# Vicious Rumors (and misinformation) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289 "2010-01-24T23:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/41 "2010-01-27T13:51:33Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Grant did not write the screenplay, and he hated ad-libbing. But neither of the lines were in the original script. They had to come from somewhere. And Howard Hawks encouraged ad libbing on the set. It’s clear, for instance, that Grant’s line about “Archie Leach” and “Mock Turtle” in **His Girl Friday** were not in the original play, and it seems unlikely anyone but Grant would have included them. Remember, Grant started in British Music Halls, so he had to know how to ad lib to survive. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/42 "2010-01-27T14:15:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Also, Jayne Mansfield was not decapitated. This was started by an accident scene photograph in which one of her wigs was on the back seat of the car. She wasn’t decapitated, but aside from the wig that flew apart, I believe the ME’s report indicated that she had been scalped. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/43 "2010-01-27T14:19:43Z")
There was a rumor floating around the Internet this weekend that Johnny Depp had been killed in a car crash in Paris. Not so. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/44 "2010-01-27T14:37:58Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > And, of course, poor Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned. For one thing, the fiddle had not been invented yet. And for another, he was miles away at the time. In fact, the aftermath of this fire was probably the (relatively modest) high point of Nero’s reign - according to some sources, he turned part of the imperial estate into refugee housing. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/45 "2010-01-27T16:55:10Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > There was a rumor floating around the Internet this weekend that Johnny Depp had been killed in a car crash in Paris. Not so. Not so ? How do you know ? Just because he’s walking and talking doesn’t me he isn’t dead. Paul McCartney walks too, and we all know he’s been dead for a long time now. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/46 "2010-01-27T18:19:39Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > She wasn’t decapitated, but aside from the wig that flew apart, I believe the ME’s report indicated that she had been scalped. And partially cannibalized. Mariska Hargitay has never accounted for her actions that night. [QUOTE=Kobal2] Marlboro is owned by the Ku Klux Klan, and they embedded racist imagery in their logo ! (check Snopes) [/QUOTE] Similar tales: The ship on SNAPPLE bottles is a slave ship. There is a man with a huge erection on the CAMEL cigarette pac (which is technically true I suppose, but it’s kind of like ‘that cloud looks like a rabbit’- you can see it if it’s pointed out). Liz Claiborne or Tommy Hilfiger or Calvin Klein or [insert designer here] made incredibly racist comments on Oprah about their irritation at black people wearing their designs and it resulted in Oprah throwing them off the show and then raising the dead child of one of the audience members (or something similar). Two that _are_ true: Sea Monkeys were marketed by a white supremacist ([Harold von Braunhut](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_von_Braunhut)) and a portion of the residuals from _Facts of Life_ and _Mama’s Family_ go to supporting cryonics (the freezing of dead bodies in hopes of future cure and revivification) per the will of their producer and co-owner [Dick Clair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Clair). ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/47 "2010-01-27T20:40:31Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > There was a rumor floating around the Internet this weekend that Johnny Depp had been killed in a car crash in Paris. Not so. The same day Michael Jackson died, there was an internet rumor that another major star died. The publicist had to come out and refute it. I can’t remember now who it was, though! ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/48 "2010-01-27T23:12:22Z")
A joke that was popular a while back here in NC was "“What do Jim Neighbors and NC have in common? Blowing Rock” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/49 "2010-01-27T23:15:06Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > The same day Michael Jackson died, there was an internet rumor that another major star died. The publicist had to come out and refute it. I can’t remember now who it was, though! Jeff Goldblum? From a falling off a cliff in New Zealand even! (Honestly it was surprising that one even gathered any traction at all.) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/50 "2010-01-27T23:15:56Z")
