Louella Parsons (August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was the first American movie columnist. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst, possibly because she had praised Hearst's mistress Marion Davies, and her columns were read by 20 million people in 400 newspapers worldwide.She remained Queen of Hollywood until the arrival of flamboyant Hedda Hopper, who displayed similar talents, and with whom she feuded viciously for years.
[on Frances Farmer] Cinderella goes back to the ashes on a liquor-slicked highway.
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[on Orson Welles] Awesome Orson, the self-styled genius.
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Smarmy-tongued Hollywood gossip columnist of the 40s and 50s who was often in imbroglios with not only her subjects but her professional rivals as well.
After the death of her first husband in 1911, she moved to Chicago and got a job as a script reader for Essanay Studios. She later created the first movie column for The Chicago Herald, before moving on to The New York Morning Telegram, where she remained until joining William Randolph Hearst's organization in 1922.
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She was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for radio at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard; and for motion pictures at 6418 Hollywood Boulevard.
She had one child, Harriet Parsons (August 23, 1906-January 2, 1983) who grew up to be one of Hollywood's first film producers.
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Is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.
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Her memoir, "The Gay Illiterate", published in 1944, became a bestseller and was followed by "Tell It to Louella" in 1961.
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Became a syndicated Hollywood columnist for William Randolph Hearst, so her "Los Angeles Examiner" column appeared in over six hundred newspapers the world over and made her one of the most powerful voices in the movie business (1925).
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