THE BIERLY REPORT



June 8, 1951

Columbia Pictures Corp.
729 Seventh Avenue
New York 19, N.Y.

Gentlemen:

Enclosed you will find the results of our research and investigation concerning the affiliations of Miss Holliday to Communist front organizations.

On the basis of facts developed to date, there is no indication that Miss Holliday is or ever was affiliated with the Communist Party. I have pursued all possible leads that have come to my attention since May 1st. Other than Miss Holliday's affiliation to front organizations, which I will deal with later in the letter, there have been two allegations concerning Miss Holliday that are of a serious nature:
  1. [Entire paragraph censored by the FBI.]
  2. That Miss Holliday attended a party meeting or was directly affiliated to the party through her friendship with [Person's name censored by the FBI. Known to be Yetta Cohn].
[Entire paragraph censored by the FBI. Addresses allegation #1 above.]

The facts disclose that the circumstances surrounding Miss Holliday's friendship with [Cohn] have been completely misinterpreted. In the first place, there is no indication that [Cohn] is a member of the Communist Party. Secondly, there is no basis in fact for the allegation that [Cohn] ever held a Communist Party meeting in her home or apartment. Thirdly, [Cohn] has been associated in a responsible position with the New York Police Department for a period of years and there is no factual basis for the assumption that the friendship between Miss Holliday and [Cohn] is in any way subversive or unpatriotic.

In determining whether Miss Holliday's associations with Communist front organizations indicates a pro-Communist sympathy, it is necessary to evaluate her activities by some determined measures or standards. The standards commonly used to determine this are as follows:

  1. Continuing association with front organizations.
  2. Membership in front organizations.
  3. Status within organization, whether officer, speaker for, contributor, etc.
  4. Nature and purposes of front organizations with which a person has been affiliated.
  5. Friendship with Communist Party personalities and apologists for the Party and the U.S.S.R.
  6. Adherence to party line through changes in line.
  7. Statements indicating sympathy for party policies or defense of the Communist Party, it's members and it's organizations.
  8. Refusal to condem the Communist Party or the U.S.S.R. as a conspiratorial menace.
In applying the facts at hand to the above standards we find the following:

1. Continuing association with front organizations.

Miss Holliday's name has been linked with front organizations from the period of 1946 through March 25, 1950. Miss Holliday's protest of the Peekskill Riots which appeared in September of 1950 has not been treated as an affiliation with a front organization. If this is included however, there is still no indication that Miss Holliday's name has been linked with a front organization since that time. Actually, the last period that Miss Holliday authorized her name to be used by a Communist organization was in April of 1949 when her name was listed as a sponsor for the Waldorf Peace Conference. In view of the numerous activities that have been organized by the Communist Party since April 1949, it does not appear that Miss Holliday has had a continuing affiliation with Communist front organizations up to the present time.

2. Membership in front organizations.

There is no indication that Miss Holliday has been a member of any front organization, with the exception of the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions. At the time this organization was formed and for the first several years, it was not apparent to the public that Communists were actively working with this organization. In any event, it would be inaccurate to allege that Miss Holliday had been a member of any Communist front organization, with the exception of the ICCASP.

3. Status within organization.

Miss Holliday has not appeared as an officer or a prime mover in any of the organizations with which she has had an alleged affiliation. In one instance she made a thirty second recording for the Stop Censorship Committee and in another instance she participated in a picket line. She has contributed comparatively small amounts of money to the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions, People's Songs, Committee for Save the Voice of Freedom Dinner and to the Trenton Six. None of these things would make her an important figure in these organizations.

4. Nature and purposes of front organizations with which a person has been affiliated.

It should be emphasized that Miss Holliday's "affiliation" has been primarily the use of her name. Her name has been linked with some blatantly Communist organizations; such as the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the Civil Rights Congress, the Waldorf Peace Conference (National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions), the American Labor Party and the Voice of Freedom. Investigation discloses however that Miss Holliday was not a member of any of these organizations. In the case of the American Labor Party she registered it as her party of preference. Miss Holliday's statement that she voted A.L.P. because of her support of Henry Wallace, does not indicate any activity in the A.L.P.

