6. The Hollywood Ten become unemployable in November 1947
Being a member of the Communist Party did not constitute a crime in 1947. The party itself held recognition as a valid political entity. The steadily emerging “Red Scare” of the time though indicated anti-American interests, especially to right-wing conservatives. With friendly witnesses providing the HUAC with lists of names of Hollywood personnel being members of, or in sympathy with, the Communist Party the entertainment moved into damage control. In late autumn 1947, 48 key Hollywood executives convened a meeting at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. They included Louis B. Mayer, arguably the most powerful studio head in the film industry. Eric Johnson, head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA) led the meeting.
In a statement issued following the meeting, the group denounced the Hollywood Ten, fired them (many had already been fired by individual studios) and denied them future employment. It announced they would “not re-employ any of the Ten until such time he is acquitted or has purged himself of contempt and declares under oath that he is not a Communist”. It further announced, “We will not knowingly employ a Communist”. They asked the “Hollywood talent guilds to work with us to eliminate any subversives”. And they stated clearly, “In pursuing this policy, we are not going to be swayed by hysteria or intimidation from any source”. Meanwhile, the Hollywood Ten pursued their right to appeal their conviction by Congress for contempt.
