Old Hollywood had its fair share of joyous times and great friendships.
But it also had its share of intense rivalries and all-out feuds.
And these often lasted for decades, and even lifetimes.
Join Facts Verse, as we present: Old Hollywood Celebrity Feuds that Ruined Reputations Forever!
Bette Davis and Joan Crawford Bette Davis and Joan Crawford might have had
the most famous celebrity feud of all time.
They were both legends of Old Hollywood and had big personalities to go with their fame,
talent, and success.
As such, they had a decades-long feud that always seemed to catch the attention of the
media and general public.
It started in 1935.
Davis was on set, filming her role in the movie Dangerous.
(She later went on to win an Oscar for her efforts.)
But as she filmed, she quickly became enamored of the man she was acting opposite, Franchot
Tone.
Around that time, Joan Crawford decided she wanted Tone.
And despite knowing full well that Davis was dating him, Crawford swooped in and started
up an affair with Tone.
Davis was devastated, and Crawford felt victorious.
Crawford and Tone even got married soon after.
Though the marriage ended quickly – perhaps because Crawford was more into the seduction
than the actual love part.
Crawford added insult to injury when she made comments to the press about Bette looking
unhappy.
Years later, both women were cast in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.
And it was during the production on this film that their rivalry and hatred for each other
really came to a head.
They were apparently vicious to each other one set, making deliberate moves to each make
the other miserable.
And not just with words.
There was a scene that asked for Davis to drag Crawford by her shoulders.
Crawford, wanting to make it extra difficult, decided she’d load up her pockets with rocks.
The trick worked, as Bette strained her back from the multiple takes.
But Davis was determined to pay it back, and reportedly kicked Joan in the head while they
were filming another scene.
Davis got nominated for an Oscar for her performance in that movie.
Crawford didn’t.
But she wasn’t about to let that get in the way of her efforts to sabotage Davis’s
night.
Crawford called each of the other nominees in Bette’s category and somehow convinced
them to let her accept her award for them.
Anne Bancroft was the actual winner of the award and allowed Crawford to get on stage
and accept the award.
Bette could only glare at her in anger from her seat in the audience, as Joan pretended
as if she’d won the award.
Davis outlived Crawford, and when she was asked if she felt bad about their years of
rivalry, she said that you should only say good things about people when they day.
She added, “Joan Crawford is dead.
Good.”
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Martin and Lewis were legends of comedy.
Their act as a duo was revered in the late 1940s and early ‘50s, and they appeared
together in 16 movies, several live tours, and many television appearances.
But one day, they suddenly decided to split up.
While it wasn’t made clear at the time, some speculated that Jerry had begun to get
an ego about who was the bigger star.
He apparently thought he was (and perhaps he was right) and demanded that they make
changes to their act to reflect that.
Martin wasn’t into that.
And he, at the same time, was growing weary of having to act in Lewis’s shadow as Lewis
grew in fame.
Things had reportedly begun going downhill for a while until a particular magazine shoot
was the last straw.
The two did a shoot for Look magazine that was several pages long.
Inside the magazine, they were both covered equally.
But the magazine decided to only put Lewis on their cover.
This did not sit well with martin, who felt Lewis had accepted that decision, and perhaps
even pushed for it.
He apparently felt that Lewis’s priorities had shifted and that he was not only in it
for the money.
The duo split up not long after that issue hit newsstands.
There was also the potential rift created by Martin’s wife.
Not that it was any of her doing.
Lewis and his wife were apparently great friends of Martin’s first wife, Patti.
So when Martin and Patti split, they were heartbroken.
This meant they didn’t end up taking kindly to the woman, Jeanne, who replaced her in
Martin’s life.
There are some who say the Martin and Lewis professional split was because of their distaste
for his new wife.
Regardless of the cause, the two never officially made up before they both passed away.
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Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield One of the most famous photos in all of the
era of Old Hollywood was the one where Sofia Loren looked over towards Jayne Mansfield
with disdain, as Mansfield entertained party-goers at gawkers at a big dinner event.
And while it’s unclear whether the feud between these two legendary beauties extended
beyond this moment, it was enough to be seared into the minds of the public for decades afterward.
Mansfield was new to the industry, and her studio was eager to fete her and ‘introduce’
her to the press and public.
So they arranged for a lavish party, attended by other celebs, where Mansfield would be
announced and the press would have opportunities to take photos of her and interview her.
Mansfield further heightened interest in her by wearing a very low-cut dress which showed
off her ample cleavage.
Plus, she wasn’t wearing a bra.
She was seated at a table next to Sophia, who was already a star and didn’t need a
coming-out party.
As she sat next to Sophia, Mansfield’s breasts were nearly coming out of her dress.
And Sophia clearly felt this was not the best impression to give.
She leered at Mansfield’s chest with disapproval, and a photographer caught the moment on film.
Sophia later admitted she was indeed looking at Mansfield’s bosom because she felt her
nipples were about to pop out of her dress.
She claims the look was more one of fright (that Mansfield would have a wardrobe malfunction)
than of disapproval.
But clearly, there is something intense happening in her eyes in the famous photo.
William Frawley and Vivian Vance If you saw the recent film, Being the Ricardos,
you got to see first hand a recreation of this infamous feud.
Vivian Vance and William Frawley, who played Fred and Ethel Mertz on the long-running hit
show, I Love Lucy, were not fond of each other.
And that’s putting it way too lightly.
They were basically mortal enemies from the start.
Frawley was 22 years older than Vance and insisted they wouldn’t be believable as
a real couple.
So he lobbied for her to be replaced before the shooting even started.
And had he been a reasonable (and sober) person, that incident might have become water under
the bridge.
But Frawley was an alcoholic and a mean one at that.
He reportedly didn’t drink during shooting however and had to keep his hands in his pockets
so audiences wouldn’t see them shaking from withdrawal.
And as mean a drunk as he was, he was equally mean when he was sober.
He and Vance would trade insults during rehearsals and on set.
The feud and the hatred was so intense, that Vivian vowed never to work with him again
after I Love Lucy ended.
That meant turning down a lucrative job for a spinoff show of I Love Lucy that would have
featured the couple.
Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra The feud between these two megastars began
after Marlon won an Oscar for his performance in On the Waterfront.
Reportedly Sinatra had been up for that part, and didn’t exactly approve of the final
choice.
After Brando won, Sinatra told the press that Brando was the most overrated actor on the
planet, and referred to him as “Mumbles.”
Marlon had used the famous “method” acting technique, which Sinatra felt was hogwash.
The next year, they were both cast in the film adaptation of Guys And Dolls.
Sinatra was apparently fired up when Brando was given the romantic lead in the movie,
Sky Masterson, and made that publicly known.
To his credit, Brando tried to patch things up by coming to Sinatra for vocal lessons
and dancing tips, since those were not a part of his particular skill set.
Sinatra was so annoyed by the casting, and by Brando’s method of acting, that he refused
to help his costar.
And that was that.
For the rest of the shooting, if the pair wanted to communicate with each other, they
only did so through intermediaries.
And the rift was so bad, that the entire cast and crew were obligated to be on one side
or the other.
Brando messed with Sinatra by asking for multiple takes in scenes with him, knowing full well
that Sinatra preferred as few takes as possible.
That’s when things took a potentially even uglier turn.
Brando was jumped one night after shooting by two unknown men.
While he couldn’t prove it, Brando was certain they had been mafia cohorts of Sinatra’s,
who’d been sent there to rough him up.
Brando took the hint and decided never to speak publicly about Sinatra after the incident.
Now it’s time to hear from you.
Which of these feuds was most surprising to hear about?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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