9 Biggest Celebrity Scandals In The 1970s You Forgot

Fame culture began to change in the 1970s, setting the stage for the “cult of celebrity” that would rule the remainder of the century. The advent of commercialized celebrities during this period saw celebrities transform from mere entertainers into social symbols and campaigners. The distinction between private and public life became more hazy as individuality and commercialization replaced the countercultural idealism of the 1960s. The complicated and even contradictory role that celebrities play in society today is still very much the same, with admirers developing intense but conflicted parasocial bonds. The culture that is still dominated by celebrities was established in the 1970s.

Jane Fonda’s Controversial Visit to Vietnam

Actress and activist Jane Fonda made news in 1972 when she traveled to North Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam War. Fonda, one of the most well-known celebrities of the 1970s, caused controversy with her trip, especially from conservative media, which called her “Hanoi Jane” to disparage her antiwar activities. She made ten radio appearances during her tour, urging American aircraft to refrain from striking residential areas and denouncing U.S. military actions. There have also been calls for Fonda to be charged as a traitor when she was seen sitting atop a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. Even though Fonda has apologized for the picture on multiple occasions and clarified that her protests were directed at the American government rather than soldiers, her actions still cause controversy, and decades later, some people, like Megyn Kelly, still portray her as anti-American.

Tim Allen’s Arrest for Possession of Cocaine

Before he gained fame with Home Improvement, Tim Allen lived a totally different life. On October 2, 1978, he was arrested at a Michigan airport for having 650 grams of cocaine. Allen was facing the possibility of life in prison, so he struck a plea deal, agreeing to provide the identities of other drug dealers in exchange for a reduced sentence. After serving just over two years in a federal prison in Minnesota, he was freed in June 1981, despite having been sentenced to three to seven years for drug trafficking. His later success as a popular television personality is a far cry from this early run-in with the law.

The Symbionese Liberation Army Recruits Patty Hearst

The granddaughter of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst, Patty Hearst, was the target of a well-publicized kidnapping in 1974. The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a radical organization that aimed to coerce her family into obtaining the release of two of its members, abducted her from her Berkeley apartment when she was just 19. The SLA became more demanding and requested $200 million in food contributions for the underprivileged when their demands were not fulfilled. Following weeks in captivity, Hearst declared she had joined the SLA and started taking part in their illegal actions, such as carjackings and bank robberies. She claimed to have been brainwashed after being imprisoned in 1975. She was found guilty of bank robbery in 1976, but President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence, and she was freed in 1979. In 2001, President Bill Clinton fully pardoned her.

IRS Raids Studio 54

Following a tip from a former employee, the IRS searched New York’s famous Studio 54 in December 1978. As stunned employees watched, a group of 31 federal agents arrived and hauled away hundreds of financial data, files, and records. Agents discovered five envelopes with five ounces of cocaine in Ian Schrager’s briefcase during the search, leading to his arrest for cocaine possession. Schrager was one of the club’s founders. Additionally, the agents discovered more than $3 million in cash concealed in employee residences, a safe deposit box, and the club’s ceiling. Schrager and Steve Rubell, his co-founder, were found guilty of tax evasion and given prison terms. President Obama pardoned Schrager in 2017, but Rubell, who passed away in 1985, never received the same chance.

Charles Manson Convicted of Murder

In 1971, Charles Manson and his accomplices, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Charles “Tex” Watson, were convicted of the horrific Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969. Manson was sentenced to death for forcing his followers to commit the killings. However, the California Supreme Court later ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, and their sentences were reduced to life in prison. Manson spent the following few decades behind bars before passing away in 2017 at the age of 83 from colon cancer. The two surviving members, Watson and Krenwinkel, are still in prison, while Manson and Atkins died in prison. The horrific crimes committed by Manson and his “family” had a significant impact on American history and culture.

Sonny and Cher’s Divorce

Cher accused Sonny Bono of “involuntary servitude” and denying her a portion of their income when she filed for divorce from him in 1974. A contentious legal struggle over custody of their son Chaz (then known as Chastity) resulted from their separation. The pair had gotten married informally in 1964, five years prior to their 1969 official marriage. After their divorce was formalized in 1975, both of them pursued new careers. Bono entered politics and finally became a congressman in 1995, while Cher started a very successful solo career. Unfortunately, a 1998 skiing accident ended Bono’s life. Cher and Sonny each went on to make their mark in various industries despite their turbulent breakup.

The Startling Death of Bruce Lee

The world was horrified by Bruce Lee’s unexpected death on July 20, 1973. Lee napped after his appointment with film producer Raymond Chow, but he never woke up for their scheduled supper. Lee, who was only 32 years old, was pronounced dead after Chow discovered him unconscious and attempted to resuscitate him. Officially, cerebral edema—a swelling of the brain caused by a reaction to a painkiller called Equagesic—was determined to be the cause of death. Lee had taken the medication for a headache earlier in the day. According to some specialists, Lee’s decision to remove his underarm sweat glands in 1972 may have increased the stress on his body, and heat stroke and overexertion may have been contributing factors. The death of Bruce Lee is still one of the biggest mysteries in Hollywood.

Charlie Chaplin’s Body Was Stolen

Charlie Chaplin’s remains were taken from a Swiss cemetery close to Lake Geneva in March 1978, a few months after his passing. Two men stole the famous actor’s remains after he died in December 1977, making him the victim of a strange crime. Oona O’Neill, Chaplin’s widow, was demanded to pay more than half a million dollars in ransom. She collaborated with police, who surreptitiously tapped her phone lines out of concern for the safety of her kids. Two Eastern European car mechanics, Roman Wardas and Gantscho Ganev, were taken into custody by authorities following a month-long inquiry. Police were guided by the guys to Chaplin’s body, which had been interred in a neighboring cornfield. Ganev was given an 18-month suspended sentence, while Wardas was given four and a half years of hard labor.

The Arrest of Roman Polanski

After drugging and raping 13-year-old Samantha Gailey at actor Jack Nicholson’s house, the 43-year-old director of Rosemary’s Baby was arrested in Los Angeles on March 10, 1977, and charged with a long list of offenses, including unlawful sexual contact with a minor, perversion, sodomy, sexual assault by drug use, performing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14, and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor. In exchange for the remaining five counts against him being dropped, the disgraced French director accepted a plea deal for the lesser offense of unauthorized sexual contact with a minor. Hours before his formal sentencing, Polanski fled to London and then France after learning that he was still likely to be imprisoned and deported (Polanski is dual French and Polish but not American). Since then, he has consistently eluded justice by staying primarily in France and other nations that are unlikely to extradite him to the United States. For decades, Polish and French courts have rejected US requests for Polanski’s extradition. Polanski is still free in France at the age of 91.