Jose Ferrer as Toulouse-lautrec, in knee shoes
by Bettmann, 1952
Photos.com
Photos.com
Joseph McCarthy (1908–57) was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin from 1947. By 1950 everyone in the U.S knew McCarthy, at the very time when the Senator both promoted and tackled Cold War fears of nation-wide Communist treason. As might have been expected, he argued over and over again that many fellow-travellers had infiltrated the Federal government. The term McCarthyism was soon applied to many dodgy right wing actions from that era.
But how did McCarthyism try to control the film industry? José Ferrer (1912–92) was born into an accomplished, educated family in Puerto Rico. They emigrated to the USA when José was in primary school where he played piano at a very skilled level, and got into Princeton at a very young age. Then he studied for a year in a Swiss boarding school.
Back in America, when Ferrer wasn’t working, he supported various progressive causes. He fought against segregation in DC, attended crisis meetings on atomic energy and foreign policy, and signed a letter in 1947 condemning the House of Un-American Activities Committee aka HUAC. Remember this letter! It denigrated the HUAC investigations into Hollywood which was already building up a blacklist of entertainers with so-called communist leanings.
After finishing university, Ferrer began working in theatre, starting as a stage manager then moving up as an actor in Broadway. He had a small role in a 1940 comedy, but it was playing Iago in a 1943 production of Othello, with Paul Robeson, that made Ferrer’s name well known.
After impressive successes on stage, Ferrer broke into Hollywood five years later, with his performance as the Dauphin in the 1948 film Joan of Arc. It was his first film role, and he was immediately nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in 1949.
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It was Cyrano de Bergerac that got José Ferrer an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1951. But his career was threatened by the anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950s, led by the said Sen Joseph McCarthy. Magazines had speculated in the lead-up to the Academy Awards that paranoia about Communism could influence the outcome for the first time in Oscar history. This was even more probable, once a teachers’ association rescinded an award to Ferrer for his Cyrano performance. Note, however, that many papers argued the problem for Hispanics who were nominated for Academy Awards concerned their ethnic origins, and had nothing to do with their politics.
On the night of the 1951 Oscar ceremony, José Ferrer was in New York, rehearsing his next show with Gloria Swanson. So when Helen Hayes announced that he had won Best Actor for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac, Ferrer delivered his very proud acceptance speech from a nightclub in Manhattan.
Yet Ferrer’s future in Hollywood remained ambivalent. Just as he was being handed Hollywood’s highest honour, making him the first Spanish speaking actor to win an Oscar, Ferrer was being investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Apparently he was considered too left-wing, too progressive, too difficult, too intellectual.
The 1951 hearings, Senator McCarthy labelled many witnesses as Fifth Amendment Communists. After the Supreme Court ruled that invoking The Fifth was not permissible, witnesses had to choose between defending their past actions and implicating other people – inform on family and colleagues Vs face a prison sentence. The HUAC called 90 witnesses in 1951, including Jose Ferrer.
Ferrer’s name already appeared in Red Channels, a booklet published for the first time in 1950 that listed names of entertainment industry professionals suspected of communist sympathies. Walter Winchell and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper kept a file on Ferrer’s political activities and suggested new names to add to Red Channels.
Ferrer had to defend his "communist beliefs" in 1951 when he was subpoenaed by the HUAC. He clearly understood that the HUAC could ruin an individual’s career. So at his hearing he told them he recognised that some of the organisations he’d supported in the past might have been connected to communism. But he knew nothing of their links. Ultimately Ferrer was “cleared”. Now I wonder why.
But it didn’t help. Ferrer still struggled to find consistent work and he knew that he was seen as a box-office problem. Yet sometimes he starred - in 1953 he was nominated again for the Best Actor Award, this time for Moulin Rouge.
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When Sen McCarthy named his black list, Jose Ferrer refused to co-operate.
Conclusion The Academy wanted to be culturally inclusive but when Ferrer won an Oscar in 1951 with an un-Anglicised name, he was the first Hispanic to do so. So why has the Academy been so intractable to this day? Ferrer might’ve seen his award as a vote of confidence in his very special acting skills, but Hollywood clearly disagreed. McCarthyism was a more powerful deciding factor.
