Today in History: The Hollywood Blacklist

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Oct. 20, 1947 HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST.

Former Republican congressman Judge J. Parnell Thomas banged the gavel opening the House Committee on UnAmerican Activites investigation into Communist infiltration into the Motion Picture Business. HUAC was set up in 1938 as the Dies Committee to keep an eye on pro-Nazis groups operating in German and Italian immigrant organizations, but by 1944 it's emphasis had switched to Communist espionage. Investigations of the Washington civil servants like Dean Acheson was dull stuff, New Deal hating conservatives knew investigating Hollywood would yield the big headlines and jazz up public interest.

Jack Warner, Louis B. Mayer, Ronald Reagan and Walt Disney were among the first in line to name names. Lucille Ball, Sterling Hayden, Zero Mostel, Ginger Rogers and Lloyd Bridges admitted they had once held communist party memberships. Bertholdt Brecht moved back to Germany because he felt America was headed towards Nazism. In animation, Columbia handed UPA a list of artists to be fired, with John Hubley and Dave Hilberman at the top. The anti-commie hysteria turned Hollywood inside out for a decade, and the bitter feelings remained for the rest of the participants lives. ~ Tom Sito

Edited October 20, 2012 by Commie Appeaser

[Danno 1,228]

Another vote of confidence for Big-Gov.

Love those B&W photos , not sure why you posted a photo of a republican speaking when it might have been more interesting to see the head of the committee speaking, Democrat Edward Joseph Hart?

When you think about it, really, weren't they doing what Obama tells us to do? "If you see something, say something"?

They were asked what they saw by this bi-partison House committee (Joe McCarthy was in the Senate) and they told ... who had Communist party memberships, who tried to recruit them Ect.

To put it in todays timeframe, imagine if you were aware of extremist Muslims recruiting activity going on in your circles.... would you testify, or hold to the principle that these folks have a right to organize and set up networks ....in a free country?

In hindsight,

What was even more alarming were the numbers of people with Communist ties working in the State dept. and all across Govt.

When talk of background checks being done surfaced .. thousands I believe quickly resigned.

And of course now that some of the Soviet records are available we realize the threat was likely bigger than we knew.

Of course today, if we were to hold such investigations to find out who is subverting us.... a fifth column if you will, we would be on the college campus.... but don't worry about that happening, these Fellow travelers have a friend in the W H.... at least for a few more weeks.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

McCarthy was right. Just look at Hollywood today, and see whom most of them are supporting. The commies took control of the Democratic Party in 1972. Look at the loser they nominated, with two failed tries for VP.

The vice presidential vote

With hundreds of delegates angry at McGovern for one reason or another, the vote was chaotic, with at least three other candidates having their names put into nomination and votes scattered over 70 candidates[21] (including one, Mao Zedong, who was not from the United States and was in fact a Communist leader in China). The eventual winner was Senator Thomas Eagleton.

The vice presidential balloting went on so long that McGovern and Eagleton were forced to make their acceptance speeches at around two in the morning, local time.

After the convention ended, it was discovered that Eagleton had undergone psychiatric electroshock therapy for depression and had concealed this information from McGovern. A Time magazine poll taken at the time found that 77 percent of the respondents said "Eagleton's medical record would not affect their vote." Nonetheless, the press made frequent references to his "shock therapy," and McGovern feared that this would detract from his campaign platform.[22] McGovern subsequently consulted confidentially with preeminent psychiatrists, including Eagleton's own doctors, who advised him that a recurrence of Eagleton's depression was possible and could endanger the country should Eagleton become president.[23][24][25][26][27] McGovern had initially claimed that he would back Eagleton “1000 percent,” only to ask Eagleton to withdraw three days later. This perceived lack of conviction in sticking with his running mate was disastrous for the McGovern campaign.

After a week in which six prominent Democrats refused the vice presidential nomination, Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law to John, Robert and Ted Kennedy, former Ambassador to France and former Director of the Peace Corps, accepted. He was officially nominated by a special session of the Democratic National Committee. By this time, McGovern's poll ratings had plunged from 41 to 24 percent.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

McCarthy was right. Just look at Hollywood today, and see whom most of them are supporting. The commies took control of the Democratic Party in 1972. Look at the loser they nominated, with two failed tries for VP.

Who runs Hollywood?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Who runs Hollywood?

Mostly folks living in the western San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles-Hollywood Hills area, and the coastal canyons. Almost all are as liberal as sin. I was born in Santa Monica, and lived almost my entire childhood and young adulthood in Woodland Hills and nearby areas. You couldn't go anywhere without bumping into somebody from the television or movie industry. Away from work, most were trying to live normal lives the same as everybody else. I knew very few that thrived on the attention, but also very few that didn't think they were somebody special. The Motion Picture Hospital, where old actors go to die, was not too far from where we lived. Cool place. They liked young people going to visit them.