Who did hollywood blacklist? Anti commies?
After the Hollywood 10 were held in contempt of congress, the major studio heads met at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in 1947 to do damage control. Here are some of the big cheeses who were there:
Louis B. Mayer: MGM
Harry Cohn: Columbia Pictures
Spyros Skouras: 20th Century Fox
Barney Balaban: Paramount Pictures
Albert Warner: Warner Bros.
William Goetz: Universal-International
Dore Schary: RKO Pictures
After their strategy meeting, they issued a press release known as the Waldorf Statement. Here’s an excerpt from it:
“Members of the Association of Motion Picture Producers deplore the action of the 10 Hollywood men who have been cited for contempt by the House of Representatives...”
“We will forthwith discharge or suspend without compensation those in our employ, and we will not re-employ any of the 10 until such time as he is acquitted or has purged himself of contempt and declares under oath that he is not a Communist...”
“We will not knowingly employ a Communist or a member of any party or group which advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional methods.”
And that was the beginning of the blacklist.
Google “Waldorf Statement” or “Hollywood Blacklist” if you want to read the the whole statement or history in depth. Interesting.