But how did McCarthyism try to control the film industry? José Ferrer (1912–92) was born into an accomplished, educated family in Puerto Rico. They emigrated to the USA when José was in primary school where he played piano at a very skilled level, and got into Princeton at a very young age. Then he studied for a year in a Swiss boarding school.
Back in America, when Ferrer wasn’t working, he supported various progressive causes. He fought against segregation in DC, attended crisis meetings on atomic energy and foreign policy, and signed a letter in 1947 condemning the House of Un-American Activities Committee aka HUAC. Remember this letter! It denigrated the HUAC investigations into Hollywood which was already building up a blacklist of entertainers with so-called communist leanings.
After finishing university, Ferrer began working in theatre, starting as a stage manager then moving up as an actor in Broadway. He had a small role in a 1940 comedy, but it was playing Iago in a 1943 production of Othello, with Paul Robeson, that made Ferrer’s name well known.
After impressive successes on stage, Ferrer broke into Hollywood five years later, with his performance as the Dauphin in the 1948 film Joan of Arc. It was his first film role, and he was immediately nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in 1949.
Lloyd Corrigan and José Ferrer (right) in Cyrano de Bergerac, 1950
Wiki
It was Cyrano de Bergerac that got José Ferrer an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1951. But his career was threatened by the anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950s, led by the said Sen Joseph McCarthy. Magazines had speculated in the lead-up to the Academy Awards that paranoia about Communism could influence the outcome for the first time in Oscar history. This was even more probable, once a teachers’ association rescinded an award to Ferrer for his Cyrano performance. Note, however, that many papers argued the problem for Hispanics who were nominated for Academy Awards concerned their ethnic origins, and had nothing to do with their politics.
On the night of the 1951 Oscar ceremony, José Ferrer was in New York, rehearsing his next show with Gloria Swanson. So when Helen Hayes announced that he had won Best Actor for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac, Ferrer delivered his very proud acceptance speech from a nightclub in Manhattan.
Yet Ferrer’s future in Hollywood remained ambivalent. Just as he was being handed Hollywood’s highest honour, making him the first Spanish speaking actor to win an Oscar, Ferrer was being investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Apparently he was considered too left-wing, too progressive, too difficult, too intellectual.
When Ferrer was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, he was repeatedly questioned about his support for the Republican cause in Spain. Did he give a fund-raising speech for the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee back in 1944? Did he appear at the Spanish Refugee Appeal in 1945? Was he a sponsor of the American Committee for Spanish Freedom in 1946?
The 1951 hearings, Senator McCarthy labelled many witnesses as Fifth Amendment Communists. After the Supreme Court ruled that invoking The Fifth was not permissible, witnesses had to choose between defending their past actions and implicating other people – inform on family and colleagues Vs face a prison sentence. The HUAC called 90 witnesses in 1951, including Jose Ferrer.
Ferrer’s name already appeared in Red Channels, a booklet published for the first time in 1950 that listed names of entertainment industry professionals suspected of communist sympathies. Walter Winchell and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper kept a file on Ferrer’s political activities and suggested new names to add to Red Channels.
Ferrer had to defend his "communist beliefs" in 1951 when he was subpoenaed by the HUAC. He clearly understood that the HUAC could ruin an individual’s career. So at his hearing he told them he recognised that some of the organisations he’d supported in the past might have been connected to communism. But he knew nothing of their links. Ultimately Ferrer was “cleared”. Now I wonder why.
But it didn’t help. Ferrer still struggled to find consistent work and he knew that he was seen as a box-office problem. Yet sometimes he starred - in 1953 he was nominated again for the Best Actor Award, this time for Moulin Rouge.
Home life was also unstable. Ferrer married Rosemary Clooney twice (1961 & 1967), amongst his five weddings. But he continued acting and directing into his 70s, and received many other honours, including the National Medal of Arts. Alas Ferrer’s treatment in Hollywood was never predictable.
Conclusion The Academy wanted to be culturally inclusive but when Ferrer won an Oscar in 1951 with an un-Anglicised name, he was the first Hispanic to do so. So why has the Academy been so intractable to this day? Ferrer might’ve seen his award as a vote of confidence in his very special acting skills, but Hollywood clearly disagreed. McCarthyism was a more powerful deciding factor.