The Shocking True Story of Netflix's Hollywood

History can’t be rewritten, but it is sure nice to dream. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be discussing the true story of Netflix’s “Hollywood.” Taking place not long after World War II, this miniseries paints a portrait of what Hollywood’s Golden Age could’ve been had the people running the show made a stronger push for diversity and inclusion. In more ways than one, it takes us to “Dreamland,” giving Tinseltown a happier ending and a new beginning. To say that “Hollywood” takes some creative liberties would be an understatement. Aspiring actor Jack Castello, ambitious director Raymond Ainsley, black screenwriter Archie Coleman, closeted studio executive Dick Samuels: they’re all fictitious, as is Ace Studios. For everything creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan made up, though, there is some truth beneath the surface. One of the show’s key real-life figures is Rock Hudson, who was born Harold Scherer Jr. His name was legally changed to Roy Fitzgerald after his stepfather adopted him. As seen in “Hollywood,” Fitzgerald landed talent agent Henry Willson, who advised him to start going by Rock Hudson, a name he was never thrilled with. Willson is also credited for inventing Rock Hudson, molding him from an awkward young actor into a Hollywood giant. Speaking of which, 1956’s “Giant” was among the biggest successes of Hudson’s career, although he never starred in a movie entitled “Meg” or “Peg.” 1950’s “Peggy” was among Hudson’s first films, but that comedy is completely unrelated. While Hudson was indeed a homosexual, he never officially came out like in the show, especially not at a highly publicized event like the Oscars. While many insiders were aware, Hudson’s sexuality didn’t become widely known until People magazine published an article following his AIDS diagnosis in 1985. Hudson died of AIDS-related complications shortly after. Willson was gay as well and played a major role in shaping the industry’s beefcake obsession. He was also infamous for giving “couch interviews,” to put it mildly. Wilson produced one film, 1961’s “Come September” starring Hudson, but never pitched a cinematic love story between two men. Wilson lost Hudson as a client in 1966 and, over time, lost everything else to drug addiction, alcoholism, and other demons. According to Ryan Murphy, Willson died “in absolute poverty,” even though Hudson sent him $20,000 as his health declined. Explicit sex might’ve been taboo in mainstream film, but Hollywood’s Golden Age was quite risque behind the scenes. Believe it or not, one bizarre subplot that’s grounded in fact is Scotty Bowers turning his time working at a gas station like a bordello. While he never became a screen actor like in this show, Bowers was a discreet sex worker who set up intimate liaisons for a variety of famous and non-famous figures at the service station. Rock Hudson and Vivien Leigh were supposedly among the many big names on his clientele list. The show also sees Hudson and Leigh attend one of George Cukor’s parties with other stars like Tallulah Bankhead. Known for directing “My Fair Lady” and “The Philadelphia Story,” Cukor was also a homosexual in real life and welcomed closeted men to his Sunday parties. As “Hollywood” indicates, these pool parties could get pretty wild after sunset. Like her husband, the head of Ace Studios, Avis Amberg is a fictional character, although she was inspired by Irene Mayer Selznick. The daughter of MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer and first wife of producer David O. Selznick, Irene wasn’t an actress turned Hollywood Mogul like Amberg. However, she did become a successful Broadway producer, most notably bringing audiences “A Streetcar Named Desire” starring a then-unknown Marlon Brando. Black actress Camille Washington is another fictional character with real-world parallels. One inspiration for Camille was Lena Horne, an African-American singer/actress who refused to play racial stereotypes. You can also see a certain resemblance between Washington and Nina Mae McKinney, the first African-American to achieve a long term Hollywood studio contract. Perhaps the most obvious comparison is Dorothy Dandridge, who became the first African-American to score a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance in 1954’s “Carmen Jones.” Where Washington wins the gold, though, Dandridge lost to Grace Kelly for “The Country Girl.” Despite her historic nomination, Dandridge only starred in a few more movies and reportedly died of an embolism at age 42. Black actresses were largely restricted to playing servants and slaves during Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age. Perhaps the most famous example is Hattie McDaniel in “Gone with the Wind.” Her performance as Mammy earned McDaniel a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, making her the first African-American Oscar winner. Although the event was held at a “no blacks” hotel, David O. Selznick allegedly pulled some strings to gain McDaniel entry. She still had to sit at a segregated section, however. McDaniel didn’t live to see Whoopi Goldberg become the second African-American to win Best Supporting Actress in 1991 for “Ghost” or Halle Berry become the first black Best Actress winner in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball.” It took all these years for Berry to break down this barrier and to this date, she’s still the only person of color to win Best Actress. There was never really a game-changer like “Meg” that instantly opened new doors to all black actors. Rather, it’s been a slow burn for performers of color and if #OscarSoWhite is any indication, we’re still a far cry from this show’s version of Hollywood. It’s been an uphill battle for Asian performers in the U.S. as well. Even with “Parasite”’s Best Picture win in 2020, Miyoshi Umeki remains the only Asian to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and nobody of Asian descent has ever won Best Actress. Maybe things would’ve been different if Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong had been cast as O-Lan in “The Good Earth,” as many felt she should’ve. MGM decided against giving Wong the lead female role due in part to the Hays Code, which forbade onscreen miscegenation (which is sexual relationships between races). O-Lan was thus played by Luise Rainer, a white actress who really did win an Oscar for her performance. In the Netflix series, Wong wins an overdue Oscar for her supporting role in “Meg.” In reality, Wong was never even nominated for an Oscar and “Meg” didn’t exist. The big winner at the 20th Academy Awards was actually “Gentleman’s Agreement,” which took home Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm), Best Director (Elia Kazan), and Best Picture. “Gentleman’s Agreement”’s focus on anti-Semitism made it controversial. The Academy did recognize one performer of color that night: James Baskett, who, at the suggestion of Walt Disney, was given an Honorary Award for his performance as Uncle Remus in “Song of the South.” As for the movie “Meg,” it is inspired by the true story of Millicent “Peg” Entwistle, who went to Hollywood with high hopes and exited this world in tragedy. Entwistle’s acting dreams failed to materialize and after appearing in one film, the posthumously released “Thirteen Women,” the twenty-four-year-old jumped off the Hollywoodland sign’s “H” to her demise. She left behind a suicide note reading, “I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.” Of course, this story is given a more optimistic ending in “Hollywood,” in which Meg chooses not to jump. So basically, it’s a piece of revisionist history within another piece of revisionist history. Only in Hollywood...