Trashy Divorces

When The Sopranos premiered on HBO in 1999, no one knew how thoroughly it would change television for a generation. Mob boss Tony Soprano, portrayed so ably by actor James Gandolfini, was a complex anti-hero who was capable of both shocking violence and everyman confusion and ambivalence about his role as a father, husband, son, mobster, and human being. Gandolfini himself may have been the perfect actor for the role, but becoming Tony Soprano was harder than the public knew. He battled his own demons throughout the series run, including during his divorce from his first wife, while the few years he had remaining post-Sopranos at least seem to have represented a fresh start. Want early, ad-free episodes, bonus divorces, limited series, Zoom hangouts, and more? Join us at patreon.com/trashydivorces! Sponsors June’s Journey from Wooga. June needs your help, detective! Download June’s Journey for free today on iOS and Android! To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TrashyDivorces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the powerful and influential pass, we always like to take a look at their personal stories, and wow is Henry Kissinger's time in the limelight as Secretary of State to Richard Nixon a shocking document of weirdness. Hailed as "Washington's Greatest Swinger" (which meant something a bit more tame than it does these days), the bookish foreign policy expert became an unlikely sex symbol during a time of real tumult. Stacie has the unexpected, but apparently true, story. Want early, ad-free episodes, bonus divorces, limited series, Zoom hangouts, and more? Join us at patreon.com/trashydivorces! Sponsors This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/trashy today to get 10% off your first month. To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TrashyDivorces. Sample Headlines Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies (rollingstone.com) Why Henry Kissinger Was “the Ultimate Starf—er” (hollywoodreporter.com) Henry Kissinger and the surprising dating life of a West Wing ‘playboy’ - The Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hollywood heartthrob Rock Hudson was everywhere on American screens in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the man every woman wanted, and every man wanted to be, but what Hollywood knew and the public didn't was that Rock Hudson was a fabrication, a character in and of himself. Roy Harold Scherer, later Roy Fitzgerald, was turned into Rock Hudson by one of Hollywood's most notorious talent agents, Henry Willson, known as much for taking sexual advantage of the young men he made stars as for the stars themselves. Rock Hudson navigated the difficult waters of being a gay star in a time when that would have destroyed his career; when he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984, he made the complicated choice to go public with the news. While he was abandoned by friends Ronald and Nancy Reagan, he became the face of an emerging pandemic so enmeshed with social issues that his candor arguably changed the course not only of the fight against AIDS, but of the gay rights movement in America and worldwide. Want early, ad-free episodes, bonus divorces, limited series, Zoom hangouts, and more? Join us at patreon.com/trashydivorces! Sponsors This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/trashy today to get 10% off your first month. To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TrashyDivorces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loretta Young's decades-long career, starting in 1917, was lauded in Hollywood. She's the winner of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the recipient of two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was married three times, but it's the affair with - or sexual assault by - Clark Gable, and the resulting child that became her "adopted daughter" that really tells the tale of the moral force that was Loretta Young. Want early, ad-free episodes, bonus divorces, limited series, Zoom hangouts, and more? Join us at patreon.com/trashydivorces! Sponsors Get fresh, flavor-packed meals straight to your door from Factor. Head to factormeals.com/trashy50 and use code trashy50 to get 50% off! To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TrashyDivorces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actress Carolyn Jones had been prominent in Hollywood for a decade and a half before her turn as Morticia Addams made her a cultural touchstone. She also married four times - and divorced three - including to TV producer and unintentional season theme Aaron Spelling. This October 2020 episode originally appeared on Patreon, so it's a bit looser and a bit sillier than most. Happy Thanksgiving, Trash Pandas! We are eternally thankful for you! Want early, ad-free episodes, bonus divorces, limited series, Zoom hangouts, and more? Join us at patreon.com/trashydivorces! Sponsors Lume Deodorant. New customers get $5 off Lume's Starter Pack, and returning customers get $5 off their next purchase of $30 or more, with code TRASHY at LumeDeodorant.com. To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TrashyDivorces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices