Remembering Philip Loeb, labor leader in the theater and blacklisted b/c of it.
Sixty-four years ago tonight, Philip Loeb, an actor/playright/professional teacher/labor leader could not accept any more pain, any more despair. The Blacklist made his dear friend, Gertrude Berg, to whom he was married on her show The Goldbergs, fire him. The settlement money disappeared too soon, going to his institutionalized son. He could not find work. His name was radioactive. His last play was Time Out For Ginger. He was living with Zero and Kate Mostel. On September 1, 1955, he didn't return to their home. Instead, he took a room at the Taft Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, under an assumed name, Fred Lange, loosely translated: long peace. He committed suicide. The very next day, the FBI cleared his name entirely. He is more or less forgotten. But not today. He will be remembered.
