Literally Just The Most Shocking Things About Celebrities You Probably Don’t Know

1. If you're a baseball fan, you likely know Fritz Peterson, the New York [1] Yankees All-Star pitcher who holds the record for the lowest career E.R.A. (2.52) at the original Yankee Stadium. But the REALLY memorable/shocking part of Peterson's life happened off the field. In 1969, the Yankees swung a trade for Dodgers' pitcher Mike Kevich, and he and Peterson quickly became fast friends.
Their wives, Marilyn Peterson and Susan Kekich, also became friends, and the couples (and their children) all began spending a lot of time together. Eventually, things took a twist straight out of a soap opera when Mike hinted at being attracted to Marilyn. The two men began discussing their wives, and discovered they were more attracted to the other man's wife than their own.
Soon the men were jokingly floating the idea of trading wives. And when their wives didn't seem totally opposed, the idea went from "joking" to "Could we actually do this?"

Four people sitting on a boat's edge, smiling. Casual 1970s attire, with one person in a striped sweater./ppOcean visible in the background

AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler

Finally, in the middle of the 1972 season, the pitchers each packed a bag, left home, and moved in with the other man's wife. "It was a husband trade," Fritz later said. "Mike for me." This wasn't just another baseball trade, though. The men essentially swapped lives. Fritz, for example, not only ended up living with a new wife, but two new kids (girls this time; he and Marilyn had boys) and even a new dog (swapping a poodle for a Bedlington Terrier).
The agreement was that if any of the four became unhappy, they would all return to their original marriages. But when Mike and Marilyn's relationship quickly flamed out, Fritz and Susan had no interest in returning to the way things were. By Spring Training of the following year, news of the bizarre situation broke and the pitchers held a press conference.
Now clearly resentful of each other, they tried to water down the scandal by calling the situation a love story and nothing dirty. It didn't work.

A baseball player in uniform poses on a stadium field with two women in 1970s attire, one wearing flared pants

Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

Perhaps because of all the personal drama and media attention, both pitchers struggled mightily in 1973. The Yankees, likely tired of this weird-ass situation, traded Mike to Cleveland.
They traded Fritz to Cleveland the following year too, but Mike was no longer there -- he was pitching in Japan with his career on its last legs. Fritz's career ended soon, too, after the 1976 season. Fritz and Susan remained married until Fritz's death in 2023.
Mike later moved to New Mexico [2] and married again. In the 2010s, Matt Damon [3] and Ben Affleck tried to make a movie about the saga, but it never got out of development hell.

Two well-dressed individuals smile and pose together at a formal event, surrounded by poster images in the background

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

2. Today you likely know Drew Barrymore [5] as the slightly dorky mama bear who hosts The Drew Barrymore Show [6]. She lived a VERY different life, though, in the '80s and '90s.
After skyrocketing to fame as the six-year-old co-star of the global blockbuster E.T., Barrymore was introduced to the Hollywood party scene at a shockingly young age, including going to Studio 54 with her mother when she was still in elementary school. As she documented in her autobiography about that time, Little Girl Lost [7], she was already drinking alcohol by age 9 and experimenting with drugs soon after. And by age 12?
She was addicted to cocaine. By 13, her life had spiraled enough that she entered rehab. Thankfully, Barrymore was able to get her life back on track, and even made a triumphant return to acting...but in a role that will make people in 2026 very uneasy.

Child actress wearing a casual outfit with a red top and white leggings sits, looking thoughtful, with a small green design on her face

Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Advertisement Advertisement

In 1992, a 16-year-old Barrymore was cast in the erotic thriller Poison Ivy where she played a teen who seduces her best friend's dad and tries to destroy his life. Not long after the movie came out, Barrymore said [8] the movie transformed how the industry saw her. "Once people started seeing a little bit of footage, [my agent] J.J. got all these calls, like, 'We've got this role for Drew as a Lolita-esque nymphet.' And people were coming up to me on the set, going, 'How does it feel to be a sex symbol?' I was like, 'Me?!'" In a sad case of history repeating itself, the entertainment industry had again thrust her into a far more adult life than she should have had.

