The actress, who had attended a weekly Marxist study group in New York City when she was 16, later came under the scrutiny of the FBI for her association with left-wing organizations such as the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, the Sleepy Lagoon Committee and the Civil Rights Congress.But Blair's ideals "had always been American, not Russian," she wrote in her 2003 memoir, “The Memory of All That.” And her "battles and contribution -- small as it may have been -- were against racism, for strong unions, for the rights of women; to put it simply, for democracy."
It wasn't until Blair had done three impressive readings for the role of Clara that the subject of the blacklist came up when producer Harold Hecht phoned her and apologetically asked her if she would write a letter that would "clear" her.
As Blair recounted in her memoir, Hecht told her that she didn't have to "name names" -- at least not names that hadn't already been exposed.
She wanted the part so badly that she agreed to write a letter without names. In her letter, which she described as sounding "like a schoolgirl essay for civics class," she expressed her love for her country and "went on about freedom of speech and the American Constitution and the secret ballot."
But, she wrote in her book, "both Harold Hecht and I knew it wouldn't pass muster. It didn't come near what the Un-American Activities Committee wanted -- no, demanded."
Finally, husband Kelly -- one of MGM's biggest stars -- intervened by asking studio head Dore Schary "to do something" to help his wife get the part or he'd stop shooting the movie he was working on.
"And Dore did," Blair wrote. "He called the American Legion in Washington right there and then in front of Gene, and he vouched for me. And so I was in 'Marty.' "
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 20 March 2009 16:52 (sixteen years ago)