One of my favorite podcasts is called You Must Remember This — a Hollywood history series that covers the juicy details behind some of America’s most famous and infamous celebrities.
The new season of You Must Remember This is called “Dead Blondes.” It is all about the tragic deaths of iconic Hollywood blondes such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.
The storytelling is the best part about this podcast. The tales of careers-gone-wrong don’t require any prior knowledge of the actors involved, which is great because I haven’t heard of many of the characters.
I just finished Episode 10: “Barbara Payton,” and it was fascinating.
Payton went from a top actress reportedly earning $10,000/week to a heroin-addicted prostitute who died at age 39.
The most powerful thing about Barbara Payton’s story is her seeming self-awareness during her rapid downfall. She was keenly aware of her career slipping, but couldn’t overcome her addiction problems.
Sadly, this reminded me a lot of another actress who was insanely popular when I was young.
But that story isn’t finished yet.
Anyway, Payton’s autobiography I Am Not Ashamed has made its way to my pool reading list for later this year and I’m excited for the next episode!
Photo: Pablo Charnas, Wadowice, Poland.
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