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 was biracial. Born in Bombay into abject poverty in 1911, Oberon's fate seemed sealed in her racist colonial society. But a series of events, lies, men and an obsession with controlling her own image -- even if it meant bleaching her own skin -- changed Oberon's path forever.
This episode was written and performed by Halley Bondy, a writer and journalist whose work has appeared on NBC, The Outline, Eater NY, Paste Magazine, Scary Mommy, Bustle, Vice and more. She's an author of five young adult books plus a handful of plays and is a writer / producer for the podcast "Masters of Scale." She lives in Brooklyn with husband / cheerleader Tim and her amazing toddler Robin.
75: The Blacklist Part 5: The Strange Love of Barbara Stanwyck: Robert Taylor
74: The Blacklist Part 4: The African Queen: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn and John Huston
Blacklist Flashback: Bogey Before Bacall
73: The Blacklist Part 3: Dorothy Parker
72: The Blacklist Part 2: Crossfire – The Trials of the Hollywood Ten
71: The Blacklist Part 1: The Prehistory of the Blacklist
70: MGM Stories Part 15: Mayer’s Downfall
69: MGM Stories Part 14: Elizabeth Taylor, The MGM Years
68: MGM Stories Part 13: Gloria Grahame
67: MGM Stories Part 12: Lana Turner
66: MGM Stories Part 11: David O. Selznick Part Two: Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker
65: MGM Stories Part 10: David O. Selznick Part One: The Mayers and Gone With the Wind
64: MGM Stories Part 9: Spencer Tracy
63: MGM Stories Part 8: Eddie Mannix
62: MGM Stories Part 7: MGM's children: Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
61: MGM Stories Part 6: Jean Harlow
60: MGM Stories Part 5: William Haines and Hollywood’s First Openly Gay Marriage
59: MGM Stories Part 4: John Gilbert and Greta Garbo
58: MGM Stories Part 3: Buster Keaton’s Biggest Mistake
57: MGM Stories Part 2: Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst, and Citizen Kane
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