Shocked: Satirical Saturday Cartoon on Art by Alex Brenchley 2019
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A Moment in Culture: The Casting Couch in Silent Era
” The Casting Couch and Sexual Harassment in Early Hollywood Even in the early days of the silent film industry, there were reports of what later came to be known as the “casting couch”–where actresses were subjected to sexual demands as conditions of employment. Reliable accounts agree that William Desmond Taylor never engaged in such practices; but they were a part of the silent film industry in which Taylor worked. Below are some published reports and allegations concerning the “casting couch” practice and sexual harassment during the years when Taylor was employed in the silent film industry.
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February 21, 1913 VARIETY
Picture Stock Scandal May Carry Its Lesson
A scandal occurring last week in the stock company of a picture concern with headquarters in New York City is now the subject of general conversation in all of the studios hereabouts. The affair was kept from the daily newspapers and the police only by the herculean work of those concerned who were friendly to the director of the stock company involved, they realizing what exposure might mean to the trade and the general public who are patrons of the screen. – Read More Taylorology
