Lillian Hellman(1905-1984)
- Writer
- Actress
- Music Department
During the 1930s, it was fashionable to be a part of the radical
political movement in Hollywood. Lillian Hellman devoted herself to the
cause along with other writers and actors in their zeal to reform. Her
independence set her apart from all but a few women of the day, and
gave her writing an edge that broke the rules. Born in New Orleans in
1905, but raised in New York after the age of five, she studied at
Columbia. She married Arthur Kober in 1925, did some work in publishing and
wrote for the Herald Tribune. When her husband, also a writer, got a
job with Paramount, they moved out to California. It was there that she
met Dashiell Hammett and subsequently divorced Kober. Their relationship lasted,
in one form or another, for 30 years. Her first important work was the
play "The Children's Hour," which was based on a true incident in
Scotland. This was an amazingly successful play, and gave Lillian a
definite standing in the literary community. Her next venture, a play
called "Days To Come," was a complete failure so off she went to
Europe. There, she took in the Spanish Civil War and traveled around
with Ernest Hemingway. When back in the States, she wrote "The Little Foxes,"
which opened in 1939 and was a financial windfall for her. She also
followed Dorothy Parker and other highly esteemed writers to Hollywood where
she was well compensated for her screenwriting efforts. While it may
have been fun and daring to be part of a radical political group in the
1930s, with the '40s came the Un-American Activities Committee. She was
forced to testify in government hearings, and there was the threat of
black lists and tax problems. She remained a visible force and became
almost an icon in her later years. Despite an assortment of health
issues, including being practically blind, she traveled, lectured, and
promoted her political beliefs. She was 79 when she died in 1984, and
yet she is still very much with us. It's been over 60 years since it
originally opened, but "The Little Foxes," along with other works, is
still being produced at all levels of the theater. What writer could
ask for anything more?
