Transcript of Judy Holliday's Testimony


This is the complete transcript of the testimony Judy Holliday gave before a Senate subcommittee looking into allegations that she was involved with Communist-front organizations. The testimony was given on the morning of March 26th, 1952 in an executive session (closed off to the press and public). Six months later, the United States Government released to the public the testimony of Judy and several other witnesses that were interrogated by the committee.

I have transcribed the entire transcript word-for-word from the original document. At one point during the 2 hours and 40 minutes of testimony, Judy refers to the Clarence Derwent Award as the "Clarence Durward" Award. This is most likely a mistake made by a stenographer unfamiliar with the name of the award. I have left it as is, but have added the [sic] notation to that and other obvious misspellings.

As you can probably imagine, this document is quite lengthy. I have broken it up over several pages. There are page jumps located at the bottom of each page to ease your navigation. This may help you find where you left off if you choose to read only a few pages at a time. If you are looking for something in particular you can click here for an index of the topics that were discussed and what page they can be found on.


SUBVERSIVE INFILTRATION OF RADIO, TELEVISION,
AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1952

UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE TO
INVESTIGATE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERNAL
SECURITY ACT AND OTHER INTERNAL SECURITY LAWS,
OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE JUDICIARY,
Washington, D.C.


The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a.m. in room 457, Senate Office Building, Senator Arthur V. Watkins, presiding.
Present: Senators Watkins & Ferguson.
Present also: Richard Arens, staff director; Frank Schroeder, professional staff member; Edward Duffy, investigator; Donald Connors, Jr., investigator, and Winton H. King, investigator.
Senator Watkins: The subcommittee will come to order. Mr. Arens, do you have a witness to interrogate?
Mr. Arens: Yes, sir; the witness today is Miss Judy Holliday. We ask that she be sworn in at this time.
Senator Watkins: Will you stand and be sworn? Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give in the matter now pending before the subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate, will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Miss Holliday: I do.

TESTIMONY OF JUDY HOLLIDAY, NEW YORK, N.Y., ACCOMPANIED
BY SIMON H. RIFKIND, COUNSEL, NEW YORK, N.Y.

