Donald O'Connor's Last Words

From: Modemac <modemac@modemac.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2003

Gossip in the movie world centered on the death of Elia Kazan. He was
one of those geniuses who did something so unspeakable, he was never
forgiven (not unlike Leni Reifenstahl), and the controversy dogged him
right up to his death.

Yesterday, to much less notice, Donald O'Connor passed away. His
career was spotty, alas, but he had one shining moment that cemented
his place in history: he played the role of Cosmo, the brilliant
behind-the-scenes guy and best friend of Gene Kelly in "Singin' In The
Rain." His last words were truly memorable:

(Source: Internet Movie Database)

"Donald O'Connor, who died at the age of 78 on Saturday, reportedly
quipped shortly before his death, 'I'd like to thank the Academy for
my lifetime achievement award that I will eventually get.' His
deathbed words were relayed to the Associated Press on Sunday.
O'Connor is probably best remembered for his costarring role with Gene
Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in Singin' in the Rain (in particular, his
"Make 'Em Laugh" number) and in the Francis the Talking Mule films."

--
First Online Church of "Bob"
http://www.modemac.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Grand Inquisitor <zork@columbus.rr.com>

Modemac wrote:
> Gossip in the movie world centered on the death of Elia Kazan. He was
> one of those geniuses who did something so unspeakable, he was never
> forgiven (not unlike Leni Reifenstahl), and the controversy dogged him
> right up to his death.
>

I really hope that's sarcasm and you don't think giving names of
American Communist Party members, and organization controlled and funded
by Stalin, was wrong.

> Yesterday, to much less notice, Donald O'Connor passed away. His
> career was spotty, alas, but he had one shining moment that cemented
> his place in history: he played the role of Cosmo, the brilliant
> behind-the-scenes guy and best friend of Gene Kelly in "Singin' In The
> Rain." His last words were truly memorable:
>

I didn't like Singin' in the Rain, I don't like musicals. After seeing
it I thought it could have been pretty good were it not for the
musicals. HOWEVER, I did like the "make em laugh" sequence. Very like
a dance number Keaton or Chaplin would come up with.

--
"Get rid of the Range Rover. You are not responsible for patrolling
Australia's Dingo Barrier Fence, nor do you work the Savannah, capturing
and tagging wildebeests."
--Michael J. Nelson

Grand Inquisitor
http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=Oost

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: mshotz@aol.commonkeypo (Rev. Richard Skull)

>I really hope that's sarcasm and you don't think giving names of
>American Communist Party members, and organization controlled and funded
>by Stalin, was wrong.

Only in America can we ban ideas in the name of Freedom!

You noticed that nobody had hearings on banning the American Nazi Party in the
1940's?

MSHOTZ: The Post Post Modern Man

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: xcfklgj <gtrl@dfasf.com>

The U.S. didn't arrest American communist mercenaries
who went to fight against the fascists in Spain, either.

Actually, the FBI visited American Nazis, and if they
were draftable, they were encouraged to join the military
and fight in the Pacific, like Japanese Americans were
encouraged to fight in Italy, and communists were sent
to the Aleutian Islands. Otherwise, these mostly
ethnic Germans were told to shut up or get sent to
prison.

A lot of people were sent to prison during that time,
often after very perfunctory trials. This included draft
resistors, and anyone else who didn't toe the line.
Frank Roosevelt was a firm believer in a police state.
Very little was written about it at the time, as that,
too, was forbidden.

Those Hollywood types who were blacklisted were done by
their peers, not by the government. And to a great
extent not because of government pressure, but because
Hollywood itself was disgusted with their treasonous
behavior.

The CP in Hollywood was pretty scummy, too. They preyed
on young, starving talent, then blackmailed them for
money if they were one of the few who hit it big. But
if the studios found out, they'd have the commie
blackmailer's legs broken. Such nice people all around.

Yeah, the blacklisted people were communists. And yes,
they were on Moscow's payroll. And yes, they advocated
and wanted to overthrow the U.S. government, violently,
if necessary. And they were willing to subvert, defile,
corrupt, and spy for Soviet Marxist ends, when such
espionage was real, active and commonplace. And they
embraced the notion of direct Soviet control of America.
And, when they were ordered to, during the brief entente
between the Nazis and the Soviet Union, they embraced
Nazism as a good thing.

In other words, they were rotten bastards who deserved
everything they got.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: nenslo <nenslo@yahooX.com>

xcfklgj wrote:
> Yeah, the blacklisted people were communists. And yes,
> they were on Moscow's payroll.

