated, “Because you don’t know what’s going to happen, and your life is so chaotic.
” Even more troubling, Christina revealed that household staff and teachers were aware of the mistreatment, yet remained silent. The final proof of Crawford’s vindictiveness came in her will, where she explicitly disinherited Christina and Christopher for reasons that are well known to them. This act of postumous punishment underscored how Crawford wielded control through fear until the very end.
Crawford’s legacy thus remains permanently divided between the glamorous movie star and the allegedly mistreative mother between those who defended her and those who condemned her. Yet through Newman’s unflinching moral stance, Crawford became emblematic of Hollywood’s capacity to enable and protect its most destructive figures.
Number five, Mickey Rooney. As America’s favorite boy next door, Mickey Rooney captivated audiences for nine decades across 300 films. Yet henceforth he would be counted among Hollywood’s most troubling figures in Paul Newman’s private condemnations of industry predators. Behind Rooney’s charismatic performances in Andy Hardy films lurked a man described by Vanity Fair as the original Hollywood train wreck.
His dimminionative 5’2 in stature contrasted with what Blake Edwards called something sexual about Rooney, noting how he would be making love in the middle of the projection room. This boyish appearance masked darkly adult behaviors. Gambling away his fortune despite earning $65,000 weekly during Broadway runs.
Battling sleeping pill addiction into his 70s and pursuing eight marriages that frequently ended in scandal. On set, Rooney exhibited consistent entitlement. Angela Lansbury recalled he was very cocky. He would come roaring onto the set with a kind of entourage of hangers on, constantly on the telephone, making bets at the track.
This behavior reflected a man who believed his talent entitled him to excess in all areas. Among Rooney’s most disturbing actions, prior to which Newman reportedly expressed particular disgust, was his predatory relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. In 1946, while Rooney was married to his second wife, Betty Jane, and she was pregnant with their second child, she discovered 14-year-old Taylor performing a act on her then mid20s husband.
The incident had farreaching consequences that shook the lives of everyone involved. Betty Jane, facing the fallout, decided to file for divorce and brought in a top attorney, aiming for a significant settlement that would secure her future. Meanwhile, Taylor found herself victimized at an age when she was simply too young to consent, a reality that left a lasting mark on her life and career.
Even the powerful MGM studio head, Lewis B. mayor finally reached a breaking point, growing fed up with Mickey and effectively signaling the end of his career at MGM. What had seemed like isolated events quickly became a chain reaction affecting personal lives, professional reputations, and the course of Hollywood history. Rather than viewing this as of a minor, media accounts often labeled it an affair, otherwise minimizing the trauma inflicted on a child.
Recent accounts note that Taylor was basically molested by Mickey Rooney when she was 14, contributing to her later struggles. Soon after the incident, MGM carefully managed the fallout. Rooney’s second wife received a settlement totaling approximately $40,000. $15,000 yearly for 15 years plus additional costs, coupled with MGM helping Ava Gardner’s career advancement in exchange for her silence about Rooney’s infidelities.
The studio system facilitated such mistreatment beyond merely covering it up. MGM reportedly sedated both Rooney and Judy Garland to keep them on the grueling schedules, giving them pills to keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted. This created a culture where exploitation was normalized. Newman’s inclusion of Rooney among Hollywood’s most evil figures stemmed from this fundamental betrayal, using boyish charm to mask predatory behavior, exploiting Hollywood’s youngest stars, and relying on studio protection to escape
consequences. Number four, Kirk Douglas. Rugged and heroic on screen, Kirk Douglas portrayed characters of moral strength throughout his long Hollywood career. Yet off- camerara allegations tell a vastly different story. One that reputedly earned him a place among those Paul Newman considered Hollywood’s darkest figures.
In recent years, serious allegations have emerged regarding Douglas’s treatment of young women in Hollywood. Most notably, Lana Wood has claimed in her 2021 memoir that Douglas mistreated her sister, actress Natalie Wood, when she was just 16 years old. The alleged occurred in summer 1955 at the Chateau Marmmont Hotel during a meeting arranged by Natalie’s mother.
As long as Hollywood’s protective culture prevailed, this incident remained hidden with Wood’s mother allegedly advising her to suck it up to avoid career damage. Not to mention, Douglas’s own autobiography contained troubling passages, including his interaction with General Deon’s 12-year-old daughter, whom he described as sexy, and gave a dime with instructions to call him when she was older.
In the same book, he admitted to encounters with beautiful young, I hate to think how young, coppercoled girls in Jamaica, writing disturbingly, “I think I should have been in jail.” Throughout his career, Newman maintained a reputation for moral integrity in contrast with figures like Douglas. In light of Newman’s documented disgust with Hollywood predators, he reportedly viewed Douglas as embodying the industry’s worst tendencies, powerful men exploiting vulnerable women with impunity.
The stark disparity between Douglas’s screen persona and private behavior represents precisely what Newman found reprehensible about certain Hollywood legends. On film, Douglas portrayed characters like Spartacus fighting against oppression, whereas offscreen, he allegedly used his power to harm others.
All things considered, the allegations against Douglas highlight a troubling pattern. He was celebrated for ending the Hollywood blacklist and donated his fortune to charity, yet simultaneously stands accused of severe sexual misconduct. This contradiction continues to complicate Douglas’s legacy. After his death at 103 in 2020, Natalie Wood’s name trended alongside his on social media, a digital testament to allegations that followed him beyond the grave, forever connecting a Hollywood legend to one of the industry’s darkest controversies.
