A Woman of Great Consequence (#30)
How’s this for a mind-blowing historic fact? Both William Shakespeare - arguably the greatest writer in the English language - and Miguel de Cervantes - arguably the greatest writer in the Spanish language - died on the same day: April 23, 1616. (n.b. While Shakespeare and Cervantes did both die on the 23rd of April in 1616, back then, the April 23rd of Spain was ten days earlier than the April 23 of England—Spain had already adopted the Gregorian calendar, and England was still using the Julian calendar . . . she wouldn’t adopt the Gregorian until 1752. But the coincidence is too chilling and great to engage in silly nit picking.) One wonders if Cervantes’ death in Madrid (likely from cirrhosis at age 68) received any mention in the English press, or if Shakespeare’s passing in Stratford-upon-Avon at age 52 (from unknown causes) would have been noted by what passed for the Spanish press. In any event, it is almost as eerie as both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passing away on the 4th of July 1826, the 50th birthday of their greatest creation . . .
One can add to these historic serendipities the date of November 22, 1963. Instantly recognized as being the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, it was also the date upon which two gifted writers passed: Aldous Huxley and Clive) Staples (C.S.) Lewis. Had it not been for the murder of J.F.K. the passing of either (or both) of these dazzlingly brilliant and accomplished men would have captured front-page headlines all over the world, instead of (in Grandpa Doc’s great expression) “ . . . on page 56 just beneath the truss ads”). Huxley is best known for the novels Point Counter Point (1925) The Doors of Perception (1954 - from which the rock group “The Doors” took their name) and his most famous, Brave New World (1932), one of the greatest dystopian novels of all time. Lewis, of course, is best known for the seven-volume children’s fantasy work, The Chronicles of Narnia and the satirical The Screwtape Letters. Huxley was also a much lauded, highly-paid Hollywood screenwriter, who penned 1940 Pride and Prejudice (1940), starring Lawrence Olivier and Greer Garson, and 1944’s Jane Eyre, starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. (There is actually a third-rate novel about the deaths of JFK, Huxley and C.S. Lewis by the writer Peter Kreeft entitled “Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death.” Originally published in 1982, the novel has the three meeting in Purgatory and engaging in a philosophical discussion on faith.)
And yet, neither man’s obituary appeared for a full 24 hours after their deaths.
Marsha Hunt at 103
We can now add to this the blacklisted Hollywood star Marcia Hunt, who passed away just hours before Queen Elizabeth II at her home in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 104. Understandably, the passing of the longest-reigning monarch in British history pushed any mention of Marsha’s death off the front pages of the world’s press. And mind you, although she was no Queen Elizabeth, she lived an even longer and just as consequential a life. Even our hometown rag, The Hollywood Reporter didn’t publish an obit until nearly 36 after her passing.
Marsha was born in Chicago on October 17, 1917, which means that next month she would have turned 105. She died from what we in the Stone family refer to as “terminal longevity.” In a movie/stage/radio/television career that spanned nearly 75 years (she made her first picture in 1935, and her last in 2008), she was variously a star, leading lady, character actor and even an occasional extra. Marsha was a strong consideration for the role of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939), since the studio's first pick, Olivia de Havilland, was having trouble being loaned out by Warner Bros. In fact, the film’s producer, David O. Selznick selected Marsha to play the role at one point but the following day the loan-out worked itself out and Olivia was handed the role.
Marsha Hunt’s best-known films were Hollywood Blvd. (1936) Pride and Prejudice (1940) from the screenplay by the above mentioned Aldous Huxley; The Human Comedy (1943)'; The Valley of Decision (1945) and her last, 2008’s Empire State Building Murder. In total, she was in 116 films and television shows. Although she never hit the heights of stardom, she was constantly employed and always turned in a stellar performance.
Outside of her many film roles, her career had been greatly defined by the blacklisting she faced from Hollywood executives for protesting the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although she never joined the Communist Party, she was a fervid believer in the First Amendment’s guaranteed right to freedom of speech and assembly. In 1947, she joined the likes of Myrna Loy, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Danny Kaye, Paul Henreid, John Garfield, Katherine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Robert Ryan among many others, in creating the Committee for the First Amendment, which flew to Washington, D.C. (aboard a charter flight paid for by the Bogarts) to voice their protest over the House Un-American Committee’s (HUAC) hearings into “the Communist takeover of Hollywood.” She was also one of those who voiced loud and persistent opposition to the guilty verdicts (and eventual imprisonment) of “The Hollywood Ten” - a group of 10 directors and screenwriters who refused to “name names” in order to keep their jobs.