Some were blacklisted for having been members of the Communist Party
as much as twenty years earlier, having engaged in no activities since
that time. The question was, I believe, "Are you now, or HAVE YOU
EVER BEEN a member of the Communist Party." Being an ex-member or
lapsed member or apathetic member was thus EXACTLY THE SAME as being
the guy who allegedly got fat envelopes of money direct from Uncle Joe
to be used to overthrow the capitalist system.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: xcfklgj <gtrl@dfasf.com>

Here's the briefs on the "Hollywood 10" (+1 fellow traveler).
Only ONE seems to MAYBE fit that description, but only
because there is no information about his party membership.
THESE WERE NOT INNOCENT PEOPLE.

Alvah Bessie. fought as a communist mercenary in
the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish
Civil War. In 1939 he became the film and drama
reviewer for the communist magazine 'New Masses',
and would stay in that post until 1943. He left the
communist party in 1954.

Lester Cole. President of the Screen Writers Guild.
[1944-1945]. Joined communist party in 1934.
Refused to renounce membership in 1947.

Herbert Biberman. Very little mention about his
membership in the party. See 'Albert Maltz', below.

Edward Dmytryk. A life-long political leftist who
had been a Communist Party member briefly during
World War II, he renounced Communism and testified
again before HUAC, this time naming names. Belonged
to as many as 15 communist front organizations.

Ring Lardner, Jr. Joined the communist party in
the 1930s, met Fidel Castro at Havana film festival
before his death in 2000.

John Howard Lawson. President of the Screen Writers
Guild. [1933-1934]. Openly joined the American
Communist Party in 1934. He continued to write
political films, 1938's 'Blockade' on the Spanish
Civil War. His work during World War II would include
the pro Soviet-American film 'Counter-Attach' that
promoted the alliance between the two countries.
Edward Dmytryk said of him, "John Howard Lawson
settled all questions. If there was a switch in the
Party line, he explained it. If there were any
decisions to be made, they went to John Howard Lawson.
If there was any conflict within the Communist Party,
he was the one who settled it."

Albert Maltz. Openly Marxist at Yale, embraced
communism as late as 1982. Rebelled against communist
party in 1945. The result for Maltz was being hauled
on the carpet for his heresy before a party meeting.
Leopold Atlas who attended the meeting to speak in
defense of Maltz said, "I remember that Albert tried
to explain his thoughts on the article. I remember that
almost instantly all sorts of howls went up in protest
against it. I remember that I and one or two others made
small attempts to speak in favor of Maltz, and we were
literally shouted down. From one corner Alvah Bessie,
with bitter vituperation and venom, rose up and denounced
Maltz. From another corner Herbert Biberman rose up and
denounced Maltz --- and spouted elaborate mouthfuls of
nothing, his every accent dripping with hatred."

Samuel Ornitz. By the age of twelve he had committed
himself to the beliefs and cause of socialism, and was
giving speechs in the Lower East Side streets. Never
renounced party membership.

Adrian Scott. Very little information about his party
affiliations. Implicated by Edward Dmytryk.

Dalton Trumbo. (1972 letter to Albert Maltz) "Whatever
else may be said of Communists and the goals they pursued
I think you and I can agree that those who joined the
Party were animated by a sincere desire to change the
world and make it better, even at the cost of affiliating
with an organization that had, from its beginnings, been
subject to constant federal harassment, popular hatred,
and sometimes physical violence. The impulses which caused
them to affiliate with the Communist Party were good
impulses, and the men and women who acted on them were
good people."

*********************

Honorable mention:

Paul Jerrico (Israel Shapiro). His father
was a Russian immigrant, lawyer, amateur
poet, socialist and Zionist. Jarrico started to
write stories in his youth and while studying
at the University of California, Los Angeles,
Jarrico joined the National Student League, and
then the Young Communist League. He was an
active member of the Communist Party between
the years 1937 and 1951. "The Communist Party
was not a revolutionary organization, not in the
period when I was in it. It was a reformist
organization, and for most of the years I was in
it, it was the tail to the liberal-Democrat kite."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: nenslo <nenslo@yahooX.com>

I do not understand what exactly they were "GUILTY" of. You have not
listed a single criminal act of any kind. Defining specific beliefs
as criminal is one of the ways black (German) fascism and red
(Russian) fascism exterminated millions. Red white and blue fascism
would do it too if patriotic Americans would let them get away with
it. BUT WE WON'T.

