This is another case of confusing
being named a communist and actually losing work because of being named as a
communist. Long was a Broadway actor and singer who was named as a communist in
Red Channels in 1952 but that didn’t appear to have harmed his career in the
least. Long appeared in two films and one short before 1950.
From 1956 through 1959, he appeared on film or
television only four times. He was unaccredited in one of those roles and a bit
player (Script name “First gambler” in two others) Bear in mind, Hollywood and
television offered very few roles for black actors in the 1940s and 1950s. Long
was employed on Broadway in three plays (1951, 1952 and 1954 through 1955) he
had cuts on four albums made by Columbia and Decca studios (1951, 1952 and
1956) and released two singles with RCA in 1953.
Just because someone’s name
appeared in Red Channels, that doesn’t mean they were blacklisted. It just
means there name appeared in Red Channels.
Just because a person said they
were blacklisted doesn’t mean they were. Many people in Hollywood have lied about
being blacklisted over the years.
If a person was actually blacklisted…and not
many were actually blacklisted….it was the studios and TV sponsors who
blacklisted them. Not the United States federal government.
If a person claims the blacklist
ruined their career, they should be able to prove they had a career before the
blacklist.