This Actress’ Tooth Picked Up Radio Signals (And Other Weird Hollywood Stories)

There are some weird stories out of Hollywood, and there are just some flat-out creepy ones.

The year is 1942 in old Hollywood. Not everyone can recall Lucille Ball, an American actress, singer, producer, and comedienne — a jack of all trades. She’s also a multi-award-winning actress who’s won a bunch of Emmys. No biggie. The rumor has it that one day, she was driving home from MGM studios through Coldwater Canyon when she suddenly heard music.

The car radio was off, so where was it coming from? As she looked around, trying to figure out where the source of the sound was, she realized that it was coming from her mouth! The next day, she told this to another classic old-time actor Buster Keaton. He answered that the new lead dental filling might be the reason. It could pick up signals from nearby radio stations.

The actress waited for a few more days, but nothing happened, and she went on with her life as usual. A week later, on her way home from a shoot, she started hearing things again — but this time, it wasn’t music. She heard some clicks that resembled Morse code. Alarmed, Lucille reported this to the authorities. Eventually, they figured out that the sound was coming from an underground Japanese radio station that was operating in a tool shed.

Many decades had passed, and there had been plenty of talk around this story. Some people thought Lucille had been living a double life. But in 1974, Lucille herself spilled the beans. During an interview on the Dick Cavett Show, Lucille told everyone that all of it was true except for living a double life. Many people bought it and didn’t doubt the legendary actress.

In 2003, some people decided to test if dental fillings could pick up radio signals. They took some vintage radio equipment and fake skulls with dental fillings. In the end, they concluded that it was possible that the saliva and metals in Lucille’s mouth had caused a galvanic reaction that could have resembled Morse code. Unfortunately, no theory has been proven yet. But no one knows why the actress confirmed such a bizarre story.

Everyone has probably heard about the Hollywood reporter, but no one knows the creepy story behind it. In 1936, Willian Wilkerson, otherwise known as Billy, created his dream office on Sunset Boulevard. After many decades and Bill’s passing, the Reporter moved to larger quarters and underwent some remodeling in 1992. In the same year, the LA Weekly claimed some space in the office where construction worker Jerry Brake began to notice some eerie activity. He began by demolishing Bill’s former office upstairs, where he would often work alone.

From the corner of his eye, Brake would sometimes notice something move — as if someone was passing by the door. He thought this was some trick of the light that made it look as if something or someone was moving. So, he would just dismiss this and continue with his work. However, once, at night, he freaked out. He was on duty alone in his office and felt something tap him on his back. He jolted and looked around, but there was no one in sight.

Startled, he looked out of his office down the hallway but still didn’t see anything. He decided to walk around and noticed a figure standing in the corner of one room. He looked closer and spotted a mirror, but he only saw his own reflection. He turned around, and the figure was gone. Maybe it was his imagination, he thought. He was working late and figured he was just really tired.

He went back to work a few days later. At 5:30 AM, Brake heard a noise and followed it from the front hall toward the stairs. He was alone again. This time, he heard footsteps — as if someone was walking in front of him. He caught a glimpse of a figure, but the lighting was not good enough to paint a clear picture. He decided to scout the building for potential intruders — maybe some kids were causing trouble, he thought. But nothing.

The remodeling progressed, and the office started to look good. They removed the staircase and made room for an elevator to the second floor. Brake finished his work, and architect Ted Powell was now staying late at night doing some last touch-ups. He was working with a woman from the LA Weekly when they heard some knocking directly beneath them. It sounded as if someone was hitting the ceiling with a broom. But there was no one down there!

They took the elevator and went to the first floor to see if someone was there. No one. Maybe it was their imagination. Afterward, they heard footsteps coming from Bill’s office. Scared out of their minds, they left the office immediately.

Another bizarre tale begins in Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip, which is now called the Comedy Store. It’s known as one of the most famous comedy clubs in the United States, but at night, it gets a little eerie. One night, a comedian who also worked as a security guard, Blake Clark, was minding his business when he heard someone banging on the piano. The sound was coming from the Belly Room — a smaller venue on the second floor.

He figured it was just some prank since some of the waitresses reported such cases on many occasions. For example, one of them could light candles in the room, arrange the tables, and leave. When she returned, the candles were blown out, and the door was locked. But when she returned with the key, she found the door unlocked again. When Clark heard the sound of the piano, he ran upstairs, worried that somebody might have been locked inside. But when he got there, the noise stopped, and no one was inside.

Whenever he locked the door, he would hear someone playing the piano, but there was never anyone in the room. However, one night, he had the fright of his life. Blake was doing some final rounds in the main showroom, which used to be Ciro’s main room. As he was about to lock up, he saw a chair slowly moving from one side of the stage to the other. He froze while watching the phantom chair move on its own. Today, the club is alive and well, gathering plenty of laughs.

While this might not have happened in Hollywood itself, this story influenced the world of cinematography as we know it. In 1896, a short 50-second-long movie was screened for the public in Paris. As the legend goes, people had no idea what a moving picture, AKA a movie, was. So the viewers started falling out of their seats when the image of a train appeared on the screen. The train was approaching the camera, and some people even ran out of the theater.

And even though the movie was black and white and silent, the people actually thought the train was going to hit them. Today, we would call a 50-second movie a clip, but back then, that was something to marvel at. The movie was called “The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat”, and it was created by the Lumière brothers. The movie showed people standing on the platform while the train was approaching a fixed camera. The “passengers” were told not to look at the camera to make the movie seem more realistic.

However, there’s no evidence that the reaction of the audience was so extreme. The report only claims that the movie was screened — but it doesn’t mention any panic and chaos. And even though this film was a revolution of its kind, the pace of the train was too slow to evoke such fear. Plus, there was no sound to enhance the effect. So why did this rumor start? Some people say it was used to emphasize the emotional impact of the new art of cinematography. And that we should thank the Lumière brothers for that.