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William R. Wilkerson, part 1

The 1940's in Las Vegas shared some Hollywood history. Here's Senator Richard Bryan with Nevada Yesterdays:

Recently, The Hollywood Reporter, an entertainment publication, reported in great detail on its role in creating the blacklist.  In the late 1940s and 1950s, the United States went through a red scare.  Americans were concerned about the spread of communism.  After World War II, the Soviet Union had taken over most of eastern Europe.  In 1949, communists took control of China and the Soviets detonated their first atomic bomb.  Stories of spies and communist infiltration filled the air and the airwaves.  Various parts of the entertainment industry barred suspected communists from performing or appearing.

The Hollywood Reporter was at the center of things.  On July 29, 1946, its founder and publisher ran a column that listed eleven Hollywood screenwriters as communist sympathizers.  Their number included Howard Koch, who co-wrote Casablanca, and Ring Lardner, Junior, the son of the famous writer.  The Hollywood Reporter went on to warn about the threat posed by communism.  The formal blacklist came to Hollywood in November 1947, after the Hollywood Ten refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.  Later, they served prison sentences for contempt of Congress.  Others testified that communists posed a major threat in Hollywood.  The committee heard that from Walt Disney and Screen Actors Guild president Ronald Reagan.  Among those attacking the House committee were Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Bogart and Bacall aren’t known for their politics, but they had a connection to Las Vegas.  They hosted parties and carousing at their home in Holmby Hills, and apparently, one time, Bacall called them a rat pack.  The name has stuck through history.  After Bogart’s death, Frank Sinatra became the group’s leader.  Their performances at the Sands and the film Oceans Eleven became the stuff of legend.

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