September 28, 2013 /

MARILYN MONROE and LUCILLE BALL have a brush with COMMUNISM

BBC ON THIS DAY | 7 | 1958: Arthur Miller cleared of contempt.

arthur-miller-cleared-of-contempt-1958

Arthur Miller wouldn’t name names for HUAC and he was slapped with contempt – here his wife, Marilyn Monroe, reacts to the news in 1958 that Miller was cleared of charges. Now poppets, you will find I rarely stray into the political, but I’ll tell you something my dad told me (a guy who voted for Reagan and whose own father had spearheaded Republicans for Roosevelt), if you were young in the 1930’s the theory of Communism was very appealing, it was only as you matured that you figured the practice was far (oh so far) from the theory. Joe McCarthy and his witch hunting fellows terrorized Holllywood. Even Lucille Ball was forced to recant in a closed, sealed, session with the infamous committee, and my darlings – she was hardly a radical.

Rep. Donald Jackson, “We have no evidence Miss Ball is or was a member of the Communist Party.” 9/12/1953:

Lucille Ball’s voter registration, 1936 – it is said J. Edgar Hoover’s devoted following of the I LOVE LUCY show was her salvation:

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Tagsannouncement Arthur Miller committee Communism contempt Democrat evidence FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt Hollywood HUAC I LOVE LUCY J. Edgar Hoover Joe McCarthy Lucille Ball Marilyn Monroe name names political radical Reagan recant Rep. Donald Jackson Republican salvattion sealed testimony voter registration witch hunt

10 Comments

  1. laniersmith
    August 16, 2012

    “The only thing red about Lucy is her hair, and that isn`t even real.” Desi Arnaz

  2. Vickie Lester
    August 16, 2012

    But, made for glorious technicolor!

  3. pussonalamp
    September 2, 2012

    Lucile? Doesn’t that rhyme with facile?

    Who fills in those affidavits? Presumably not the voter – I’d imagine she’d’ve spelt her own name correctly. Or maybe that indeed is how she wrote her name.

    • Vickie Lester
      September 2, 2012

      That struck me as odd… I can only think it was a clerk.

  5. Gallivanta
    September 28, 2013

    Are voters still asked for their party affiliation?

  6. theperfumeddandy
    September 29, 2013

    Dearest V
    How odd to be asked when being added to the electoral register which party you are affiliated with… doesn’t it rather make a nonsense of the secret ballot?
    Quite right though, communism was quite the rage in the 30s… and the idea is very appealing…
    Yours ever
    The Perfumed Dandy

    • Vickie Lester
      September 29, 2013

      It’s been a long time since I registered, as I recall you state a party affiliation if you want to vote in primaries that determine which candidate runs for office, but it’s not mandatory.

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