Douglaston's Own: Hedda Hopper

Hedda Hopper may have gotten her Hollywood breakthrough as a silent film actress, but words would eventually be her bread and butter.

The famed gossip columnist and one-time Douglaston resident was born as Elda Furry in small town Pennsylvania in 1885.

In the early 1900s, she made her Broadway debut and moved to northeast Queens.

At age 30, she appeared on screen for the first time in “The Battle of Hearts” and proceeded to nab small roles in more than 140 films, including “Topper” and “Reap the Wild Wind” as well as playing herself in Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard.”

In the 1930s, her acting career was on the decline, but Hopper managed to reinvent herself as a gossip columnist. The Los Angeles Times debuted “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood” in 1938.

One year later, she appeared on the airwaves on CBS Radio’s “Hedda Hopper Show,” which ran until 1942.

Between 1944 and 1951, her weekly radio program bounced back and forth between CBS, ABC and NBC.

Hopper developed a reputation for getting scoops over her competitors, but also was notorious for fierce attacks in print and on the radio against some Hollywood notables.

She was engaged in a long-time feud with gossip columnist and Hollywood values arbiter Louella Parsons and gave names of suspected Communists during the Hollywood Blacklist.

She frequently attacked Charlie Chaplin, accusing him of being a Communist, and reportedly attempted to out Cary Grant as a homosexual.

Spencer Tracy famously kicked Hopper in the rear end for a story she wrote on his relationship with Katharine Hepburn.

Hopper counted Howard Hughes, Ronald Reagan and J. Edgar Hoover among her personal friends.

Style-wise, the columnist was known for her outlandish hats, which she often crafted herself.

Hopper died at age 80 and was buried in Pennsylvania. A star was dedicated to her on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.