>
> Alvah Bessie. fought as a communist mercenary in
> the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish
> Civil War.

Here's a person who opposed a pro-nazi fascist government which,
supported by Hitler and within Nazi armaments bombed its own citizens.

> Lester Cole. President of the Screen Writers Guild.
> [1944-1945]. Joined communist party in 1934.
> Refused to renounce membership in 1947.

But what criminal or antigovernment acts did he perform?

>
> Herbert Biberman. Very little mention about his
> membership in the party. See 'Albert Maltz', below.

No information - therefore "NOT INNOCENT." ????

> Edward Dmytryk. A life-long political leftist who
> had been a Communist Party member briefly during
> World War II, he renounced Communism and testified
> again before HUAC, this time naming names. Belonged
> to as many as 15 communist front organizations.

But what criminal or antigovernment acts did he perform?

> Ring Lardner, Jr. Joined the communist party in
> the 1930s, met Fidel Castro at Havana film festival
> before his death in 2000.

But what criminal or antigovernment acts did he perform? Meeting
Castro is not yet a crime.

> John Howard Lawson. President of the Screen Writers
> Guild. [1933-1934]. Openly joined the American
> Communist Party in 1934. He continued to write
> political films, 1938's 'Blockade' on the Spanish
> Civil War. His work during World War II would include
> the pro Soviet-American film 'Counter-Attach' that
> promoted the alliance between the two countries.

Promoted ALLIANCE between USSR and USA instead of opposition, conflict
and possibly nuclear war. But what criminal or antigovernment acts
did he perform?

> Albert Maltz. Openly Marxist at Yale, embraced
> communism as late as 1982. Rebelled against communist
> party in 1945. The result for Maltz was being hauled
> on the carpet for his heresy before a party meeting.

Not even welcome in the Communist party. How is that a threat to ANYTHING?

> Samuel Ornitz. By the age of twelve he had committed
> himself to the beliefs and cause of socialism, and was
> giving speechs in the Lower East Side streets. Never
> renounced party membership.

But what criminal or antigovernment acts did he perform?

> Adrian Scott. Very little information about his party
> affiliations. Implicated by Edward Dmytryk.

No information, therefore "NOT INNOCENT."

> Dalton Trumbo. (1972 letter to Albert Maltz) "Whatever
> else may be said of Communists and the goals they pursued
> I think you and I can agree that those who joined the
> Party were animated by a sincere desire to change the
> world and make it better, even at the cost of affiliating
> with an organization that had, from its beginnings, been
> subject to constant federal harassment, popular hatred,
> and sometimes physical violence. The impulses which caused
> them to affiliate with the Communist Party were good
> impulses, and the men and women who acted on them were
> good people."

Agreed that people acted with good intentions to try to make the world
a better place. Therefore NOT INNOCENT.

> *********************
>
> Honorable mention:
>
> Paul Jerrico (Israel Shapiro). His father
> was a Russian immigrant, lawyer, amateur
> poet, socialist and Zionist. Jarrico started to
> write stories in his youth and while studying
> at the University of California, Los Angeles,
> Jarrico joined the National Student League, and
> then the Young Communist League. He was an
> active member of the Communist Party between
> the years 1937 and 1951. "The Communist Party
> was not a revolutionary organization, not in the
> period when I was in it. It was a reformist
> organization, and for most of the years I was in
> it, it was the tail to the liberal-Democrat kite."

Joined a non-revolutionary, reformist organization. But what criminal
or antigovernment acts did he perform?

Unfortunately, my ability to SPOT ARRANT BULLSHIT marks me as being
EXACTLY as "NOT INNOCENT" as every person listed here. In the land of
the REACTIONARY WOULD-BE FASCIST, anyone who can think straight had
better play dumb.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: xcfklgj <gtrl@dfasf.com>

nenslo wrote:
> xcfklgj wrote:
> > nenslo wrote:
> > > xcfklgj wrote:

Okay, fair is fair. You stated a proposition. I disproved
that proposition. So your response is to state a different
proposition, repeatedly, and insist that because my response
to your first proposition didn't take your second proposition
into account, it is somehow wrong.

So, let us begin by keeping a tally. I won the first round,
because you did not did not argue against my disputation.
Therefore, I can but assume that I was either right, or you
are unable to prove otherwise, and have forfeited by trying
to change the subject.

I will now argue against your new proposition, that being
that what the communists did, didn't really matter.

