Hey, Millionaire! We all know celebrities somehow go broke all the time, despite the giant checks
they earn for every job. But you might not realize that this has been happening since the beginning
of Hollywood. That's right, it's not just the modern actors who can't handle their money. These
days, stars go broke a lot more than they used to. But there are a handful of the icons of Classic
Hollywood who should have their names added to the list of broke stars. Here's our list of classic
actors who went broke, dating back all the way to the 1920s! But be warned - some of these stories
are pretty gruesome. Let's take a look at our list of movie legends who went completely broke.
6. Veronica Lake Veronica Lake was one of
the most famous Femme Fatales to ever grace the silver screen. She was a smash hit for a moment
in Hollywood. Even if you don't know who she is, you'll have seen her iconic peek-a-boo hairstyle
on another icon: Jessica Rabbit. So how did a star that was big enough to inspire Jessica Rabbit's
hairstyle go broke? Well, to answer that, we need to go back to the beginning. Veronica
Lake was once known as Constance Frances Marie Ockelman before she became a star.
She was born in New York to a working-class family. Her life changed when she was 10,
and her father tragically died in an industrial explosion. She moved around a lot after that,
and that's maybe partly why she was such a horrible person later in life. She had no
interest in Hollywood. But her mom realized what a beautiful teenager Veronica was,
and she became one of the first aggressively pushy Hollywood moms. Still, she was right,
and Veronica became a huge star. But it wasn't all good news. Her co-stars and
directors hated her diva attitude. But it was her hair that was the real end of her career.
See, at the start of World War II, women went to work in factories while the men were serving
in the army. But so many women were injured at work because their long, Veronica Lake-style
hair was getting caught in the machines. Lake was asked to change her hairstyle in the hopes other
women would copy her. She agreed, but without her iconic hair, her movies started becoming
box-office flops. With her bank balance shrinking, she gave up on Hollywood, abandoned her family,
and flew the family plane to New York. There, she started drinking heavily and totally disappeared.
After a few years, a journalist found her working as a cocktail waitress under a different name. She
tried to make a comeback years later, but all the years of heavy drinking had ruined her good
looks. When Hollywood decided to honor her with a Walk of Fame star in 1960, she was horrified to
see that only 3 fans showed up to the ceremony. She passed away in 1973 due to kidney failure.
5. Baby Peggy Hollywood's Million Dollar Baby,
Baby Peggy, was one of the world's first child superstars by the age of 2! She was so famous
that her father was negotiating million-dollar contracts for her in the early 1920s. She even
had dolls and other memorabilia made in her image, which always sold out. But it definitely
wasn't all good news. She said she had no friends at all during her early childhood,
which must have been pretty hard. Worse than that, her career ended suddenly when her greedy father
got into a fight with a producer. That producer totally canceled Baby Peggy's contract because
he was so angry with her dad. The family then discovered that Baby Peggy's grandad had stolen
all her hard-earned money. This was at the start of the Great Depression, and soon the family was
so poor that they lost their farm too. But the story doesn't end there. When she was only 8,
she was already determined to be a writer. The adult Peggy made her own dreams come true, and she
had published at least five books under the name Diana Serra Cary by the time she died in 2020.
Childhood stars seem to go broke all the time. Hit subscribe before another Hollywood child
has all their cash stolen by a family member! You have 5 seconds. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1! And don't
forget to keep watching for some shocking stories about how superstars went broke in old Hollywood.
4. Fatty Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle's story is one of the most infamous trials that ever took place in Hollywood. But, be
warned, this story comes with a trigger warning. Arbuckle was one of the biggest stars of the
Hollywood silent era, known mostly for his comedic roles. He was also a pretty successful director,
screenwriter, and one of the most liked men on the silver screen. In the summer of 1921,
his film Crazy to Marry was playing in cinemas - it was another smash hit. So, one of Arbuckle's
friends arranged a huge three-day long, Labor Day weekend party at the St. Francis Hotel in
San Francisco to celebrate. Arbuckle wasn't really happy about that - his work schedule was stressing
him out, and he'd just suffered 2nd-degree acid burns to his buttocks. But, when Arbuckle woke
up to find his hotel suite filled with guests the next day, he didn't have much choice but to
join in the party. Of course, it was his friend who'd invited all the people to Arbuckle's room.
Arbuckle was a little concerned about seeing Virginia Rappe and Maude Delmont arriving - they
had reputations as wild party girls, and this was the days of prohibition. Arbuckle was worried
their presence would alert police to all the booze in the hotel room, but he had no idea how
much trouble they were about to cause. Rappe was a beautiful aspiring actress. But Delmont mainly
made her money in a very shady way. She'd host big parties so she could accuse high-profile men
of assaulting young women and extort them into giving her loads of cash. She had an extensive
criminal record due to these crimes, and she's clearly not the kind of person you want at
your party if you're a high-profile star like Arbuckle. And, sure enough, within hours, she
was telling the police about a terrible crime that never happened. Delmont's story went like this:
Arbuckle and Rappe had had a few drinks together before he pulled her into a room, saying he'd
waited five years, but he had her now. After a few minutes, Delmont said she heard Rappe screaming,
but she couldn't get into the room. A few minutes later, she said Arbuckle came out of the room,
smiling and wearing Rappe's hat. Rappe, meanwhile, was sprawled on the bed, and when she saw Delmont,
she shouted out, "Arbuckle did it." Tragically, Rappe really was in trouble.
A doctor was summoned for her. After a few days in the hotel, she was transferred to a hospital.
