Name some prominent Democratic actors/actresses of the past.

[elperromagico]

Here are the ones I can think of at the moment:

Henry Fonda
Carroll O'Connor (surprising, eh?)
E. G. Marshall (did an ad for Humphrey in '68)
Ronald Reagan (prior to '64)
Orson Welles (nearly ran against Joe McCarthy in the 40's)

Someone else can name a few more, I'm sure.

[Snow]

1. Zero Mostel - who did an excellent movie once about the ffects

of the hollywood blacklisting during the mccarthy era. Poignant because of course he was blacklisted.

[wryter2000]

2. Henry Fonda

He said he father took him to a lynching when he was small and it made him into a lifelong liberal.

[DODI]

3. Gregory Peck, Myrna Loy

[TN al]

4. Are you guys sure about Henry Fonda?

There was a time when he wouldn't even speak to Jane.

[elperromagico]

5. Yes. Fonda was a Democrat.

I think the problems between Henry and Jane had less to do with politics and more to do with personal problems. That's how I've always understood it, anyway.

[doni_georgia]

7. Fonda was bigtime Democrat

Jane was raised on political activism.

[no_hypocrisy]

15. Henry Fonda was so liberal that he and James Stewart got into a fistfight

over politics (Stewart being a conservative Republican) when they were young actors, sharing an apartment. But their friendship was too important to Fonda, so they agreed to never again discuss politics.

[doni_georgia]

6. here's some more

1930s, 40s, and 50s:
James Cagney (became a republican toward later, like Reagan)
Humphrey Bogart
Katherine Hepburn (big time activist)
Lauren Bacall
Burgess Meredith
Danny Kaye
Burt Lancaster
Spencer Tracy (pretty non political when young, later became activist)

1960s, 70s and beyond
Ed Asner
Marlo Thomas
Mary Tyler Moore
All the Fondas
Sydney Poitier
Warren Beatty


All I can think of right now.

[Devil Dog Dem]

11. I thought Mary Tyler Moore was a repug.

Are you sure?

[CBHagman]

8. She's still with us, but Carol Channing...

...sang "Hello, Lyndon" for LBJ. I assume she's a Democrat.

Shirley Maclaine (another one who's still with us and still working) was a huge McGovern supporter. I remember her on the cover of Newsweek during his campaign.

I don't know about party affiliation, but Bette Davis and John Garfield were major Hollywood liberals, and I think Humphrey Bogart was pretty liberal, too.

[Snow]

9. Real oldies - Charlie Chaplin,

who was basically exiled for his political views, and I've heard somewhere that Theda Bara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theda_Bara
also held quite liberal political/feminist views.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

18. as did louise brooks

gotta love the silent film stars

too bad about mary pickford being a fascist, though

[FARAFIELD]

10. JACK LEMMON AND ED ASNER

Big Time Dems

[bigwillq]

12. Here's someone different: Heather Tom

This Emmy winner use to be on CBS' The Young and the Restless and can now be seen on ABC's One Life to Live.

Last summer she was on Scarborough Country and when she was allowed to say a few things (when Joe wasn't babbling) she kicked ass and made alot of good points FOR the DEMS and against the REPUKES.

Made a lot of sense. Seems like she's very active in politics and seems like she knows her stuff.


edit: I know it says past but I really like her and wanted to throw her in. No hard feelings!

[Fenris]

16. Hoorah for Heather Tom!

[roguevalley]

13. Richard Widmark. Love that man.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Katharine Hepburn. She even supported Henry Wallace over Truman.

And Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, and Lauren Bacall testified during the HUAC hearings in defiance of Joseph McCarthy.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

17. penny singleton aka blondie

was a big labor activist

[geniph]

19. Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart

they worked diligently in Adlai Stevenson's campaigns, and against the activities of HUAC.