Oral Histories

Interview of Mary Davenport

Wife of screenwriter Waldo Salt, who was blacklisted in the post-World War II Hollywood blacklist.
Subtitle:
Hollywood Blacklist: Mary Davenport
Series:
Hollywood Blacklist
Topic:
Social Movements
Communist Party
Film and Television
Biographical Note:
Wife of screenwriter Waldo Salt, who was blacklisted in the post-World War II Hollywood blacklist.
Interviewer:
Ceplair, Larry
Interviewee:
Davenport, Mary
Persons Present:
Davenport and Caplair.
Place Conducted:
Beverly Pavilion Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Larry Ceplair, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., Economics, UCLA; Ph.D., History, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Coauthor, The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930-1960. Ceplair prepared for the interview by consulting the Waldo Salt papers held by the UCLA Theater Arts Library as well as the sources he had collected while writing The Inquisition in Hollywood.
Processing of Interview:
Alex Cline, editor, edited the interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling, and verified proper names. Words and phrases inserted by the editor have been bracketed. Davenport was then given an opportunity to review the transcript and make corrections and additions. Those corrections were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.
Length:
2.25 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Series Statement:
Interviews in this series preserve the recollections of selected individuals in Los Angeles who were affected by the Hollywood blacklist during the Joseph R. McCarthy-J. Edgar Hoover era.
Abstract:
Attends University of Washington and the Henry Duffy School of the Theatre; career in theater and films; the Actors Lab; marriage to screenwriter Waldo Salt; political activities; Salt is subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities; impact of the blacklist on Davenport and her family; Salt leaves family; Salt's years as a successful screenwriter; Davenport's life after the end of her marriage; disenchantment with the Communist Party.