Top 10 Notorious Old Hollywood Feuds

Before he was the wunderkind of MGM, the early 20-somethng Irving G. Thalberg was a high-ranking producer at Universal Studios. One of his most controversial actions there changed the film industry, and was the climax of a feud with actor-director Erich von Stroheim. An early auteur who starred in many of his own films, von Stroheim was respected, but he was also infamous for movies that went over budget and overlong. Thalberg’s repeated warnings went mostly ignored, if they weren’t downright refused. There are even accounts of the two nearly coming to blows in the producer’s office. During the making of “Merry-Go-Round” in 1923, Thalberg stunned everyone by firing von Stroheim. It was a warning that not even directors were untouchable under the studio system.

For many years, they were the very image of a successful comedy duo. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello had spirit, charisma, and most of all, they had undeniable chemistry. But things were not always rosy for the pair. Many reasons for their acrimony have been put forward over the years, from Costello’s unhappiness with being second-billed to a disagreement about a maid. In their later years, the two comedians faced tax problems and were dropped from their contract at Universal. Though they tried to continue the act, it proved impossible. Financial woes, contractual disputes, alcohol use disorder, and personal spats ultimately led the pair to end their partnership.

When the megastar crooner was offered to headline 1955’s “Guys and Dolls,” he had his eyes on the role of Sky Masterson. Instead, Marlon Brando was given the role, while Sinatra was cast as professional gambler Nathan Detroit. Famously used to getting what he wanted, Sinatra was not pleased. He was also reportedly unimpressed with Brando’s method acting and naturalistic approach, and often referred to him as “Mumbles.” Needless to say, the two did not have a warm relationship on set. Brando reportedly made it so Sinatra had to do a scene where he eats cheesecake for multiple takes. Their feud is said to have culminated in Sinatra having some (likely mafia) tough guys threaten Brando’s life. If anything, it probably served as inspiration for Brando’s most famous role.

For decades, the reactionary Hedda Hopper and the grandiose Louella Parsons were locked in a professional rivalry that turned personal more than once. As widely-syndicated gossip columnists, scandals such as the controversial release of “Citizen Kane” and Ingrid Bergman’s extramarital affair became their field of battle. They would spend the better part of twenty years trying to outscoop each other. Despite their habit of digging up dirt, Hollywood gossip columnists were completely at the disposal of the studio publicity departments. In their longstanding feud, Hopper and Parsons were clawing for job security as much as they were clawing at each other. They left a long trail of tarnished and broken Hollywood stars behind them.

The star and director of “Chinatown” are both infamous in Hollywood for wildly different reasons. Professionally, Roman Polanski is known for his demanding, if not sadistic methods. Dunaway’s complicated history of questionable set behavior doesn’t suggest she’d be a great fit for his rigid way of working. She described the experience of making “Chinatown” as humiliating. During one scene, the director was reported to have pulled a hair from her head because it was catching the light. There is also a longstanding rumor that Dunaway was so angry with her director for not letting her use the bathroom that she urinated in a cup and threw it in his face. Years later, the two expressed mutual admiration. Apparently, the movie was worth the headache.

Before they became synonymous with roasts and telethons, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a successful comedy act who made the jump to films and television. Soon, they were the highest paid act in the entire business. However, after sixteen films and endless tours, Martin grew tired of Lewis’ better reviews and their tireless touring schedule. Things came to a head in 1956 during production of their last film, “Hollywood or Bust.” They would not speak for 2 decades. However, their friendship resumed after Martin surprised Lewis during his annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in 1976.

Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor met when they were being primed for stardom at MGM. After the death of Taylor’s husband, Hollywood producer Mike Todd, she was newly single and decided to pursue a relationship with singer and actor Eddie Fisher. There was just one problem. Eddie Fisher was married to Debbie Reynolds. When the news broke, it blindsided Debbie and became a media frenzy of epic proportions. Needless to say, their friendship took a major hit. For a decade or so, the former friends didn’t speak. Sometime after Elizabeth and Eddie’s divorce, they put their feud on ice and buried the hatchet.

There were few men as powerful as newspaper magnate, film producer, and politician William Randolph Hearst. Considering this, it’s fair to say novice filmmaker Orson Welles was pretty brave to base the corrupt, lonely, and broken tycoon protagonist of “Citizen Kane” on Hearst himself. When word got out, all mention of the upcoming film was forbidden from Hearst-owned newspapers. But this wasn’t nearly enough. Hearst used the full force of his publishing empire to smear Welles, who became the subject of targeted libel and vicious rumors, and even a blackmail attempt or two. Apparently, Orson Welles’ little movie touched a nerve.

You’d think the only pair of siblings to ever win Academy Awards for Best Actress would be able to celebrate the achievement together. That was not the case here. Sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia De Havilland were famously cagey about their lifelong feud. Drama over their respective Oscar wins, as well as lingering childhood resentments over their mother preferring Olivia seemed to haunt their relationship. They maintained a distant, but cool relationship until their mother’s death in the late 1970s. The sisters were said to have never spoken again. Fontaine died in 2013. De Havilland later sued Ryan Murphy and the FX network over the series “Feud,” which dramatized her comments on their relationship.

There was no way this one wasn’t number one, right? The TV show about them is literally called “Feud.” By the time they made their singular movie together, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis had racked up years of mutual disdain. The set of 1962’s “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” became the site of their long-awaited battle. Tales of their mischievous and downright hateful behavior to each other during the shoot have since become legendary. How their rivalry started is a mystery, although some cite that it began in the 1930s, with Davis’ failed attempt to seduce a co-star. This co-star happened to be Crawford’s then-fiance. It could have also been a case of professional rivalry. Regardless, it’s a Hollywood feud we’ll never forget.

Did we cover your favorite classic Hollywood feud? Tell us in the comments.