152: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Surgery: Molly O’Day (Make Me Over, Episode 1)

152: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Surgery: Molly O’Day (Make Me Over, Episode 1)

152: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Surgery: Molly O’Day (Make Me Over, Episode 1)

You Must Remember This - January 21, 2020 - 34:12

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 highly-publicized weight loss surgery. This was in 1929, and the procedure was, as one fan magazine described it "dangerous... and all in vain." What lead Molly to such desperation? And what happened after the surgery to make her former lover, actor George Raft, declare it “ruined her health, her career and damn near killed her?"

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Sneak Peek: Make Me Over

January 14, 2020 - 01:08
In this companion series to You Must Remember This, Karina Longworth will introduce eight stories about Hollywood’s intersection with...

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153: Hollywood’s First Weight Loss Guru: Madame Sylvia (Make Me Over, Episode 2)

January 28, 2020 - 38:42
Glamorous and shrewd, Sylvia of Hollywood became the movie industry’s first weight-loss guru during the end of the silent era. An...

About The Show

You Must Remember This is a storytelling podcast exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century. It’s the brainchild and passion project of Karina Longworth (founder of Cinematical.com, former film critic for LA Weekly), who writes, narrates, records and edits each episode. It is a heavily-researched work of creative nonfiction: navigating through conflicting reports, mythology, and institutionalized spin, Karina tries to sort out what really happened behind the films, stars and scandals of the 20th century.