10 Hollywood Myths People Still Believe

10 Marilyn Monroe Was A Size 16

Whenever someone wants to remind our weight-obsessed culture that curves can be beautiful, they often mention that the most revered sex symbol of the western hemisphere, Marilyn Monroe, wore a size 16 (or 12, depending on what country you’re from). Either way, she was as wide as several of today’s starlets standing side by side.
It couldn’t be less true. Several of Monroe’s famous costumes were recently auctioned off, including the white dress from The Seven Year Itch and the red sequined number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and spectators were shocked to see the teeny, tiny mannequins on which they were displayed. Monroe actually didn’t fit any standard size, because her waist was disproportionately smaller than her bust and hips. Her dresses averaged 22-inch waists and 34-inch busts, so she was somewhere around a 2–4 in today’s US standard dress sizes—about the same as most modern actresses.

9 The Ghost Boy In Three Men And A Baby

In the years following the 1987 release of Three Men and a Baby, thousands of viewers reported spooky sightings of what appeared to be the ghost of a little boy in the background of one scene. Unsurprisingly, they quickly started making stuff up to explain it, and rumors circulated that the son of the couple whose New York apartment was rented for the filming had been killed there, and it was his image that appeared in the film. They even insisted the parents had appeared on 60 Minutes or 20/20 to tell the tale.
First of all, the movie wasn’t even filmed in a New York apartment; it was a Toronto soundstage. More importantly, the filmmakers swiftly provided an explanation for the startling sight—it was a cardboard cutout of star Ted Dansen that someone had misplaced. Poor attention to detail, yes, but nothing supernatural. Even though it was quickly debunked, the rumor persists.

8 Back To The Future Predicts The Future

When the Miami Marlins won the World Series in 1997, rumors circulated that their triumph was predicted in Back to the Future Part II. People claimed that Biff perused a sports almanac and quipped, “Florida wins the 1997 World Series, yeah right.” Alternately, people claimed this was a broadcast displayed on a holographic billboard shown in the future.
Biff never makes any such remark. What the billboard actually said was that the Chicago Cubs would defeat an unspecified Miami team represented by an alligator, which you might recognize as the farthest possible thing from a marlin.
This defeat would’ve taken place the same year as the movie, 2015, which hasn’t actually happened yet. The year in which the film takes place seems to be an ongoing point of contention, despite being clearly stated in the film, and altered images of the dashboard of the DeLorean keep popping up, claiming that we’ve reached the date that it reads. For the record, it’s October 21, 2015. We’ve got a couple of years to go.

7 A Famous Actor Was The Gerber Baby

Since the adoption of the mascot in 1931, people have been speculating about the identity of the iconic Gerber Baby, which was kept secret by the company for over 40 years. The name that seems to come up the most often (inexplicably) is Humphrey Bogart. A poll conducted by the company found that many people still believed that either Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor, or Senator Bob Dole were the Gerber Baby, even though it was revealed to be mystery novelist Ann Turner Cook in 1978.

6 Steven Spielberg Got His Start After Sneaking Into Universal Studios

Over the years, Spielberg has told the story of how, as a young unknown, he sneaked into Universal Studios and moved into an empty office. He fit right in with his suit and briefcase, casually chatting with employees as if he had every right to be there, so nobody thought to check whether he actually did. The bluff was so successful that they started actually giving him work, and the rest is history.
Except, according to other people working at Universal during that time, it never happened. His career at Universal began when he was legitimately hired as an unpaid intern by family friend and editor Chuck Silvers. Silvers’s office mate, purchasing agent Julie Raymond, straight up said that Spielberg is lying. It’s true that he had to sneak onto movie sets to talk to people and make connections, but Spielberg was authorized to work in Silvers’s office. Spielberg’s version of events has changed a lot over the years. For instance, he’s claimed to be anywhere from 17 to 21 years old when it happened, with Silvers claiming he was hired at 16—so even Spielberg isn’t sure what the story is.