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Hollywood Exiles

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A story of glamour, duplicity and the FBI's battle against communism in Hollywood

Host Oona Chaplin guides listeners through the period known as the Red Scare - an ideological battle that implicated Hollywood’s biggest stars, including her grandfather, Charlie.

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Hollywood Exiles: 5. Billy's list

20/03/2024 GMT

5. Billy's list

BBC - Hollywood Exiles, 5. Billy's list

Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson is first to name movie business communists

Communist accusations in Hollywood continue. Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson develops an anti-communist friendship with Howard Hughes.

Rumours of communist infiltration in the movie business had circulated for years. Showbiz insider Billy Wilkerson is the first to publicly name alleged Tinseltown “communists”, including Dalton Trumbo, in his paper, the Hollywood Reporter. William R. Wilkerson III speaks about his father’s friendship with billionaire producer Howard Hughes, a rabid anti-communist. He describes how his mostly apolitical father’s anti-communist stance was shaped by a visit to the Soviet Union. Wilkerson III recalls how his father’s close connections with stars like Jimmy Cagney gave him political influence in Hollywood.  Oona Chaplin learns how future president Ronald Reagan operated as an FBI informant.
 
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Ronald Reagan’s 'evil empire' speech, 1983, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

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