Yes, Goldblum went on a few shows to poke fun at the rumor of his death. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/51 "2010-01-27T23:18:14Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Jeff Goldblum? From a falling off a cliff in New Zealand even! (Honestly it was surprising that one even gathered any traction at all.) Suprising? After Farrah Fawcett earlier that morning and Ed McMahon two days earlier I wouldn’t have been surprised if half the actors in Hollywood dropped dead by the end of the week. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/52 "2010-01-27T23:22:37Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > A joke that was popular a while back here in NC was "“What do Jim Neighbors and NC have in common? Blowing Rock” 😛 (“That there’s funny, I don’t care who you are!”) ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/53 "2010-01-27T23:27:38Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > The same day Michael Jackson died, there was an internet rumor that another major star died. The publicist had to come out and refute it. I can’t remember now who it was, though! Isn’t that true, though? Farrah Fawcett? Although I also remember a rumor about Jeff Goldblum dying around that time, too. I think it was him. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/54 "2010-01-27T23:58:18Z")
The criminal case that arguably holds the all-time world title for most vicious and unfounded rumors (and injustices perpetrated) is Italy’s [“Monster of Florence” murder mystery](http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/monster_florence/1.html). Beginning in 1968 and continuing through the present day, the serial murder investigation has generated uncounted rumors and innuendo (including allegations of a massive Satanic conspiracy) and the jailing and/or convictions of multiple innocent people. The incompetence and sleazy behavior displayed by Italian authorities has been staggering. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/55 "2010-01-28T00:16:31Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Suprising? After Farrah Fawcett earlier that morning and Ed McMahon two days earlier I wouldn’t have been surprised if half the actors in Hollywood dropped dead by the end of the week. Well I meant the whole falling off a cliff thing. It was just a bizarrely outlandish rumor. Saying he was killed in a car crash or something would have been more believable. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/56 "2010-01-28T00:28:49Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Beginning in 1968 and continuing through the present day, the serial murder investigation has generated uncounted rumors and innuendo (including allegations of a massive Satanic conspiracy) and the jailing and/or convictions of multiple innocent people. The incompetence and sleazy behavior displayed by Italian authorities has been staggering. Satanic murders are blown all out of proportion in the U.S. as well. Notable instances include the [West Memphis Three convictions](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_3)(continually in the news almost 17 years after the murders due to the scant evidence and bogus satanic panic “evidence” that convicted them\*) and the [Wenatchee, Washington satanic ritual abuse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenatchee_sex_ring)abuse’ claims that were basically a Tricentennial of the Salem witchcraft trials and destroyed many innocent lives. While the occult of various kinds has figured into a few crimes here and there (just as I’m sure you could find violent crimes that involved orchids and Bingo) there’s not a shred of evidence of any widespread satanic network in the U.S. or to my knowledge elsewhere, yet many still believe there is. I blame Geraldo for a large part of it for generating so much “awareness” of it in the 1980s, and the lion’s share of course on ignorance and stupidity. Speaking of Il Monstro di Firenze, he was a subplot of the novel HANNIBAL. Harris favored the janitor at the Palazzo Capponi theory. \*I won’t say that I think they’re innocent but I will say that they deserve a new trial and that no jury on Earth should have convicted on the prosecution’s case. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/57 "2010-01-28T00:45:50Z")
One of the co-writers of Caddyshack and Animal House died by falling off a cliff. [Douglas Kenney - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Kenney) BTW , the Monster of Florence is a very good book. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/58 "2010-01-28T01:11:58Z")
I seem to recall a rumor that Donna Summer was a man. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/59 "2010-01-28T01:16:04Z")
First “she’s a man” rumor I recall was about Mae West. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289/60 "2010-01-31T05:28:59Z")
I started this thread then rudely abandoned it. Not really abandoned, because I’ve been reading, but not posting. It’s been fascinating and I thank you all for your participation. I learned a lot. Thank you all! Btw, since I mentioned them in my OP, I thought I would pass along the tidbit that Brad and Angelina are together and [acting perfectly normal and happy](http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b164868_brangelina_totally_together_dgas.html?sid=twitterfeed_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=twitterfeed&utm_campaign=twitterfeed_topstories) at the Directors Guild Awards tonight. I’m following several different Twitter feeds waiting for the results, and it’s been mentioned by several people, then someone Tweeted the link to the picture. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vicious-rumors-and-misinformation/526289.md?page=4)