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Why Did People In Old Hollywood Talk Funny?

#IheartHollywood October 18, 2017

Have you ever wondered why people in old Hollywood movies talk with such weird accents?  “Yea Yea..that’s the one kiddo” (OK it’s hard to type an accent…calm down)

You totally know what I am talking about. It's not quite Britsh, it's not quite American. The person speaks in a high-pitched tone, omits the “r’s” at the end of words and kinda sounds like Madonna doing an interview with her fake British Accent. Just listen to any address by President Roosevelt and you will know what I am talking about.

And yet today, this accent is all but nonexistent, prompting the question: Did Americans speak differently before the advent of television?

The video below, “Why Do People in Old Movies Talk Weird?,” reveals the secret of this distinct inflection known as the Mid-Atlantic accent and why it was so prominent in early 20th-century American media.