Hush-Hush ('and on the QT')

A low rent Confidential clone that would probably be completely forgotten by now had it not been featured in both Jame Ellroy's novel LA Confidential and its subsequent film adaptation.  The Hush-Hush featured in these, however, is a somewhat fictionalised version of the real scandal mag, somewhat higher up the celebrity smut and gossip food chain than the real one ever was.  Moreover, I'm pretty sure that it was never edited by 'Sid Hudgens', (played by Danny DeVito in the film).  In reality, it was owned by Myron Fass, a one-time comic book artist and  prolific publisher of pulp magazines and comic books.  He later set up Eerie Publishing to put out a range of horror comics, as low rent rivals to Warren Publishing's 'Creepy' line of comics.  Fass, like his rivals, would put out pulp magazines on any subject that was currently popular, something reflected in the content of later editions of Hush-Hush as it moved away from focusing purely on celebrity scandal.

This is the January 1961 issue, (it lasted until at least 1965 in this form) and is pretty typical of the publication.  By the early sixties it had become more dangerous to publish exposes of increasingly litigious celebrities, so the content started to edge more into standard men's magazine territory.  Hence, we have stories about much married Rex Harrison eyeing up his potential next wife, (pretty safe territory to write about), Frank Sinatra's mob connections, (again, easily defended as he regularly performed in Las Vegas venues owned by organised crime figures, therefore he couldn't help but know some gangsters-turned-'legitimate' businessmen) and 'Bedtime Secrets of the Stars' (anonymous enough to avoid legal action),  rubbing shoulders with sex changes, drugs, flying saucers and mixed racial relationships.  (The latter, particularly where it allegedly involved Hollywood stars, was something of an obsession in US scandal mags of the era).  Interestingly, while the fictional Sid Hudgens likes to describe the content of his version of the magazine as being 'All hush hush and on the QT', this is actually a conflagration of two different titles: Hush-Hush (obviously) and a rival magazine, On The QT.

(Image from mycomicshop.com used under 'Fair Use' or 'Fair Dealing').