Blind Items Revealed #20 - Old Hollywood - Mr. X

August 17, 2023

So who, you may be asking, were the two people that blocked the actor from the previous BI from getting that coveted role? One was a former lover, a playwright/screenwriter and who wrote the original book to the musical that was being adapted to a movie. He was openly gay and was briefly romantically involved with the actor early on in his career. Their breakup was very messy and they avoided each other in public whenever possible. The writer was also known one of the most unpleasant and evil people in show biz, was known to hold grudges for a long time and clashed with almost everyone he worked with. He was furious that the producers of the film passed him over to write the screenplay. The writer was convinced that the actor had something to do with it and would probably secure this role unless he wasn’t hired on. Enter person #2: a B-list actor who was headed for a promising career. He was in showbiz since he was a kid and attracted attention in a movie based on a famous diarist. Actor #2 also wanted this part very badly even though he couldn’t sing or dance. The night before the first table read, the playwright called him and said he would talk to the movie’s other director to recommend him for a last minute screen test. He also put in a call to the alliterate gossip columnist to officially “break” the news about the said test and possible casting. The screen test landed him the part and actor #1 did not know about this until the movie’s leading lady (who was a good friend of his) broke the sad news to him via a phone call. Actor #1 was livid and knew exactly who the culprit was. Still having the playwright’s phone number, he left him a series of profanity laced messages on his answering machine and threatened to ruin his career, Actor #1 was so despondent about getting this part he moved to Europe to make movies and did not come back to the US for five years. 

As for the playwright, he saved those answering machine messages and copied them to a reel to reel tape and would occasionally play them at parties to the bemusement of guests. He was that kind of a person.

movie - West Side Story/Anthony Perkins/Arthur Laurents/Richard Beymer/movie where he first garnered attention: The Diary of Anne Frank/Robert Wise/Hedda Hopper