Doubtfully blacklisted: George Tyne



George Tyne: (Born Martin Buddy Yarus) This is another murky case with no clear evidence that an admitted Hollywood communist was forced out of the movie business. Tyne was secretly active in the Hollywood communist party since at least 1943. He was mostly an extra,  was called before the HUAC hearings in New York City after actor Lee J. Cobb identified him as a member of the Communist party. Tyne was one of seven witnesses who refused to answer questions about whether they had been members of the Party, however, in refusing to speak to the committee, he failed to invoke the Fifth Amendment, which led to his being charged with contempt. He was acquitted in 1961 on technical grounds.
The question is, did George Tyne have a career in films that could be destroyed by blacklisting? He didn’t have much of a career before 1952. From 1943 through 1949, Tyne appeared in bit parts in 30 films and two shorts. He was unaccredited in 22 of the thirty films. From 1950 through 1951 he appeared in four more films and was unaccredited in three of them. So for a total of 34 film parts, he was unaccredited in 26 of them. It is claimed that he moved to New York and Broadway after being blacklisted in 1952, but that begs the question…..would anyone have objected to his appearing in another 26 unaccredited roles as an extra?
There is no evidence that Tyne was forced to move out of Hollywood, the center of the motion picture business, he left on his own accord. If anything, Broadway saved his career. He appeared on Broadway and in off-Broadway productions in 1952, 1954  (2 plays) 1955, 1956 (2 plays) 1957 and 1950 (Two plays). He was employed on the set of Decision Before Dawn as a dialogue coach and actor.
He returned to Hollywood in the sixties and remained steadily employed as an extra for three more decades.

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.