5. Friendship with Communist Party personalities and apologists for the party and the U.S.S.R.

Insofar as the facts disclose Miss Holliday has had no friendship or association with Communist Party members or those defending the Communist Party or the U.S.S.R. She has been associated with a number of people whose names have been linked to Communist front organizations. Among them are Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Leonard Bernstein, Abe Burrows, Burgess Meredith, Moss Hart and Margaret Webster. In view of the lack of direct ties to open Communist Party members, it is difficult to assess the significance of her friendship and association with those whose names have also been linked other front organizations. It would be impossible to fairly evaluate this without a complete and thorough investigation of the other personalities involved, which is beyond the scope of ths inquiry.

6. Adherence to party line through changes in line.

There has been no indication that Miss Holliday has adhered to the Communist Party line in any case. During the period her name has been linked with Communist organizations, there has been no change in the party line. Since the Korean War, when it has been easier to distinguish the party line from a liberal approach, Miss Holliday's name has not been linked with any Communist front organizations.

7. Statements indicating sympathy for party policies or defense of the Communist Party, it's members and it's organizations.

At no time has Miss Holliday made a statement indicating a sympathy for the Communist Party or known Communist organization. Her accompanying public statement indicates that she is not and never has been in sympathy with the party.

8. Refusal to condem the Communist Party or the U.S.S.R. as a conspiratorial menace.

Prior to this year no statement was found emanating from Miss Holliday in which she was openly critical of the Communist Party or of the U.S.S.R. Miss Holliday's accompanying statement unequivocally states her position on this subject.

In the course of my investigation I have not found Miss Judy Holliday's name included in lists of Communists that have been furnished at various times to various agencies by former members of the Communist Party. I have checked with several official intelligence agencies in this area and have been informed there is nothing in their report to indicate Communist activity or pro-Communist sympathy on the part of Miss Holliday beyond that which has already been covered in my report to you. Since submitting my original report, I have interviewed [Name or names censored by the FBI.] formerly of the cast of "Born Yesterday" and [Name or names censored by the FBI.]. None of them could offer any information to the effect that Miss Holliday was Communist or pro-Communist and all of them were of the opinion that she was not sympathetic to the Communist Party.

I also had the occasion to discuss this matter with a person associated with the House Committee on Un-American Activities, who advised me that it was not [their] intention to subpoena Miss Holliday in connection with the present Hollywood investigation. I have also been informed, through another source, that Miss Holliday will not be called before the Committee because they do not have reason to believe that she is or was affiliated with the Communist Party.

In the course of our investigation and research in connection with Miss Holliday and as a result of the several discussions I have had with her, it appears that both individuals and organizations have attempted to use Miss Holliday's name to their own advantage. This is nothing unusual because it is common to most people who are in public life. Some of the organizations which Miss Holliday has helped include the Red Cross, Cerebral Palsy Committee, Cancer Fund, United Jewish Appeal, various religious groups of different faiths, Care, Heart and U.S. Camp shows. In many cases these worthwhile organizations have made the same type of approach through mail or telephone solicitation that have been made by Communist organizations. If a cause seemed just and worthwhile to Miss Holliday she has done what she could to help them. I believe that Miss Holliday is guilty of failing to check carefully the persons and the organizations who have interested her in worthwhile sounding causes. She has made no distinction between endorsing and contributing to the Cancer Fund and endorsing a program for peace. I believe that it is Miss Holliday's responsibility, in view of her public position, to understand the nature and purposes of organizations soliciting her help and to carefully investigate such organizations if there is any doubt about them. If this is not done, the best interests of Columbia Pictures will be jeopardized.

Sincerely, [Name censored by the FBI. Known to be Kenneth Bierly.]