Love Their Work, But…

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has made some noise this week about his future movie going habits. In a widely publicized radio interview, he made it known that he won’t be going to any Sean Penn movies anytime soon. Does he hate Penn’s acting abilities? No, on the contrary. He praises Penn’s skills, but it’s the actor’s politics he can’t stand.

This incident brought to my mind my own personal list of Hollywood thespians who — while I love their work — I can’t abide their political leanings. This could be the start of an ongoing series here on arteejee (our motto: Outing the right wing since 2006!). I only publish these facts — verifiable on imdb.com unless otherwise noted — for general information. These facts make these stars more interesting and more human to me.

LOU COSTELLO

The genius behind the Abbott and Costello team will always make me laugh, but according to his daughter’s biography, Lou’s On First, he was a staunch anti-Communist. He was in particular a big supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy (who got a smear political –ism named after him) and the extremely un-Constitutional Loyalty Oath.

CECIL B. DE MILLE

Famed Hollywood director who brought many Biblical epics to the big screen, thus influencing many movie goers acceptance of stories they first heard in church. Another big supporter of the Loyalty Oath, he had a total disregard for the lives of his human actors on the set. His strong religious beliefs are evident in The Ten Commandments (the 1956 version), in which he acknowledged screenwriting with the Holy Scripture. Officially, God remains uncredited for his work on the film.

ERROL FLYNN

No star could swash a buckle like this Tasmanian born actor, but his career was overshadowed by his questionable sexual exploits, and later his drug and alcohol addictions. Long rumored to be a spy for the Nazis, while other stories claim he was extremely left-wing and an admirer of Fidel Castro. Something tells me that he and Lou Costello would have hit it off very well at a cocktail party. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall to hear that conversation! Personal tidbit: Flynn suffered a fatal heart attack the day before I was born.

JOHN WAYNE

Iconic actor of the American western genre; his performance in The Searchers is one of my all time favorites. On the other hand, I can’t stand The Green Berets. This latter film is an example of his super-patriot, super conservative viewpoint. By the time I came of age, he was being attacked for his pro-Vietnam stance. I think he might have been motivated more by guilt about his 4-F deferment during World War II, rather than any posturing in keeping with his on screen persona.

WALTER BRENNAN

One of the greatest character actors of all time, but let’s face facts: if Brennan were alive today, the Southern Poverty Law Center would label him as his own hate group. Imdb.com offers a few hair raising examples of his extremely right wing, and yes, racist, views. One tale for here: he “cackled with delight” upon hearing the news of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Yes, I enjoy his work, but don’t get me started talking about his beliefs.

I wish Bill O’Reilly luck in his new offshoot career of outing liberals. I’ll continue my similar campaign against the right wing here. Between the two of us, we should have both extremes covered.

I won’t do this to ruin careers or discourage people from watching these great performers on the late show. They were, after all, merely human beings who exercised their American freedom to voice their opinions. We may disagree with them, and this doesn’t necessarily make them bad. These facts just add another intriguing level to their personalities. Their beliefs influenced their stature in life and all of our beliefs – conservative and liberal — add to the freedoms we enjoy in America today.