The ''Hollywood Star'' was an idiosyncratic gossip tabloid published on an erratic schedule in Hollywood, California by William Kern, who wrote much of the magazine under the pseudonym "Bill Dakota." Published in a newspaper format (and sold in newsracks), it appeared in 1976, and had stopped publishing by 1981. In 1979, it adopted a smaller magazine format which lasted two issues, as ''Hollywood "Confidential" Star Magazine.'' Inspired by '' Confidential'' and other

gossip magazines A gossip magazine, also referred to as a tabloid magazine, is a magazine that features scandalous stories about the personal lives of celebrities and other well-known individuals. In North America, this genre of magazine flourished in the 1950s an ...

of the 1950s, ''The Hollywood Star'' had a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

subtext (Kern's other mid-70s paper was called ''Gayboy'') and printed nude photos and sexually-oriented gossip with a frankness that had rarely if ever been seen in gossip magazines. In addition to naming stars who were gay or

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, for example, the magazine published lists of male celebrities based on whether they were circumcised. An unrelated newspaper called the ''Hollywood Star News'' is currently published in Portland, Oregon.

References

{{reflist Defunct magazines published in the United States Defunct newspapers published in California