In the golden era of 1950s Hollywood, Lee Grant was on the cusp of stardom. She was young, beautiful, and immensely talented, earning critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Detective Story (1951). Hollywood had its next big star—or so it seemed.
But within a few short years, Grant went from being a rising luminary to a Hollywood exile, her career derailed not by scandal, poor performances, or box office failures, but by something far more insidious—the infamous Hollywood blacklist.
At the funeral of J. Edward Bromberg, a fellow actor and alleged communist sympathizer, Grant delivered a eulogy honoring his work and condemning the pressures that had driven him to an early death. That moment of compassion and defiance sealed her fate.
Almost overnight, she became radioactive in Hollywood. The doors that had once been flung open for her now slammed shut. Read more below