A woman with long hair, wearing a stylish coat, leans into a car window, engaging with a seated man

New Line Cinema

3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off star Matthew Broderick was behind the wheel of a car that crashed into an oncoming car, killing two people.
It happened on August 5, 1987, when Broderick and his girlfriend Jennifer Grey (just weeks before the release of her classic film Dirty Dancing) were vacationing in Ireland. Broderick was driving a rental car when he drove into the wrong lane and collided with a car driven by Margaret Doherty, 63, and her daughter Anna Gallagher, 28. Both women were killed, while Broderick was unconscious and badly injured, leaving Grey to initially believe she was the lone survivor of the accident.
Upon coming to, Broderick had amnesia and didn't remember the entire day of the accident, saying [9], "I don't remember even getting up in the morning. I don't remember making my bed. What I first remember is waking up in the hospital."

Two people on a red carpet; one wears a tuxedo, the other a one-shoulder gown

Jim Smeal / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Broderick ended up spending a month in the hospital, recovering.
Years later, Grey would call [10] Broderick a "great driver" and emphasize that "nobody was drinking. It was just an accident. And it was tragic." Still, authorities initially considered charging Broderick with "Dangerous driving causing death." They instead charged him with "careless driving." He pleaded guilty and paid a £175 fine, which the victim's family called a "travesty of justice." In 2002, Broderick said, "It was extremely difficult coming to grips with what happened, but in time, I felt better about that terrible experience.
Therapy helped."

Two individuals sit in a car. The woman holds an envelope and wears a blazer; the man wears a checkered suit. They appear to be engaged in conversation

Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images

4. It was no secret that Tallulah Bankhead -- a stage and screen star famous for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat -- was, uh, sexually adventurous.
She even described herself as being "as pure as the driven slush." But while performing on London's West End in 1928, she became the center of rumors that were shocking even for her: that the 26-year-old Bankhead was meeting Eton schoolboys at a nearby hotel for clandestine trysts. She was even said to have sneaked one boy out of the school in her car, hidden under a rug. Supposedly, when the headmaster got wind of it, he expelled six boys -- including the son of a Lord.

A vintage-style photo of a woman lounging on a chair in a flowing, sheer gown with lace details, creating a classic, elegant pose

Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

Advertisement Advertisement

9 That Broke Up [11]

This scandal in the making never rose beyond the whisper stage, but in 2000, the UK's public record office released [12] confidential files that confirmed it actually happened. According to the MI5, the UK's domestic intelligence agency, Bankhead was "an extremely immoral woman" and had "indecent and unnatural practices" with the Eton schoolboys.

Vintage photo of two young drivers in mini cars surrounded by a crowd of men in suits and hats, set in front of a historic building

Reg Speller / Getty Images

5. Woody Harrelson's dad Charles had a long career as a violent thief and hitman.
He was linked to dozens of murders, and generally used a sniper rifle instead of a handgun. At his last trial, the prosecutor said, "Charles Harrelson damaged everyone he came in contact with." At different times in his life, Harrelson even claimed responsibility for assassinating President John F. Kennedy, saying he was one of "three tramps" on the grassy knoll close to the Kennedy cavalcade (men photographed the day of the assassination that conspiracy theorists have long believed may actually be responsible for the killing).
Harrelson also said that the presumed assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was too far away to make the shot (something Harrelson, who knew his way around a sniper rifle, had unusual insight into).

Side-by-side of Woody and Charles Harrelson

Woody: Vera Anderson / WireImage Charles: Bettmann / Contributor

Woody -- who got his big break on the hit '80s sitcom Cheers -- didn't see much of his father growing up as he was only 7 when his father was convicted of his first murder. But he developed a relationship with him later in life, visiting him in jail. Woody told People magazine [13], "This might sound odd to say about a convicted felon, but my father is one of the most articulate, well-read, charming people I've ever known.
Still, I'm just now gauging whether he merits my loyalty or friendship. I look at him as someone who could be a friend more than someone who was a father."

