Our story Thursday about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to move back to England — effectively abandoning their Hollywood pursuits, at least for now — prompted all sorts of reader feedback. Was theirs simply a case of hubris? Poor taste? Or bad luck? (Recall that the Sussexes signed their eight-figure production deal with Netflix in the fall of 2020, six months into a global pandemic.) 

What everyone seems to agree on is that Harry and Meghan are but the latest in a long line of ballyhooed outsiders who tempted fate coming to Hollywood thinking they could crack the creative code in a town where no one, famously, knows anything. A number of informed readers chimed in and we compiled a short list of other aspirants (and wannabes) that people referenced dating back almost a century who arrived with their own respective bona fides only to be rejected from the Town like unwelcome pathogens. 

After he published “This Side of Paradise” in 1920 F. Scott Fitzgerald became one of the most famous writers in the world. But 17 years later — and at that point battling alcoholism and bankruptcy — Fitzgerald went to work in Hollywood to pay off his debts where he was welcomed with a lucrative $1,000-a-week contract from MGM. Despite toiling on numerous rewrites, he ended up with just one credit to his name and died of a heart attack three years later. 

In 1948, the engineer, business magnate and one of the world’s richest men, Howard Hughes, bought a controlling interest in RKO Pictures. Despite having previous success as a producer, Hughes’ chaotic management style ultimately resulted in RKO’s decline, and he sold the studio a mere seven years later. 

Other ill-fated business plays brought to our attention included Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s purchase of MCA Inc. which was the parent company of Universal Pictures and the companies’ theme parks, shifting the family business away from liquor into entertainment. That ended in ignominy when the Bronfman family lost billions due its sizable stake in Vivendi which cratered under massive debt. 

“Most people who came here were trying to buy their way in. They had money and that was their ticket to entry,” said Rick Nicita, a producer and former super-agent who was a principal at CAA. “And I have absolutely nothing at all against Harry and Meghan, but they weren’t bringing anything tangible to the table other than their celebrity in a different sphere of life. So why would anyone give them money to make anything, since it’s not clear what their credentials were? However, it will still be possible for them to succeed in Hollywood if they get the opportunity for their creative instincts to match the zeitgeist. No one should be counted out.”

More recently, readers noted the rush by certain companies to sign prominent Democratic political figures like Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, who launched their own independent production company, HiddenLight, in 2020 and so far have just a handful of credits and a negligible presence in town.

Australian billionaire James Packer, who co-founded RatPac Entertainment in 2013 alongside director Brett Ratner, was also mentioned as a case study in a figure who ultimately rolled through town with massive ambitions — bankrolling a number of hits like “Gravity,” “The Lego Movie,” and “American Sniper” along the way. But he sold his stake in the company in 2017.