April 8th

On this day - April 8th 1912 - Figure Skater and actress Sonja Henie was born

Sonja Henie was a Norwegian born figure skater and actress. She was born in Norway in 1912 to wealthy parents who helped her achieve her fame. She won the Olympic gold in figure skating 1928, 1932 and 1936 and became a world champion 10 consecutive times, which is the female figure skater record even today. She was also one of Hollywoods best paid actresses at the height of her career. The first movie she played in was "One in a million" in 1936 and thereafter followed several other movies with and without ice skating segments. Although Henie is considered to be one of the most famous Norwegians of all time, is she also viewed with skepticism in Norway. This is due to her friendship with Adolf Hitler previously to his occupation of Norway during to the Second World War (there is, however, no proof that she was a nazi and she supported the american involvement in the war).  Henie died of Leukemia in 1969 at the age of 57 while flying from Paris to Oslo. She is buried in Oslo on a hilltop overlooking the art-museum she and her husband Onstad created after they had retired. Her hand and skate prints can be found on the ground outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

February 29th

On this day - February 29th 1940 - Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award

Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone with The Wind. McDaniel is most known for her part in Gone With the Wind but she also was a professional singer-songwriter,comedian, stage actress radio performer and television star. She was the first African American woman to sing on the radio in the USA. She made a contribution to over 300 films but only received screen credits for around 80 films.  Her contribution has been celebrated by the Hollywood Walk of Fame by no less than two stars. During World War II she served as chairman of the "Negro Division" of the Hollywood Victory Committee, providing entertainment for soldiers stationed at military bases. She med personal appearances at military hospitals, threw parties, and performed at the United Service Organization shows and war bond rallies. All out an impressive woman from one of our favorite movies Gone With The Wind

December 21st

On this day - 21st of December in 1937 - The premiere of Snow White 

Snow White and the seven dwarfs is the first full length animated feature film. The movie is based on the fairy tale by the German brothers Grimm and the movie was made by Disney. The movie was awarded an honorary Oscar and nominated for Best musical score. Disney's take on the fairy tale was such a success that it was turned into a broadway musical, theme park attractions and even a video game. The initial budget was 250,000 USD. It is easy to see now that making the movie was a good idea, but both Walt Disney's wife and brother tried to convince him not to make the movie. Hollywood wrote the movie off and described it as "Disney's folly" when it was in production. Walt Disney had to take out a mortgage on his house to finance the movie which eventually had a cost of 1,488,422 USD. This was a massive amount for movies in 1937 and almost six times the budget. So it was with great anticipation when the movie was released and it was a major box-office success. The initial run ended up with 7,846,000 USD in ticket sales and a 380,000 USD profit. With numerous re-releases Snow White is considered a massive money maker, the lifetime gross is estimated to 418,2 million USD. Snow White paved the way for Disney to invest in a 4,5 million dollar studio. The success led to more classic movies such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, and Peter Pan. 

November 25th

On this day – 25th November 1947 – The first systematic Hollywood blacklist was instituted.

The Hollywood blacklist was a part of the anti-communism, or red scare, in the US. Hollywood members who committed to, or were assumed too, having been a part of the communist party was denied entertainment job in Hollywood, and thus they carer suffered.

The first names on the list were mentioned in a column called "A vote fore Stalin" and it was published by William R. Wilkerson. Wilkerson published new names in August and September and the list became known as "Billy's list" or "Billy's blacklist. Years later in 2012, Wilkerson's son apologized for the part the newspaper played. He said his father was driven by revenge since he could not realize his ambition to own a studio. On the 24th of November were ten Hollywood members held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify. They were collectively known as the Hollywood 10. They had relied on the right of freedom of speech and on freedom of thought, but their defence failed. They were sentenced to jail for between 6 months and one year, and fined for up too 1000$. On the 25th of November were therefore the first systematic blacklist in Hollywood instituted. It was not illegal to be a member of the communist party, and today the whole investigation can be said to have been questionable. In general, the whole "McChartyism", or scare for communism in the US at the time can be said to have been rather questionable. Although, perhaps not Americas proudest part of history, it is however, we believe, an important part of history which should not be forgotten about.

The blacklist lasted until 1960 when Dalton Trumbo, a Communist Party member from 1943 to 1946, was credited as screenwriter in the film Exodus.

The Hollywood Ten