She died from a ruptured bladder the same day. Of course, that looks pretty incriminating. But Rappe
told the doctors that Arbuckle had definitely not assaulted her. And she wasn't the only one. The
story everyone else at the party told was nothing like the one Delmont had told the police. The real
events, re-told by everyone else who was there, was that Rappe had become very drunk and started
shouting that she couldn't breathe and ripping her clothes off. After a bit of chaos, Rappe
was eventually found throwing up in the bathroom before she passed out. Arbuckle and several other
guests had tried to wake her up, then they moved her to a separate room and called the doctor.
But by the time anyone had a chance to tell the story, the newspapers had already taken
Delmont's story of a vicious assault and run with it. Police couldn't ignore it. Arbuckle
turned himself in and was held in jail for three weeks before being charged with manslaughter.
Unfortunately for Arbuckle, it wasn't just Delmont who wasn't on his side. District Attorney
Matthew Brady saw Arbuckle's trial as the perfect opportunity to jump-start his career in politics.
He was going to stop at nothing. Of course, he was having trouble with his star witness, Delmont,
who couldn't keep her story straight. So he cleverly made sure she wouldn't have to testify,
so nobody would realize how many holes her story had in it. He also kept another crucial detail
quiet: attorneys had received telegrams from Delmont saying, "We have Arbuckle
in a hole here - chance to make some money out of him." But nothing could save Arbuckle now:
not even medical evidence that proved Rappe had a chronic bladder condition and her body showed no
signs of violence. Even the doctors who testified that Rappe herself had said Arbuckle didn't touch
her couldn't help. Witnesses came forward with damning evidence about Rappe's past, but Arbuckle
said he wouldn't let them testify out of respect for the dead. In the end, there were three trials,
all ending with Arbuckle being acquitted. But, by the third one, his bank balance was near 0,
and motion picture censor William Hayes banned Arbuckle from appearing on screen. His career was
over, and a little more than 10 years later, he died of a heart attack at the age of 46.
3. Sammy Davis Jr. The Rat Pack singer,
Sammy Davis Jr, was a star in more ways than one. He might be best known for his smooth music. But
he sure made a mark on Hollywood and Broadway throughout his career - even after losing an eye
in a car accident! He started out at the age of just three, performing vaudeville with his dad,
Sammy Davis Sr, and his uncle, Will Mastin. He struggled through racial prejudice early in his
career to become one of the first genuinely popular African American stars. And he sure
did have a huge following. His career was pretty astounding, and he worked with greats like Bob
Fosse on both Broadway and the silver screen. One of his best-known starring roles was in the film
Oceans 11 opposite his Rat Pack friends, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He had an astonishing
career, but in 1989, he went to see a doctor for a tickle in his throat and was diagnosed
with cancer. This was probably due to the four packs of cigarettes he smoked every day, but that
didn't make it any less tragic when the cancer came back after treatment. He died in 1999, but
his passing wasn't his family's only worry. At the time of his death, his estate was worth about $4
million - which is about what you'd expect from a star of his caliber. But unfortunately, he wasn't
a fan of paying his taxes, and he owed the IRS a whopping $5 million! And it only got worse - with
all the interest and penalties owed on the 5 million, the total amount was actually a whopping
$7 million! And his wife was now responsible for the debt. She was forced to auction off some
of his personal possessions as well as his real estate to pay the debt. It was so bad that some of
his famous friends, including Quincy Jones, held a fundraising concert to try to help her pay off
the debt. Luckily, it worked. She finally reached a settlement with the IRS 7 years after his death.
Tell us your favorite star from the early days of Hollywood! And keep
watching to find out who took our number 1 spot!
2. Judy Garland Judy Garland was the sweetheart of
Technicolor. She was born to a theatrical family and made her debut on stage at just 2 and a half
years old! She was incredibly talented as an actor, singer, and dancer, and she was already
a star by the age of 10. She was so good that MGM, Hollywood's biggest film studio, signed
her on without any screen test. But even with all her iconic performances, you can bet she's best
known for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, which, to this day, is the most watched film
in history. Her success in Hollywood kept growing - so much that it even overshadowed a surprisingly
successful career as a singer. In 1959, doctors told her that the decades of working harder than
just about anyone in Hollywood had taken its toll, and she'd have to quit to save her health.
But instead, she responded by staging a gigantic series of one-woman comeback concerts that toured
the world for a year! She then switched to TV with The Judy Garland Show. But, there was a
tragedy happening behind the scenes. She'd become seriously addicted to drugs. A series of financial
troubles meant her house was possessed. She continued working right up until her tragic
death due to an accidental overdose at the age of 47. She was a staggering $4 million in debt at the
time of her death - that's shocking considering she was still very much a star at the time.
And finally, our number one broke icon of old Hollywood is...
1. Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian actor best known for his iconic portrayal of Dracula in the Universal
films. He had a pretty interesting life, starting when he ran away from home at the age of 12. He
worked odd jobs, one of which was stage acting. He had a pretty extensive acting CV by the time
he moved to the US in 1921. But he'd made a bold move, considering he hadn't exactly mastered the
English language. As a result, he only made one or two films in America in the 1920s. But, in 1927,
he landed his star role as Dracula in the Broadway production. Of course, his thick Eastern European
accent suited the role perfectly, and he was a hit with audiences. He toured with the show
for 3 years before reprising the role in 1931 for the Universal film. Universal released their other
smash-hit, Frankenstein, that same year, making them famous as the biggest horror film producers
in the country and etching Lugosi into pop culture history. So how did he go from superstar to broke?
Well, even though he made a couple other popular films after Dracula, his fame didn't
last. He quickly became addicted to drugs and slipped into poverty. He checked himself into
a hospital for treatment, but it didn't save his career or his bank balance. His last film
was Ed Wood Jr's unintentional cult hit, Plan 9 From Outer Space, which is well known for being
one of the worst films ever made. Lugosi can be seen standing outside his real home in the film.
He died in poverty before the film was finished and was buried wearing his cape from Dracula.