A Hollywood publicist from the Golden Age has cataloged for us a multitude of anecdotes that illustrate just how nasty actors and directors can be when they get to the highest stratosphere:
"When Al Jolson (1886 - 1950) billed himself as 'The World's Greatest Entertainer,' he meant it. His contempt and jealousy of other actors was as monumental as his talent, which accounts for the fact that, despite his fame and wealth, Jolson was a lonely, unloved man."