The Hollywood Blacklist was indeed a colloquial phrase for a larger entertainment industry blacklist implemented inside the United States during the early years of the Cold War within the mid-20th century. The blacklist was a practice of refusing employment to those in the entertainment business who were suspected of being or having been Communists or sympathisers. The studios prevented not only actors but then also screenwriters, directors, musicians, as well as other American entertainment professionals from working.
This was typically done because of their participation in, purported membership in, or sympathies well with the Communist Party of the United States of America, or because they refused to cooperate with congressional inquiries into the party’s operations. The blacklist was never made public or easily provable, even during the era when it was strictly enforced, from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, because it was the consequence of countless individual studio choices rather than official legal action. Nonetheless, it severely harmed or ended the careers as well as the income of a large number of people working inside the movie industry.
On November 25, 1947, twelve writers, as well as directors, were charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions well before House Un-American Activities Committee, and the very first systematic Hollywood blacklist was established (HUAC). In October, these individuals were summoned to testify before HUAC. The contempt allegation does include a criminal charge, that resulted in a widely publicised trial as well as a final conviction, that carried a maximum sentence of one year in prison as well as a $1,000 fine.
The artists — the so-called Hollywood Ten – were fired as a result of the Congressional action, as well as the Waldorf Statement was issued by a group of studio executives operating underneath the auspices of the Association of Motion Picture Producers. It was released inside a news release following a meeting of prominent producers at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and so it contained a denunciation of the individuals involved, essentially excluding those identified from the business. Employees were required to take vows of loyalty or face being blacklisted by these producers.
A leaflet named Red Channels was released on June 22, 1950. It identified 151 entertainment sector professionals inside the context of “Red Fascists as well as their allies,” with a focus on broadcasting. Many of those identified, as well as a slew of other artists, had soon been prohibited from working in almost all of the entertainment industry.
The blacklist continued through 1960, when Dalton Trumbo, a member of the Hollywood Ten from 1943 to 1948, was recognised as that of the author of Exodus (1960), as well as actor Kirk Douglas publicly thanked him for creating the screenplay for Spartacus. However, most of them who were blacklisted were remained prevented from working in their fields for years later.
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