Feb 102010
Winchell’s column was published for many years in hundreds of newspapers. His Sunday night radio program was a ritual for millions of listeners. Other powerful gossip columnists and broadcasters included Hedda Hopper, Louella Parsons and Jimmy Fidler. I recently spoke with Rona Barrett, who was a TV gossip reporter.
Who were your favorite gossip columnists and broadcasters of the past?
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Hedda Hopper – mother of the blond actor in the tv series Perry Mason (this is the first one in black and white lol )….she is my idol and I would like to be as good/bad as her…..cheers, Lillian
As a Chicago native, my “gossip” favorite was Irv Kupcinet. He had a daily column (in the Chicago Sun-Times I believe) and did radio and TV as well. His only “failing” may have been that he was so generally positive and upbeat about all the celebs (local and national) he covered. (And he was warm and friendly in person, too.) I truly wonder if he would have been as popular in today’s world of nasty and often unsubstantiated “items.”