In the early 1950s, Marsha’s name appeared in Red Channels, a McCarthy-era publication that "exposed" alleged Communists and "subversives.” Anyone whose name might appear in this rag could expect to lose work; producers became increasingly fearful that anyone with this “mark of Cain” on their back would be rejected by the public. And thus Marsha Hunt, who had put her name on numerous liberal petitions in the 1930s and 40s, became all but unemployable. But it did not stop her . . .
In the spring of 1952 she was signed for the Stanley Kramer-Columbia film production of “The Happy Time.” After the contract was settled, she was asked to sign a loyalty oath and instructed her agent to give the Kramer company a copy of the non-Communist affidavit that had been distributed throughout the radio-television industry. The agent did this, but Marsha was nevertheless asked by Sam Katz, chairman of the board of the Kramer Company, to sign another statement prepared by the company’s legal department. Katz told her, “You don’t have to sign to make this picture, but you’ll never work again in films if you don’t.” The statement included a paragraph which declared she was sorry she had participated in the political activities cited by Red Channels (mainly copies of petitions she had signed), that she was guilty of bad judgment, and would show more discretion in the future.
She refused . . . but offered another of her own which said: “If any of these activities furthered the cause of communism, I regret have done them.” Although it was acceptable to Katz, representatives from Columbia Pictures demanded that she take out an advertisement in the trade papers saying she was not a Communist and expressing regret for her previous political activities. It was not enough never to have been a Communist, the Columbia executive told her. “There is a time for expediency, not integrity.”
Once again, Marsha Hunt said no. She told the people from Columbia she would have no objections to the Kramer company’s buying such an ad, but would not do it herself. Columbia paid for the ad. The picture did well, got good reviews and was not picketed. Nonetheless, Marsha Hunt wouldn’t find work for another several years . . . except in radio and on Broadway.
She leaned harder into her activism efforts in her later years, supporting the United Nations and delivering lectures for the World Health Organization. One of her later television efforts included a documentary that she wrote and produced in 1960 called “A Call From the Stars,” which was about the plight of refugees. She was a very active member of both the Hollywood Democratic Committee and the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the creation of the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement) and political candidates (including FDR, Henry Wallace, Adlai Stevenson, JFK, RFK, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama.
She was also the longtime honorary Mayor of Sherman Oaks, California where she and her late husband, the screenwriter Robert Presnell, Jr. (1914-1986) purchased a house in 1946 at 13131 Magnolia Blvd. (at the corner of Fulton Street), where Marsha lived until the day she died. Her house was within walking distance of ours; for a short while I delivered a thrice-weekly newspaper (the long defunct Valley Times) to her. Years later, when I was doing research on the Hollywood Blacklist - a lifelong passion with me - I got to interview her on several occasions. At the time I decided to seek an interview, I asked our mother if she had Marsha’s phone number. I remember Madam smiling and handing me the White Pages. “You can look it up yourself; she’s listed.” (Madam was certainly correct; Marsha’s number was (818) 994-9695.
Even though she had lost a great deal of sight, her memory and recall were all but total. More importantly, she harbored precious little anger or resentment towards those who had put the ultimate stumbling block in her artistic path. During one interview I mentioned this to her and asked the obvious question: “Why?” Her answer was both honest and straightforward: “Life’s simply too short, and I’m too busy trying to heal the world to engage in such utter nonsense.”
Wow!
Marsha Hunt would wind up outliving just about everyone she ever knew and all but a few of those she ever acted with. She even outlived all the costars of her last movie, the aforementioned Empire State Building Murder: Ben Gazzara, Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Cyd Charisse and Anne Jeffries.
Like HRH Queen Elizabeth II, whose death kicked Marsha off the front-page, she lived a long life of great consequence. And like the Queen, she will always be remembered . . . so long as there are movie fans and Hollywood Brats, humanitarians and people who prize integrity above all.
Break a leg Marsha!
Copyright©2022 Kurt F. Stone