Senator Watkins: You may proceed with the examination.
Mr. Arens: Kindly identify yourself by name and residence.
Miss Holliday: Judy Holliday, 158 Waverly Place, New York City.
Mr. Arens: Your name is Judy Holliday as a stage name, is it?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: A professional name?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: What other name have you used in the course of your life?
Miss Holliday: Judy Tuvim, T-u-v-i-m.
Mr. Arens: Do you have a married name?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: What is your married name?
Miss Holliday: Mrs. David Oppenheim.
Mr. Arens: What was the occasion for the use of the name Judy Tuvim? Was that the name under which you were born?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: You subsequently adopted the name Judy Holliday as a stage or theatrical name?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: Now, you are appearing here today in response to a subpena which was served upon you?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: And you are represented by counsel?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: Will counsel please identify himself?
Mr. Rifkind: Simon H. Rifkin, 575 Madison Avenue, New York City. Just to introduce myself, I will tell the chairman that I was formerly a judge of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York.
Senator Watkins: Judge, we have heard of you. May I say that in our procedure here we permit counsel to appear with the witnesses. However, as you know, Judge, there is to be no coaching of witnesses at all. The witness, however, has the right to ask counsel whether she should answer a particular question, but not to ask him how to answer. It is quite different from a court procedure, because this is an investigative body. Nobody is under charges; we are trying to elicit the facts with respect to the internal security of the United States with the idea in mind of seeing whether or not the law now in force and on the books, and to consider whether any proposed amendments may be necessary as a result of our investigations.
Mr. Rifkind: Yes.
Senator Watkins: We welcome counsel to come and they are entitled, the witness is, to have counsel with them, under the circumstances.
Mr. Rifkind: Thank you, Senator.
Mr. Arens: Where were you born?
Miss Holliday: I was born in Manhattan.
Mr. Arens: In Manhattan in New York State; is that correct?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: Will you kindly give us a brief résumé of your early education.
Miss Holliday: I went to public school and high school.
Mr. Arens: Then in what period of your life was it that you concluded your formal education, your high school?
Miss Holliday: When I was 16.
Mr. Arens: Will you kindly trace in just résumé form your employment activity since you concluded your formal education in high school?
Miss Holliday: I started immediately in night clubs. Well, that is within a period of a year and I worked in night clubs for the next, oh, about 6 years, and then I did a play, then did another play, and two movies -- three movies.
Mr. Arens: And then kindly give us a brief résumé down to the present time of your professional affiliations, associations and activities.
Miss Holliday: Well, I am a member of ----
Mr. Arens: I think you misunderstood me. You told of your activities after you left high school up to the point where I understood you to say you performed in one or two motion pictures?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: Now, trace that down the best you can in résumé form up to the present time. We do not mean to be too precise, or too particular.
Miss Holliday: You want the names of what I appeared in?
Mr. Rifkind: I think the witness misunderstands you. Actually, she has given you her situation, what she understands it to be, up to this time.
Mr. Arens: I see.
Mr. Rifkind: Her engagements have been long.
Mr. Arens: What is your present activity?
Miss Holliday: I am under contract to Columbia Pictures, but I only do one picture a year, and I have completed that picture.
Mr. Arens: What unions or guilds are you a member of?
Miss Holliday: I am a member, not an officer, but a member of Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild. I am -- I don't know if I'm a paid-up member of the Radio Actors, AFRA, American Federation of Radio Actors.
Mr. Arens: Now kindly identify just for the purpose of this record the Actors Equity Association.
Miss Holliday: Well, it's an actors' union.
Mr. Arens: And how long have you been a member of Actors' Equity?
Miss Holliday: Since 1944 or 1945; I don't really know which.
Mr. Arens: Have you ever held office in Actors Equity?
Miss Holliday: No.
Mr. Arens: Have you ever been on the board of directors?
Miss Holliday: No.
Mr. Arens: Will you kindly identify Screen Actors Guild?
Miss Holliday: That is a movie actors' union.
Mr. Arens: How long have you been a member of that organization?
Miss Holliday: Since 1944.
Mr. Arens: Kindly identify ----
Miss Holliday: Wait a minute. I'm not sure, it might not have been since 1944. It might have been 1943, but I am not positive.
Mr. Arens: 1943 or 1944 is your best recollection; is that correct?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Mr. Arens: Now kindly identify the American Federation of Radio Artists.
Miss Holliday: That is a union for radio actors.
Mr. Arens: How long have you been a member of that organization?
Miss Holliday: Well, that is hard to say. That goes way back. That should have been 1941 or 1942, I think. I am not really sure. I could have checked on these, but I didn't know it would be necessary.
Mr. Arens: Well, just what is your best recollection if you please?
Miss Holliday: 1941 or 1942.
Mr. Arens: Now, are any of these organizations, the Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Radio Artists or Actors Equity, interlocking in their relations, one to the other? In other words, is one a parent organization of which another is a subsidiary?
Miss Holliday: I am not sure which one is the parent, or whether one is the parent, but I do know that if you are a member of of one, you get a reduction in your initiation fee for the other, so that you don't have to pay the full initiation fee for three organizations.
Senator Ferguson: How much are those initiation fees?
Miss Holliday: I don't know.
Mr. Rifkind: You don't remember?
Miss Holliday: No.
Senator Ferguson: About how much? Do you remember at all?
Miss Holliday: No.
Mr. Rifkind: Is it more than a thousand dollars?
Miss Holliday: No.
Mr. Rifkind: Is it more than a $100?
Miss Holliday: Possibly for Screen Actors Guild it might be $100. I think that is the most expensive. I am not sure, though; maybe the Equity is about the same.
Senator Watkins: Is that the initial fee upon joining?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Senator Watkins: Regular dues?
Miss Holliday: Yes.
Senator Watkins: Do you know what the regular dues are in each of those organizations?
Miss Holliday: No.
Senator Ferguson: Might I inquire whether or not you pay these, or does your management go into that?
Miss Holliday: Automatically. It is taken out of my checks.
Senator Ferguson: In other words, your management puts you in these organizations?
Miss Holliday: Because you can't work unless you are in.
Senator Ferguson: Therefore, it is taken out of your pay and you would not remember how much is taken out for these items?
Miss Holliday: That is right.
Mr. Arens: Are you a member of Television Authority?
Miss Holliday: No. I may be a sort of member because I am a member of everything else, but I have never paid any dues to it.
Mr. Arens: Are these the only professional organizations or unions of which you are a member?
Miss Holliday: Yes; those are the only unions there are?
Mr. Arens: There are a number of additional unions?
Miss Holliday: Stage hands and things, but for actors, I guess that covers -- no; wait a minute. I used to be a member of an organization called AGVA, American Variety Artists.
Mr. Arens: Variety artists?
Miss Holliday: Variety artists. That was when I worked in night clubs and vaudeville, but I dropped out of that.




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