In October, 1947 the US House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) held public hearings on Communist influence in Hollywood. The committee called 11 unfriendly witnesses, including some of Hollywood's most prominent writers and directors. The witnesses refused to answer questions about their affiliations and whether they were members of the Communist Party, which was legal, and were cited with contempt of Congress. They were sent to prison. Among the writers was Dalton Trumbo who served 11 months in prison. Trumbo, along with the other witnesses, was denounced and blacklisted by Hollywood studio executives who pledged not to hire anyone with suspect affiliations. They became known as the Hollywood Ten.

This week on Gathering Peace I talk with actor Donny Osman and film scholar Rick Winston about this dark period in American history and how it affected the life and work of Dalton Trumbo. We will also discuss a play besed on Trumbo's letters and written by his son Christopher: "Red, White and Blacklisted." The play will be performed in early February at the Plainfield Opera House and at the Waterbury Cultural Center in Waterbury Center with Donny Osman as Dalton Trumbo.

Donny Osman has a long history in theater; he founded and directed The Two Penny Circus, which toured New England and beyond for ten years, and he toured his own solo shows and taught theater worldwide for more than twenty years. He played a leadership role in founding Circus Smirkus, was the Director of the Vermont Governor's Institute on the Arts, and was elected to the Vermont Legislature. Donny says that for the last few years between riding his bike in the summer and skiing in the winter and watching Netflix year round, there is not enough time in the day.  

Film scholar Rick Winston moved to Vermont in 1970 and shortly afterward founded the Lightning Ridge Film Society, which morphed into the Savoy Theater in 1981, 42 years ago. He was one of the founders of Montpelier's Green Mountain Film Festival and was its Programming Director until 2012. At the festival, Rick instituted a featured interview with nationally-known film writers, critics and historians. With his wife Andrea Serota, Rick sold the Savoy in 2009, and since then, he has been teaching film at colleges and senior centers in Vermont, while speaking on film subjects for the Vermont Humanities Council. Some of Rick's other interests and projects include historical research on Vermont During the McCarthy Era which resulted in his first book "Red Scare in the Green Mountains", which was published in 2018.

You can hear this issue of Gathering Peace on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 9:05 AM immediately after the weather, and on Friday, Feb. 3 at 5:00 PM on WGDR 91.1 FM; WGDH 91.7 FM; online at www.wgdr.org (click on "Listen Live") or on Facebook. With on-demand streaming for two weeks after air date at www.wgdr.org/on-demand"