Known for “Chinatown,” “Rosemary's Baby” and “The Pianist,” Roman Polanski is one of the most acclaimed directors in cinematic history. He is also a convicted child rapist who has faced several sexual assault allegations over the course of his career.  

In “Disgraced Genius,” the fifth episode of Variety and iHeart Podcasts’ true crime podcast “Variety Confidential,” host Tracy Pattin and co-host Matt Donnelly, Variety’s senior entertainment and media writer, examine Polanski’s downfall after decades of Hollywood reverence. 

For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don Simpson reigned over Hollywood after joining forces with his producing partner Jerry Bruckheimer in the 1980s. Around town, the studio executive-turned-producer’s addiction to sex workers and drugs was no secret — and for decades, he wielded his power in the industry to continue his nefarious and erratic ways.  

For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 3 of “Variety Confidential,” host Tracy Pattin and co-host Matt Donnelly unearth the story of Henry Willson, an aggressive, midcentury Hollywood talent agent and manager who succeeded in both spotting and taking advantage of young actors within whom he saw potential for fame.  

Willson, a closeted gay man, would lure dozens of handsome young men, or “beefcakes” as they would come to be known, to his Los Angeles home after wining and dining them and promising fame. “He seems to have insinuated himself into their lives,” Pattin explains. “He became their friend, the parent, the protector, and in many cases, their lover.” 

For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.