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Joseph McCarthy's Shadow (Transcript)

by Collin Campbell

NARRATION

While anti-Communism was nothing new in America in 1953, Senator Joseph McCarthy took it to a fever pitch.

SOT -- Joseph McCarthy :10

"Our job as Americans and as Republicans is to dislodge the traitors from every place they've been sent to do their traitorous work."

NARRATION

In widely publicized hearings that year, McCarthy called suspected Communist sympathizers to Washington, bullying them with damaging accusations that destroyed the reputations of hundreds of citizens, including entertainers. Those suspected of being Communists were often blacklisted until they appeared before McCarthy's House Un-American Activites Committee and convinced its members that they had renounced their radical past.

As a young man, Cliff Carpenter was an up-and-coming Broadway actor -- and a Marxist. In 1953, he found his name in "Red Channels," a booklet sent to entertainment executives who made hiring decisions in the industry.

SOT -- Cliff Carpenter :16

"When they started this blacklist business, it was to intimidate the public. And boy, it worked. I mean, you say the wrong thing, you'll get fired. That's pretty serious."

NARRATION

Carpenter was never called to appear in front of McCarthy. But blacklists were made around the country of those suspected of being subversives. Getting your name in a publication like "Red Channels" wasn't difficult. For Broadway actress and soap star Terri Keane, her independence earned her infamy.

SOT -- Terri Keane :28

"During the time I worked for CBS, people who worked there were asked to go the head there who was Stanton, to sign a loyalty oath. I was fairly young and angry and refused to sign it, saying it made no sense: If I was a Communist this is the first thing I would sign. I think they finally let me go after three times having me up."

NARRATION

The anniversary of the McCarthy hearings comes at a unique moment in American history when writers, actors and others are coming under fire for their views. As the Bush Administration forges a new kind of war against subversive elements in this country, loyalty and patriotism are touchstones. To writer Victor Navasky however, the history of cutting back liberties has a clear message.

SOT -- Navasky :07

Navasky: "More danger has been done in the name of countersubversion than the subversives have ever done in this country."

NARRATION

Actors and entertainers are taking prominent roles in protests against a possible war in Iraq. Last week, Martin Sheen, who plays the president on "The West Wing," and playwright Tony Kushner led demonstrations in New York and San Francisco.

I'm Collin Campbell for Columbia Radio News.