The politics of some Hollywood actors from years back are well known because of their involvement, on one side or the other, of the 1940s/50s blacklisting, or their outspokeness. I have used, through ancestry.com, the California voter registration lists to locate the political affiliations of some other actors whose politics I did not know. The lists are not completely on-line yet, and some actors had different real names from their stage names, so finding these is a slow process. Let me add that I verify that it is the right person by looking at the occupation, which is always listed in the registration. Going back into the lists, I learned that if you find one name in the precinct, look at all the names, because a lot of Hollywood people lived in the same precincts; all added to the previous lists.
Democrats:
Dana Andrews
Ralph Bellamy
Sidney Blackmer
Eddie Cantor
Merie Earle
Victor Fleming
Tay Garnett
Martin Kosleck
Alan Ladd
Herman Mankiewicz
Hattie McDaniel
Mayo Methot - listed as Mayo Bethot Bogart (Humphrey Bogart was a longstanding liberal and Democrat).
Tom Mix
Chester Morris
Alla Nazimova
Sidney Toler
Hans Von Twardoski
Republicans:
Eve Arden - found in 1932 under her real name, Eunice Quedens
George Bancroft
Lionel Barrymore
Richard Barthelmess
Wallace Beery
Ray Bolger
Johnny Mack Brown
Jerome Cowan
Donald Crisp
William Demarest
William Frawley
Percy Kilbride
Carl Laemmele Sr.
Carl Laemmele Jr.
Jesse Lasky
Mary Pickford
Hal Wallis
Clifton Webb
More interesting ones:
Myrna Loy, noted left-wing activist until the day she died, registered as a Republican in 1926 and 1928. By the time of the 1948 registrations, she was a Democrat. I wonder if FDR and the New Deal had anything to do with her conversion.
Bette Davis came from a Democratic family, participated in the 1974 Democratic Party fundraising telethon where she looked into the camera and said, "I am a lifelong Democrat!", and was outspoken also for liberal causes. Her absolute political idol was FDR. In a 1930s gossip column I read, the author said Davis "leans toward the Republican Party." In 1936, she (and her husband) registered as Republicans. Don't know if FDR effected her conversion, or if she registered as a Republican just because her husband (Ham Nelson) did.
I'll add more of these as I find them.
Democrats:
Dana Andrews
Ralph Bellamy
Sidney Blackmer
Eddie Cantor
Merie Earle
Victor Fleming
Tay Garnett
Martin Kosleck
Alan Ladd
Herman Mankiewicz
Hattie McDaniel
Mayo Methot - listed as Mayo Bethot Bogart (Humphrey Bogart was a longstanding liberal and Democrat).
Tom Mix
Chester Morris
Alla Nazimova
Sidney Toler
Hans Von Twardoski
Republicans:
Eve Arden - found in 1932 under her real name, Eunice Quedens
George Bancroft
Lionel Barrymore
Richard Barthelmess
Wallace Beery
Ray Bolger
Johnny Mack Brown
Jerome Cowan
Donald Crisp
William Demarest
William Frawley
Percy Kilbride
Carl Laemmele Sr.
Carl Laemmele Jr.
Jesse Lasky
Mary Pickford
Hal Wallis
Clifton Webb
More interesting ones:
Myrna Loy, noted left-wing activist until the day she died, registered as a Republican in 1926 and 1928. By the time of the 1948 registrations, she was a Democrat. I wonder if FDR and the New Deal had anything to do with her conversion.
Bette Davis came from a Democratic family, participated in the 1974 Democratic Party fundraising telethon where she looked into the camera and said, "I am a lifelong Democrat!", and was outspoken also for liberal causes. Her absolute political idol was FDR. In a 1930s gossip column I read, the author said Davis "leans toward the Republican Party." In 1936, she (and her husband) registered as Republicans. Don't know if FDR effected her conversion, or if she registered as a Republican just because her husband (Ham Nelson) did.
I'll add more of these as I find them.
