The first systematic Hollywood blacklist was instituted on 25th November, 1947, the day after ten writers and directors were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to give testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities. A group of studio executives, acting under the aegis of the Motion Picture Association of America, announced the firing of the artists—the so-called Hollywood Ten—in what has become known as the Waldorf Statement.
The Waldorf Statement was a press release issued a week later on December 3, 1947, by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, following the closed-door meeting by forty-eight motion picture company executives at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The Statement was a response to the contempt of Congress charges and marks the over three hundred employees in the motion picture and related industries as Communists or Communist sympathizers (past or present).The names of the forty-eight men who attended the meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel Waldorf were printed in the Motion Picture Herald and Daily Variety, the film industry's primary trade publications. The principal participants who formulated the Waldorf Statement included:
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| Harry Cohn |
What was the fear that caused these men to gather together to compose this appalling statement and to publicly announce that any person subscribing to freedom of speech and freedom of association was no longer employable? These men were extremely powerful within the Motion Picture industry at the time and could easily have put an end to the ridiculous behavior of the House Un-American Activities Committee by simply coming out with a statement in support. They did not do so and went even further than anyone could have imagined by creating an extensive blacklist preventing hundreds of artist from working or having any employment at all. This outrageous iniquity went on for 13 years, until braver and saner heads made themselves heard in the 1960’s. The dreaded Harry Cohn, Head of Columbia Pictures died of a sudden heart attack in February 1958. Cohn and his funeral were the subject of the famous quote from Red Skelton, who remarked of Cohn's well-attended funeral, "It proves what Harry always said: Give the public what they want and they'll come out for it."
The Waldorf Statement:"Members of the Association of Motion Picture Producers deplore the action of the 10 Hollywood men who have been cited for contempt by the House of Representatives. We do not desire to prejudge their legal rights, but their actions have been a disservice to their employers and have impaired their usefulness to the industry.
"We will forthwith discharge or suspend without compensation those in our employ, and we will not re-employ any of the 10 until such time as he is acquitted or has purged himself of contempt and declares under oath that he is not a Communist.
"On the broader issue of alleged subversive and disloyal elements in Hollywood, our members are likewise prepared to take positive action.
"We will not knowingly employ a Communist or a member of any party or group which advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional methods.
"In pursuing this policy, we are not going to be swayed by hysteria or intimidation from any source. We are frank to recognize that such a policy involves danger and risks. There is the danger of hurting innocent people. There is the risk of creating an atmosphere of fear. Creative work at its best cannot be carried on in an atmosphere of fear. We will guard against this danger, this risk, this fear.
"To this end we will invite the Hollywood talent guilds to work with us to eliminate any subversives: to protect the innocent; and to safeguard free speech and a free screen wherever threatened.
"The absence of a national policy, established by Congress, with respect to the employment of Communists in private industry makes our task difficult. Ours is a nation of laws. We request Congress to enact legislation to assist American industry to rid itself of subversive, disloyal elements.
"Nothing subversive or un-American has appeared on the screen, nor can any number of Hollywood investigations obscure the patriotic services of the 30,000 loyal Americans employed in Hollywood who have given our government invaluable aid to war and peace."
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