Liza Minnelli Recites Lillian Hellman's Letter To HUAC
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Susie Bright on "The Children's Hour"
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30 Lillian Hellman from "When Women Wrote Hollywood" with Dr. Rosanne Welch
Lillian Florence Hellman was an American dramatist and screenwriter known for her success as a playwright on Broadway, as well as her left-wing sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–52. Although she continued to work on Broadway in the 1950s, her blacklisting by the American film industry caused a drop in her income. Many praised Hellman for refusing to answer questions by HUAC, but others believed, despite her denial, that she had belonged to the Communist Party.