My refutation to that would be that their "persecution"
didn't matter, either. The HUAC was investigating whether
a foreign power was attempting to manipulate an American
industry to their advantage, through the use of agents and
ideologues. This was, and is a reasonable direction of
inquiry, whether that Foreign power was the Soviet Union or
France.

It is also a reasonable direction of inquiry even if the
industry in question is not media oriented, but is still
important to the US. For example, the textile industry.

To follow through with this analogy, if France were using
agents, or francophiles, to infiltrate and manipulate the
US textile industry, a congressional investigation would
be reasonable. And since the textile industry is important
to the US economy, measures might be taken to prevent the
nation of France from continuing to do so.

None of the Hollywood 10 were "persecuted" for being
communists. The short prison sentences given to them were
for "Contempt of Congress", that is, refusing to testify
about their activities. The rest of their punishment came
from their peers, the 'blacklist', based less on fear of
government oppression then by the utter disgust the rest
of Hollywood had for communists.

So, what might have happened if they HAD testified?

They could not have been charged with being agents of a
foreign power, because they would have self-incriminated,
and that evidence would have been invalid. The most they
might have faced was being forced to expose others in the
industry who were also communists, who also would have
been fairly protected from prosecution, had congress
brought them forward also.

So, in other words, by not testifying, all they modestly
accomplished was protecting communism, the movement, from
discovery.
This was their great goal. Their arguments about their
constitutional rights were nonsense, a subterfuge.

It is also noteworthy that no one accused of being a
communist by another witness DENIED that they were a
communist. It was NOT a crime, so why not come out of
the closet and admit it, like a few did? This was not
adamantly opposing signing a loyalty oath, this was just
admitting on which side you are playing.

And yes, they knew that the Soviet Union was behind their
movement, otherwise how could they explain being ordered
by their "peers" to make repeated ideological changes
identical to those made in Russia?

Ironically, it wasn't until the great later Stalinist
purges that many American communists dropped out. At
first they denied it, then when faced with the evidence,
the few with any self-respect left, with the remainder
justifying and rationalizing Stalin's mass murder.

So in conclusion, your second proposition demands that I
show harm, or the possible harm these Hollywood communist
agents might have carried out. My response is that harm
happens whenever a foreign power controls an important
industry in a nation. The harm is inherent. It means
that that industry no longer acts in the best interests
of its nation.

The US discovered this foreign interference, then let
the industry clean itself out. Much gentler than when
they purged the Department of State of its communists.
Who were ALSO real communists, and who WERE spies.

I breathlessly await your defense of the indefensible.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Proud Baby Mudfoot" <me@privacy.net>

"nenslo" <nenslo@yahooX.com> wrote
> In the land of the REACTIONARY WOULD-BE FASCIST,
> anyone who can think straight had better play dumb.

There's a .sig if ever I saw one.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "ghost" <ghost@ghost.net>

"xcfklgj" <gtrl@dfasf.com burbled from his shit-laden lips:
> In other words, they were rotten bastards who deserved
> everything they got.

Yeah, Dalton Trumbo was such a threat to American values that he shoulda
been shot, then hung

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: nenslo <nenslo@yahooX.com>

"Rev. Richard Skull" wrote:
> >I really hope that's sarcasm and you don't think giving names of
> >American Communist Party members, and organization controlled and funded
> >by Stalin, was wrong.
>
> Only in America can we ban ideas in the name of Freedom!
>
> You noticed that nobody had hearings on banning the American Nazi Party in the
> 1940's?

You may not be aware of the sedition trials in which Pro-Nazi
americans were convicted and imprisoned.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: nenslo <nenslo@yahooX.com>

Grand Inquisitor wrote:
> Modemac wrote:
> > Gossip in the movie world centered on the death of Elia Kazan. He was
> > one of those geniuses who did something so unspeakable, he was never
> > forgiven (not unlike Leni Reifenstahl), and the controversy dogged him
> > right up to his death.
> >
>
> I really hope that's sarcasm and you don't think giving names of
> American Communist Party members, and organization controlled and funded
> by Stalin, was wrong.

Yeah if they hadn't thrown those pinkos' commie asses out of Hollywood
and fixed it so they couldn't write screenplays again for twenty
years, we'd be marching down Main Street waving red flags every May
first just like they do in the USSR. Wouldn't be the first time a
democracy was toppled by a form of amusement. OH WAIT, YES IT WOULD.

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Original file name: Donald O'Connor's La#1AD1A6.txt - converted on Saturday, 25 September 2004, 02:05