The Hollywood Blacklist Myth : Doubtfully blacklisted: Edith Atwater

Doubtfully blacklisted: Edith Atwater

Edith Atwater, actress. She started her career in the 1930s as a Broadway actor. A Chicago trust fund baby and noted in Hollywood for her scandalous affairs over the decades. Atwater was one of dozens of celebrities who lent her name as a sponsor for the March 1949 Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace, held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

The House Un-American Activities Committee identified the conference as "A super mobilization of the inveterate wheel horses and supporters of the Communist Party and its auxiliary organizations" In 1950 Atwater was listed in Red Channels. Factually, her career remained the same from the 1930s through the end of the 1950s. (Her career actually improved in the 1950s when she was said to have been blacklisted) She made two films in the 1930s and was uncredited for one of those roles. Between 1932 and 1949, 18 years, she played the boards 17 times. She made two films in the 1940s. She appeared on TV twice in the 1940s, both bit roles. She made two films in the 1950s (uncredited in one ) and appearances on TV. In the 1960s she made seven films, (uncredited in three of them) including one with John Wayne

1958

Decoy (TV Series)

High Swing

1957

Sweet Smell of Success

1955

Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series)

The Honorable Men

1951

Teresa

Somerset Maugham TV Theatre (TV Series)

The Outstation

May 14, 1951 - Jun 16, 1951

Flahooley/Stageplay

Dec 25, 1950 - Feb 03, 1951

King Lear/Stageplay

1950

1949-1950 Actor's Studio (TV Series)

The Good Companions (1950)

Suspense (TV Series)

The Man Who Talked in His Sleep

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.

The problems we have with the Hollywood left

The problem we have with the Hollywood left is it's the notion that accepting differences is no longer good enough, you have to be complicit in them. The problem we have with the Hollywood left it's the notion that any differing opinion is a threat to your very way of existence but never the opposite. The problem we have with the Hollywood left is the blatant hypocrisy of claiming to care about democracy well on abashedly striving to take control of every step of the political process. The problem we have with the Hollywood left is the notion that any idea or opinion outside of your own ideology is morally repugnant and therefore needs to be silenced. The problem we have with the Hollywood left is the notion that your goals must be achieved using everyone resources regardless on whether they agree. The problem we have with the Hollywood left is their supporting of rights situationally when convenient and the outright rejection of those rights when it's in it's the inconvenient for you. The problem we have with the Hollywood left isthat somehow you know what's best for me enough to allow the government to make that choice for me The problem we have with the Hollywood left it's their failure to see the irony in labeling anyone different than yourself as an extremist or a fundamentalist. Originally written by Jason Blood. Edited for this page.

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.

For the most part, front organizations assumed the character of either a mass or membership organization or a paper organization. Both solicited and used names of prominent persons. Literally hundreds of groups and organizations have either been infiltrated or organized primarily to accomplish the purposes of promoting the interests of the Soviet Union in the United States, the promotion of Soviet war and peace aims, the exploitation of Negroes in the United States, work among foreign-language groups, and to secure a favorable viewpoint toward the Communists in domestic, political, social, and economic issues. The first requisite for front organizations is an idealistic sounding title. Hundreds of such organizations have come into being and have gone out of existence when their true purposes have become known or exposed while others with high-sounding names are continually springing up. J. Edgar Hoover on the subject of Communist front organizations. March 26, 1947