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Actors in the formative days of Hollywood might not have had to contend with the tabloids like today’s famous celebs do, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have their secrets…and it sure doesn’t mean some of them weren’t pretty surprising.
#13. Lucille Ball was told to give up acting.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/441px-LDBALL1950s.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Her coaches said she wasn’t talented enough to make it.
#12. Rock Hudson had affairs with both of his Giant co-stars.
![The rumor was that Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson had a bet to see who could sleep with James Dean first, and apparently Rock won. âbravetyper](https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-02/12/13/asset/buzzfeed-prod-web-05/sub-buzz-10585-1549997199-2.png?downsize=800:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto)
Image Credit: Warner Bros.
The bi-sexual actor had flings with both Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.
#11. Lana Turner’s daughter Cheryl was a murderer.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Edward_Norris_and_Lana_Turner.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
She stabbed Turner’s abusive boyfriend to death when she was just 14.
#10. Katharine Hepburn did accept second billing once.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/800px-Katharine_Hepburn_promo_pic.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
She agreed to be the maid of honor at Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier’s wedding.
#9. Greta Garbo was Hitler’s favorite actress.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/477px-Greta_Garbo_-_1935.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
He used to invite her to visit Germany, but the feeling wasn’t mutual – she used to tell people that if she had met him, she would have killed him and gotten away with it.
#8. There were rumors that Shirley Temple was a dwarf.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Shirleytemple_young.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
People believed there was no way a child could be that talented, and the Vatican even sent someone to investigate.
#7. Hedy Lamarr invented the precursor to Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Hedy_Lamarr_Publicity_Photo_for_The_Heavenly_Body_1944.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
She helped develop a radio guidance system for torpedoes at the beginning of WWII.
#6. Rita Moreno knew how to make Marlon Brando jealous.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/800px-Rita_Moreno_1963.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
She dated Elvis. As one does.
#5. The boy who voiced Peter Pan died penniless and alone.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BobbyDriscoll.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Bobby Driscoll died unclaimed and unidentified in an abandoned apartment building at the age of 31.
#4. James Dean did a PSA urging young people not to drive recklessly.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/487px-James_Dean_in_Rebel_Without_a_Cause.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
A month later, he died in a car accident.
#3. Audrey Hepburn lived through the German invasion of Holland during WII.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Harry_Stradling-Audrey_Hepburn_in_My_Fair_Lady.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
She survived by eating tulip bulbs.
#2. Joan Crawford became a recluse at the end of her life.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Joan_Crawford_1946_by_Paul_Hesse.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Why? She was afraid of unflattering photos surfacing like they had once before.
#1. Elizabeth Taylor once saved someone’s life.
![](https://didyouknowfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Elizabeth_Taylor_Argentinean_Magazine_AD-751x1024.jpg)
Image Credit: Wikipedia
You already knew she was a badass, but she saved Montgomery Clift’s life after he smashed his face during a car accident. He was choking on his teeth and she pulled them out while they waited for the ambulance.
I’ll never look at their pictures the same!