The Scandalous Mary Astor

The Leonard Lopate Show | Dec 28, 2016

Illustrator and cartoonist Edward Sorel joins us to discuss his new book Mary Astor’s Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936. He vividly details Mary's life as a child star with a tyrannical father, her teenage love affair with a much older John Barrymore, who seduced her on the set of a movie, and her scandalous affair with Broadway playwright George S. Kauffman.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

Transportation News: Street Cleaning Pilot & Faster Buses

Stephen Nessen talks about some recent proposals for faster buses and a pilot street cleaning program.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Leslie Jones Finds Humor in Getting Older

All Of It with Alison Stewart |

Manhattan Project eyed as potential source of high radiation in Western NY

Residents in Niagara and Erie counties are raising concerns after properties were found to have high levels of radioactive contamination.
Gothamist |

Exploring an Olympics Bid for New York

NYS Assemblymember Robert Carroll talks about his vision for a joint upstate/downstate bid for the Winter Olympics.
The Brian Lehrer Show |
YOU ARE ONLINE