I’m sorry, I don’t know who this is. The image shows a person looking down, wearing a button-up shirt

Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

6. Julianne Moore is an Academy Award-winning actor -- but can you believe she was fired from a movie just six days before filming was scheduled to start?
It's true. Can You Ever Forgive Me? was set to star Moore and be directed by Nicole Holofcener, but the director didn't like what Moore was doing with the part. Moore told Andy Cohen [14], "I didn't leave that movie, I was fired.
Yeah, yeah, Nicole fired me. So yeah, that's the truth. I think she didn't like what I was doing.
I think that her idea of where the character was was different than my idea of where the character was, and so she fired me." She went on to say she hasn't seen the movie "because it's still kind of painful," then summed the situation up with: "It's pretty bad. The only other time I was fired was when I was working at a yogurt stand when I was 15. So yeah, it felt bad."

I don’t know who this is, but they are smiling warmly, wearing statement earrings, and are dressed in formal attire, suitable for a red carpet event

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Advertisement Advertisement

Moore's role eventually went to Melissa McCarthy, who, adding insult to injury for Moore, earned an Academy Award nomination for her work. In the end, Holofcener didn't end up directing the film either.
She was replaced by Marielle Heller.

Person walks on a city sidewalk in a casual blazer over a sweater, wearing sunglasses

Alessio Botticelli / GC Images

7. Barbara Newhall Follett rose to fame in the 1920s as a writing prodigy. She wrote poetry at age 4 and in 1927, at just 12, she published her first book, The House Without Windows, to critical acclaim (The Saturday Review of Literature called the book "almost unbearably beautiful"). Her next novel came out two years later to more critical acclaim.
But fame faded, her father (and champion) left the family, and her life slowly unraveled.

Woman typing on a vintage typewriter, wearing a patterned dress. The setting suggests an early to mid-20th century work environment

Then -- in 1939 -- a 25-year-old Barbara, after a fight with her husband (whom she suspected of an affair), walked out of their apartment with the equivalent of just under £700 in today's dollars. She left no note.
No trace. Her husband didn't report her missing for two weeks. She was never seen again.

Vintage photo of a young girl with long hair sitting in an armchair, wearing a dress with a white collar and cuffs

Some believe Barbara died by suicide.

Others think she was murdered -- possibly by her husband, who acted strangely and avoided questioning. Of course, a pretty young woman walking alone at night with a decent chunk of change in her pocket was at risk from other threats, too.

For years, her mother tried to reopen the case but got nowhere. She also was very suspicious of Barbara's husband, and wrote to him [16], "All of this silence on your part looks as if you had something to hide concerning Barbara's disappearance ...

You cannot believe that I shall sit idle during my last few years and not make whatever effort I can to find out whether Bar is alive or dead, whether, perhaps, she is in some institution suffering from amnesia or nervous breakdown."

In 2019, writer Daniel Mills published his theory [17] that police did find Barbara's body in 1946, but misidentified it as someone else. If he's right, and Barbara did indeed die by suicide, then a life that began with such incredible promise ended in a deeply sad way.

8. LL Cool J and Jamie Foxx had such a massive fight on the set of Oliver Stone's 1999 football drama Any Given Sunday that the police were called. LL and Foxx were filming a scene where their football player characters were arguing on the sidelines next to their coach, played by Al Pacino.
The scripted argument turned real when Foxx slapped LL, and the legendary Pacino tried in vain to break up the fight.

A coach passionately talks to football players on the field during a game, wearing suits, helmets, and pads. Stadium crowd visible in the background

Getty Images Advertisement

Cinematographer Sal Totino recounted [18] that LL threw a "fucking massive punch that hits Jamie in the face. Jamie goes back and hits the push bar on the techno-crane. I thought he snapped his neck.
Jamie pops up, full-blown fight going on. Punches are flying everywhere." Things got so bad that Foxx called the police, though no charges were pressed. LL and Foxx get along better today -- that's them in the photo above singing together at a 2015 tribute concert to Stevie Wonder.

Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J dance onstage wearing suits

RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images

Literally Just The Most Shocking Things About Celebrities You Probably Don’t Know

Moore's role eventually went to Melissa McCarthy, who, adding insult to injury for Moore, earned an Academy Award nomination for her work. In the end, Holofcener didn't end up directing the film either.She was replaced by Marielle Heller.

Moore's role eventually went to Melissa McCarthy, who, adding insult to injury for Moore, earned an Academy Award nomination for her work. In the end, Holofcener didn't end up directing the film either.
She was replaced by Marielle Heller.