Marsha Hunt: Epilogue
In 1960, 15 years after the end of World War II, 25 million uprooted people remained stateless, jobless, and homeless. The United Nations declared 1960 "World Refugee Year." To bring attention to the plight of those suffering, Marsha and Robert researched, wrote, and produced an hour-long documentary named A Call from the Stars. Marsha enlisted 14 of her prominent celebrity friends to appear in the nationally televised special. The special raised awareness and donations for the U.S. Committee for Refugees, on whose board she then served for over 20 years.
In the late 1960s, Marsha sat on the board of the American Freedom from Hunger organization. While on the board, she helped to organize the very first walk-a-thon in the United States. (How about this: it was a 33-mile walk to fight hunger — in Fargo, North Dakota.)
In the early 1970s, Marsha approached former vice-president Hubert Humphrey with an idea she felt would be perfect for raising awareness about world hunger. She called the program "Thankful Giving." Each Thanksgiving, Marsha proposed that families "pass the hat" and give a donation to a program that would help to stamp out hunger. Humphrey was all for the idea, but told Marsha that she needed to write up the proposed legislation. Seven years later, the bill passed unanimously through the House and the Senate. Even though President Jimmy Carter mentioned "Thankful Giving" in his 1978 Thanksgiving proclamation, the program was never instituted because of a lack of funds. Marsha still works tirelessly, trying to get this simple program off the ground.
From 1983 to 2001, Marsha was the honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks, over the hills separating the San Fernando Valley from the Los Angeles Westside. As mayor, she focused on helping the homeless in the Valley. She pulled together a committee of other honorary mayors and together they formed the charitable foundation Valley Mayor’s Fund for the Homeless. Marsha and the committee organized blanket drives, giving away thousands of mylar blankets to the local homeless. As a founder of the Valley Mayor’s Fund and a board member of the Valley Interfaith Council, she was instrumental in opening a much-needed homeless shelter in North Hollywood and the Woman’s Care Cottage, a center for battered women and children.
There was one more event this past month in which Marsha participated. On Oct. 26, the 60th anniversary of the Committee for the First Amendment’s trip to Washington, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and PEN WEST sponsored a celebration of this historic event. Marsha is one of a handful alive today who were on that Washington-bound plane, and who can attest to what really happened. You could hear a pin drop when Marsha spoke about the flight and how she came to be blacklisted.
After it was over, I marveled at all the young people who approached her and thanked her for opening their eyes to this tragedy of injustice. On the other hand, the saddest part of the evening was that here we had a witness to history talking about how our civil liberties were being attacked and not a single news outlet showed up at the event. As a matter of fact, even the Los Angeles Times failed to list it in their calendar section. Fortunately for history’s sake, the event was filmed for my upcoming documentary.
In Marsha’s case, the irony of the blacklist is that without steady film work she was given the opportunity to see the problems the world was facing. She chose to rise above the adversity she faced over losing her acting career. With quiet dignity and determination, she spent the next 50-plus years making a difference in the world. She still does.
I think the greatest gift we can give to a blacklist survivor is to focus on the contributions that these people left to the world. In Marsha’s case, she was a well-loved actress who lit up the screen in such classics as Pride and Prejudice, None Shall Escape, and Raw Deal during Hollywood’s Golden Age. It doesn’t get any better than that. (If you don’t know her work, you owe it to yourself to rent her movies or buy her book.)
Additionally, her tireless dedication to Americans in uniform during the World War II years should not go unnoticed. And finally, people of all ethnic groups from around the world have been touched by Marsha’s generosity and pioneering work in raising money and awareness to alleviate hunger and oppression.
That is the legacy of Marsha Hunt: actress, social activist, humanitarian, loving wife, aunt, author, songwriter, record producer, great American. For that, she will be remembered.
A postscript to this story: As I was pulling into a parking lot several days ago, reaching over to grab a ticket, I saw a sign on top of the ticket dispenser that caught my eye. On it was a quote from another great American, Art Linkletter. The quote read: "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
I grabbed a pen and pad and wrote it down. "This," I thought, "sums up all that Marsha Hunt is about."
© Roger C. Memos
Information about the documentary Marsha Hunt: The Sweet Uses of Adversity can be found at the Hollywood & Art website.
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