Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`Marsha Hunt was a veteran actress and humanitarian, who was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee and blacklisted by Hollywood for a time.  She was the oldest living and one of the last surviving actors from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

“`Hunt modeled for John Powers Agency and began taking acting classes at Theodora Irvine Studio. She was one of the highest-earning models by 1935. She was visiting her uncle in Los Angeles when comedian Zeppo Marx saw a picture of her in the newspaper. Although initially reluctant to pursue a film career, Marsha signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. She would eventually move to MGM to find work. Her notable films included Flight Command, Pride and Prejudice, Blossoms in the Dust, Panama Hattie, Cry ‘Havoc’, The Human Comedy and Smash Up: The Story of a Woman.

“`Hunt and her husband, screenwriter Robert Presnell Jr, became members of the Committee for the First Amendment in 1947. Later that year, Hunt took part in Hollywood Fights Back, a star-studded radio program co-written by her husband protesting the activities of HUAC. She was asked to denounce her activities if she wanted to find more work; she refused. In 1950, Hunt was named as a potential Communist or Communist sympathizer (along with 151 other actors, writers and directors) in the anti-Communist publication Red Channels. Cinema work became scarce for Hunt and Presnell.

“`At the advent of live televesion, Hunt appeared in the initial Shakespeare play to be aired coast to coast. She hosted and guest starred twice on Your Show Of Shows, featuring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner. Numerous guest appearances followed.

“`Hunt served community, civic and national organizations dedicated to humanitarian causes. A critically acclaimed documentary of her remarkable life, Marsha Hunt’s Sweet Adversity was released in 2015. I was lucky to meet Ms. Hunt at a previous Afternoon with the Authors held at the Hollywood Heritage. I was in the presence of greatness.

“`Marsha Hunt (above right) was 104.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Friday, September 9th, 2022 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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