Last week sent me on a little trip down memory lane in Hollywood reminiscing about a few people I know and others I miss so I've decided to pay tribute today to the living actors who were part of what is referred to as "The Golden Age Of Hollywood" that began with the introduction of sound and lasted until about 1949. The demise of the Hollywood Studio System started to crumble in 1948 with the Supreme Court ruling The United States vs Paramount Pictures Inc that separated production from distribution and exhibition--- very simply put the Big Five(Paramount, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 20th Century Fox and RKO Radio Pictures) were not allowed to sell films in block booking (selling a block of five films to a theatre as a unit) and were ultimately forced to sell their controlling interest in the movie theaters in the United States; resulting in higher production rates and fewer movies being made. Universal Studios, Columbia and United Artists were not as adversely effected as the Big Five... and when government propaganda started to dictate who could work and what films could and could not be made saw Hollywood diminish further but finally with television and television syndication and an interest in foreign films particularly British films was the last nail in the coffin. (There are several books written on this era... I grew up listening to some of the stories in LA on the studio lots and in the commissaries when I was working)
There seems to be a trend of only paying tribute to Hollywood actors when they die... Today I'm going to change that and give a round of applause and a standing ovation to the people who were under contract with the studios and part of the centralized studio system up until the late 40's and are still living... so in no particular order---
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| Rita Moreno |
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| Rhonda Flemming |
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| Olivia De Havilland |
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| Nanette Fabray |
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| Marge Champion |
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| Margaret O'Brien |
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| Leslie Caron |
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| Kirk Douglas |
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| June Lockhart |
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| Jerry Lewis |
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| Jane Withers |
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| Jane Powell |
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| Eva Marie Saint |
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| Doris Day |
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| Angela Lansbury |
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| Ann Blyth |
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| Dean Stockwell |
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| Debbie Reynolds |
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| Lee Grant |
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| Marsha Hunt |
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| Orson Bean |
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| Harry Belefonte |
There are also some excellent books written on this subject... Senator Joseph McCarthy used the simple ploy of manipulating pubic fear and paranoia trying to build his political career assisted by the likes of Richard Nixon and Roy Cohn which as far as I can see were the same tactics used during the Salem Witch Hunts and trials and are now being employed again by conservative Tea Party Republicans by making accusations of subversion or treason with out proper regard for evidence and using false or unfair investigative techniques. The United States Government ruined or severely damaged the lives of thousands of people during this era... The Hollywood Blacklist as it's commonly referred denied employment to more than 300 screenwriters, actors, directors and musicians and other entertainment professionals because they were accused of having communist ties or sympathies or refused to assist in the investigations of the House Committee of Un-American Activities headed by McCarthy... some were blacklisted simply because they were married or related to someone on the list. Suspected homosexuality was also a common cause for being targeted by McCarthyism; Senator McCarthy's foundation was based on "Traditional American Values" and "Social Morality" the traditional "American Family" were deemed the cornerstone of American strength and integrity... Ironically accusations and investigations into McCarthy's homosexual behavior and activities were the demise of his political career.
One of the most notable opponents of McCarthyism was Edward R. Murrow from CBS who is cited with one of his broadcasts as being one of the key elements in bringing an end to McCarthyism... that included the following...
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.
Because of the complicity many people played in this farce like Ayn Rand, Walt Disney , Vincent Price and Ronald Reagan (and a few others) I have less than no respect for them as people. (Jayne Wyman recounts this era and Ronald Reagan's participation as the focus of the decline of their marriage)--- However I have measurably more respect and admiration for others like Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Danny Kaye and John Houston who created The Committee For The First Amendment in protest to the government overreach in the motion picture industry.
Some of the people you may not know who were included in the Blacklist are...
Leonard Bernstein
Jose Ferreer
Ruth Gordon
Judy Holiday
Lena Horne
Burl Ives
Gypsy Rose Lee
Burgess Merideth
Sam Wanamaker
Orson Wells
Eddie Albert
Charles Chaplin
Frances Farmer... the list goes on and on... Some people recovered from all of this while others unfortunately were permanently broken.
So don't become comfortable with "What If"... what is.. is what we have to work with so make your decisions wisely and consider the consequences in all of them and what legends you will create and how you will be remembered. Sometimes it's not easy to do the right thing, but when you make the worst possible decisions particularly when it's to hurt others or deny them basic human rights and equality it's almost impossible to ever recover from it. You can't always judge the future by the past but you are a fool if you don't learn something from it.
See you next week... go out and celebrate life and the living.
*( If I have omitted anyone from these two lists with photos it was an oversight and I apologize--- the database I keep with these facts was lost and I only replaced it with research in the last week... if you have a name to include please leave a comment or send me an e-mail message)