What if your favorite Hollywood star was actually a nightmare offscreen? Paul Newman had the inside scoop and he named the actors he considered truly evil. Some of these stories are shocking, some are unbelievable, but all are fascinating. Watch to the very end. Number three, B. Davis. Known for her formidable screen presence and piercing eyes, B.
Davis conquered Hollywood through sheer force of will. Yet behind those famous eyes lurked a complicated figure whose behaviors often crossed into cruelty. According to industry insiders, Davis’s legendary status as a solid master of her craft often obscured her darker interactions with colleagues. Nevertheless, her treatment of co-star Bonita Granville revealed glimpses of her intimidating nature.
She was in the film and off. I don’t remember the details, but she struck me as flighty and gossipy, Davis admitted about Granville, who played her niece in one production. This admission, albeit downplayed, offers a rare window into Davis’s tendency to create hostile environments for those she disliked. Conversely, actor Paul Henri described her as a delight to work with, claiming they developed a very close friendship.
This contradiction underscores how Davis carefully managed relationships with those she respected versus those she dismissed. As with other Hollywood legends he purportedly condemned, Newman supposedly viewed Davis’s most troubling behavior as occurring offcreen. Her daughter BD wrote a scathing tell all memoir following the pattern of Christina Crawford’s Mommy Dearest.
Among the most disturbing allegations, BD claimed Davis would stage voluntary death to punish her children. Psychological torture that, assuming any truth, would certainly have drawn Newman’s moral outrage. Davis epitomized the Hollywood dichotomy between professional brilliance and personal monstrosity. Ironically, she once remarked, “You should never say anything bad about the dead, only good.
” a principle apparently not extended to the living under her influence. Her professional excellence, Irving has directed some of my best pictures, she acknowledged, coexisted with alleged maternal cruelty. Yet even these accusations remain contested terrain, with some dismissing BD as a grifter who is claiming her mother was a witch after being financially cut off.
This uncertainty itself reflects how power protected golden age stars from scrutiny, allowing reputations to remain pristine yet furthering victims suffering through enforced silence. Number two, Wallace Berry, Academy Award winner. Wallace Berry portrayed lovable rogues on screen while concealing a temperament so volatile that according to Hollywood insiders, it may have turned deadly.
The most serious allegations against Berry involve Three Stooges founder Ted Healey’s mysterious death in December 1937. Author EJ Fleming asserts that Berry along with future James Bond producer Albert Cubby Broccoli and mob figure Pat Dico fatally beat Healey outside the cafe Trokadero. Fleming writes that after an altercation inside, Beer punched Healey in the head, ultimately leading to Healey being left unconscious, sprawled in a pool of blood. Healey died shortly afterward.
Shamp Howard, one of the original stooges, claimed Healey phoned him the night of his death, saying Beeri and others had attacked him. Stoge member Paul Mousy Banit Mousi Garner stated Healey died and it was common knowledge who beat him up. I always heard Wallace Berry and Pat Dico were the guys. Forth with MGM allegedly orchestrated a sophisticated cover up.
The studio reportedly sent Berry on a hastily arranged month-long trip to Europe immediately after Healey’s death. The coroner, possibly influenced by MGM, ruled Healey died from acute toxic nefritis, secondary to acute and chronic alcoholism, despite troubling evidence suggesting otherwise. Analogous to other celebrities, Newman condemned, Berry terrorized colleagues, especially child actors.
Jackie Cooper called him a big disappointment and accused Beer of deliberate upstaging and undermining his performances. Robert Young bluntly described Berry as a shitty person, and Margaret O’Brien recalled crew members needing to protect her from Beer’s constant pinching. Beyond physical intimidation, Berry demanded contractual provisions stipulating that no child actor could have closeups in his films, revealing his pathological jealousy even toward children.
Before his death, Newman reportedly revealed the most evil actors he’d ever worked with or known about. But what exactly made them evil? Were they just difficult or something far worse? And why did Newman feel this was important to share before he passed? Stick around because by the end, you’ll see the darker side of Hollywood that history books often leave out.
Number one, Gloria Swanson. In 1920s Hollywood, Gloria Swanson reigned supreme among silent film stars. Her image dripping with sequins and trailing fur coats. Yet behind this glittering facade lay an ego so monstrous it destroyed productions, careers, and lives. The 1928 production of Queen Kelly stands as the clearest testament to Swanson’s devastating impact.
On set, her demands proved relentless. Entire costumes discarded because the fabric color didn’t suit my eyes. Expensive sets demolished and rebuilt merely to inspire her performance. Hundreds of laborers collapsed from exhaustion while the budget spiraled beyond control. In the end, director Eric von Stroheim was fired. The production abandoned and hundreds lost their jobs.
All sacrificed to satisfy one stars whims. Upon being asked about Swanson, Paul Newman reportedly remarked that some believe luxury keeps them forever at the top. But Hollywood never forgives those who make entire crews suffer for their ego. Indeed, as millions of Americans lined up for bread during the Great Depression, Swanson still rode in goldplated limousines and purchased diamonds weekly.
As sound films emerged, Swanson’s refusal to adapt hastened her fall. First and foremost, she blamed directors, producers, and even audiences whom she dismissed as too unsophisticated to appreciate her artistry. Ultimately, she retreated into isolated opulence surrounded by mirrors, gowns, and jewels, but few admirers.
With this, we have come to the end of this video. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, do well to like, comment, and subscribe for more content. To enjoy more thrilling stories, click now on the following video that pops up on your screen.
