157: Cass Elliot, Carnie Wilson and Fat-Shaming in Rock and Pop (Make Me Over, Episode 6)
Cass Elliot didn’t die eating a ham sandwich. But the lasting power of that urban legend speaks to a far darker story. Elliot possessed one of the most influential voices of the 1960s. However, while ...
25 Feb 202048min
156: Esther Williams and the Birth of Waterproof Makeup (Make Me Over, Episode 5)
Esther Williams single-handedly helped popularize the pastime of swimming — first as the star swimmer of the San Francisco production of Billy Rose's Aquacade, and then as the star of Hollywood films ...
18 Feb 202046min
155: Passing for White: Merle Oberon (Make Me Over, Episode 4)
In 1935, Merle Oberon became the first biracial actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, an incredible achievement in then-segregated Hollywood -- except that nobody in Hollywood knew Oberon ...
11 Feb 202049min
154: Marie Dressler, the First Female Star to Conquer Hollywood’s Ageism (Make Me Over, Episode 3)
In 1933, the biggest female star in American movies wasn’t a sex symbol like Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow or Marlene Dietrich. It was Marie Dressler — homely, overweight and over 60 years old. The public ...
4 Feb 202047min
153: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Guru: Madame Sylvia (Make Me Over, Episode 2)
Glamorous and shrewd, Sylvia of Hollywood became the movie industry’s first weight-loss guru during the end of the silent era. An immigrant of mysterious origin, she would cannily market herself to cl...
28 Jan 202043min
152: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Surgery: Molly O’Day (Make Me Over, Episode 1)
At the age of 18, actress Molly O’Day’s career showed great promise — the only thing holding her back was a bit of pubescent pudge. When diets failed, she became the guinea pig of Hollywood's first hi...
21 Jan 202038min
Sneak Peek: Make Me Over
In this companion series to You Must Remember This, Karina Longworth will introduce eight stories about Hollywood’s intersection with the beauty industry. Told by writers and reporters known for their...
14 Jan 20202min
151: Splash Mountain (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 6)
After two more successful theatrical releases, in 1980 and 1986, Disney decided to put Song of the South in the “Disney Vault” and never released it on home video or theatrically in the US ever again....
26 Nov 201953min
