The Associated Press story in your Dec. 15 issue covering the death of Myrna Loy repeats the lie that it was "the McCarthy era" that blacklisted Hollywood actors and screenwriters.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy was punished enough for his extreme abuse of the Army, the State Department and the Senate itself. But it is reverse McCarthyism to blame him for the fate of a handful of actors and the infamous Hollywood Ten, who all openly admitted to Communist Party ties at a time when it was self-destructive to do so.It was Reps. J. Parnell Thomas and Martin Dies of the House Un-American Activities Committee - not Joe - who attacked Hollywood from the late 1930s through 1951. Joe's anti-communism made headlines by 1951, but he did not chair his Senate Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations until 1953.
Paul Cracroft
Salt Lake City