Between and 1947 and 1954 the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) aimed to prove that prominent Hollywood script writers and actors were members of the Communist Party, and that these communist writers were responsible for making films full of subversive propaganda. While HUAC never proved any of their allegations, the repercussions for Hollywood's writers and actors were long-lasting. As a result of the HUAC hearings, more than 324 people lost their jobs at Hollywood studios.

In 1949, during the investigations by the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities into communism in the entertainment industry, Mrs. Hester McCullough accused Larry Adler, and the dancer Paul Draper, of being communist sympathizers. In 1950 they brought a libel suit against Mrs. McCullough which ended when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Mr. Adler, who emigrated to Great Britain in the early 1950s where he continued to perform, has since claimed that his career never regained its momentum in the U.S.

Larry Adler and Paul Draper, undated. Larry Adler Papers, American Heritage Center.

After the HUAC Hearings

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