# Weird showbiz conspiracies/theories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [March 11, 2024, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699 "2024-03-11T11:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/161 "2024-03-21T00:13:30Z")
Some of them may have a grain of truth to them. Absolutely nothing about Courtney Lover would surprise me, that she’s still alive being the main one. An old conspiracy was that rock music in general, and Elvis and the Beatles in particular, were part of a Communist and/or satanist conspiracy to corrupt America’s youth. What’s especially unsurprising is that the rumor was spread by a pastor who was later convicted of raping both male and female students at his “Bible” college, including a man and woman whose wedding he officiated! Neither knew the other had been assaulted until years later, and IIRC it was them finding this out and going to the authorities that got him exposed. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/162 "2024-03-21T10:16:47Z")
Yep. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fCTdnbvEL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fCTdnbvEL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/163 "2024-03-21T10:48:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > What’s especially unsurprising is that the rumor was spread by a pastor who was later convicted of raping both male and female students at his “Bible” college, including a man and woman whose wedding he officiated! Neither knew the other had been assaulted until years later, and IIRC it was them finding this out and going to the authorities that got him exposed The Wikipedia entry on Noebel doesn’t mention any of this. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/164 "2024-03-21T14:26:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That’s not even a grain of truth Its kinda the definition of a grain of truth IMO. Are filmmakers being prosecuted for “stolen valor” after some officer in the Pentagon bureaucracy reads their script and finds it unsuitably pro-military? No. But are there officers in the Pentagon bureaucracy approving scripts and ultimately deciding how and if they are made into films based on an artistic opinion on how pro-military they are? Absolutely. > [@Asuka](#): > > with today’s CGI replacing actual vehicles it’s become an almost complete non-issue. Absolutely not true. Topgun Maverick had a lot of CGI but would have absolutely not been made if it wasn’t a 90 minute long recruitment film for the US Naval Air Force ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/165 "2024-03-21T15:59:59Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The Wikipedia entry on Noebel doesn’t mention any of this. Noebel worked for this guy: [Billy James Hargis - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_James_Hargis#Scandal) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/166 "2024-03-21T16:42:41Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/167 "2024-03-21T16:44:40Z")
Huh, I haven’t clicked the link yet but I’m guessing that’s where Don Imus got the name for his character Billy Sol Hargus. BTW I HIGHLY recommend Imus’ God’s Other Son. It is the kind of deeply offensive blasphemy only a true believer could write. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/168 "2024-03-21T17:15:14Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Huh, I haven’t clicked the link yet but I’m guessing that’s where Don Imus got the name for his character Billy Sol Hargus As well as Billie Sol Estes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/169 "2024-03-21T21:14:13Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > That’s not even a grain of truth > > Its kinda the definition of a grain of truth IMO. Are filmmakers being prosecuted for “stolen valor” after some officer in the Pentagon bureaucracy reads their script and finds it unsuitably pro-military? No. But are there officers in the Pentagon bureaucracy approving scripts and ultimately deciding how and if they are made into films based on an artistic opinion on how pro-military they are? Absolutely. They are not deciding how or if movies are made. It is certainly possible to make a good military movie without pentagon help. It’s also possible to make an awful movie with their help. The movie _Firebirds_ was filmed with Army cooperation and on Fort Hood. It was awful and laughable how they portrayed Army Aviation. The military doesn’t go and seek out projects. It has to be requested by the filmmakers. Of course they only offer cooperation with films that don’t make the military look bad. Should they be forced to do otherwise? _Heartbreak Ridge_ was supposed to be about Army Rangers. The Army didn’t like all the salty language and passed. The Marines had no problem with the language and gave their support. Parts of the script don’t make sense for them to be Marines but they didn’t bother to change it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/170 "2024-03-21T22:36:09Z")
I don’t remember who the pastor was that spread this rumor AND raped his students. It may not have been the same person; there was a LOT of this going on at the time. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/171 "2024-03-21T22:44:49Z")
I see that this guy was a pastor in the Disciples of Christ; Jim Jones was too. Interestingly, nowadays they’re one of the most liberal denominations in Christianity, and have been described as “Unitarians With Jesus.” ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/172 "2024-03-22T01:10:25Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The military doesn’t go and seek out projects. It has to be requested by the filmmakers. Of course they only offer cooperation with films that don’t make the military look bad. The 1996 movie _SGT. Bilko_ starring Steve Martin (based on the 1950s TV series starring Phil Silvers) stated in the closing credits: _“The producers would like to thank the United States Army for absolutely nothing”._ ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/173 "2024-03-22T04:13:33Z")
I’m betting it’s because of all the Elvis impersonators. An impersonator off the clock won’t be wearing the threads, but he’ll likely have the hairdo, and probably at least some of the mannerisms ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/174 "2024-03-22T04:38:40Z")
Re the stomach pumping and semen CT, what I heard was that the stomach was pumped for other reasons ( booze, drugs, etc) and semen was found. Back to “but why were they checking for semen?” ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/175 "2024-03-22T18:40:13Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Back to “but why were they checking for semen?” Maybe somebody misplaced some? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/176 "2024-03-22T21:04:32Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > The 1996 movie _SGT. Bilko_ starring Steve Martin (based on the 1950s TV series starring Phil Silvers) stated in the closing credits: > > _“The producers would like to thank the United States Army for absolutely nothing”._ Also- a really bad film, so… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/177 "2024-03-22T21:49:23Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Back to “but why were they checking for semen?” According to the version of the legend I heard, the performer was flying to his next gig when he began experiencing severe stomach pains. The plane diverted to a city, he was rushed to an emergency room, and after checking for appendicitis, the doctors did the next thing on their checklist and pumped his stomach. They didn’t “check for semen,” there was just a lot of it still in his stomach. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/178 "2024-03-22T22:23:58Z")
Has anyone here actually had their stomach pumped, or known someone who did, or performed it themselves? Nowadays, it’s called “gastric lavage” and appears to be performed very rarely. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/179 "2024-03-22T22:32:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Has anyone here actually had their stomach pumped, or known someone who did, or performed it themselves? Not me, but a former friend from my youth. He got into a drinking game and had a bet for 50 Deutschmarks that he could drink a bottle of vodka down in one. He won the bet, but immediately keeled over and only hours later regained consciousness in a hospital bed where they told him he had had alcohol poisoning and his stomach pumped. That’s at least what he told me, and he wasn’t proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699/180 "2024-03-22T22:54:06Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Its kinda the definition of a grain of truth IMO. I think I understand what you mean. However, “grain of truth” is a CT term. CTists will try to include facts in their stories to make them seem truthful but CTs are based on misinformation and disinformation that unfortunately exist in the public awareness. People have heard of the military review of movies but may not realize that it’s a voluntary process and the military can’t restrict the content of a movie they don’t approve of. People have heard of numerous concepts of Jewish conspiracies and the concept of “The Jews” that place people who are motivated by their religion to act in some way “regular people” do not. What you are talking about are taking any factual matter and using it as an argument to support a lie. Instead of calling something like this a “grain of truth” as a CT does we would all be better served by an explanation of how the theory is false and not supported by the inclusion of an irrelevant fact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-showbiz-conspiracies-theories/998699.md?page=10)