Gordon Kahn
Encyclopedia
Gordon Kahn was an American
author and screenwriter
who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era
. He is the father of broadcaster and author Tony Kahn
.
, Hungary
. When he was six-years-old, he and his parents moved to the United States. He worked as a reporter at The Mirror before moving to Hollywood in the 1930s to try his luck as a screenwriter. His writing credits included The Death Kiss
, Newboys' Home, and Buy Me That Town. Kahn joined several leftist and liberal causes and helped found the Writers Guild
. In 1947, when the House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC) began its anti-Communist hearings, Kahn – a presumed Communist – lost his job at Warner Bros. Studios. Although he was subpoenaed, he was not called to testify. He sold his 13-room Beverly Hills home, and he and his family moved into a smaller house in Studio City. Fearing that he would be arrested, he fled to Cuernevaca, Mexico
. His wife and sons Jim and Tony joined him six months later. The Kahns lived there until low funds forced them to return to the United States. Kahn used the pseudonym "Hugh G. Foster" to write magazine articles. He died of a heart attack on December 31, 1962 during a snowstorm in Manchester, New Hampshire
.
Kahn is described as a "...man who affected a beard and monocle." One F.B.I. report noted that Kahn had “a facial resemblance to Lenin."
Kahn is the subject of his son Tony's 1987 short documentary The Day the Cold War Came Home.
Blacklisted, a docu-drama in six half-hour episodes that first aired on National Public Radio in 1997, chronicles the last fifteen years of Gordon Kahn's life and the fears and ordeal his family experienced. It was written, produced, and narrated by Gordon Kahn's son Tony Kahn
. All of the words of Gordon and his wife Barbara were drawn from their writings, diaries, and letters. The words put in the mouth of J. Edgar Hoover
were all derived from a confidential 3,000-page FBI surveillance file on Gordon Kahn dated from 1944 to 1962.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
. He is the father of broadcaster and author Tony Kahn
Tony Kahn
Tony Kahn is an American award-winning broadcaster, published author, scholar and son of the blacklisted screenwriter Gordon Kahn.- Life :Kahn grew up in Los Angeles, the son of Hollywood screenwriter Gordon Kahn and Barbara Brodie Kahn. He joined his family in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where his father...
.
Life
Gordon Kahn was born on May 11, 1901 in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. When he was six-years-old, he and his parents moved to the United States. He worked as a reporter at The Mirror before moving to Hollywood in the 1930s to try his luck as a screenwriter. His writing credits included The Death Kiss
The Death Kiss
The Death Kiss is a mystery film starring David Manners as a crusading studio writer, Adrienne Ames as an actress, Bela Lugosi as a studio manager, and Edward Van Sloan as a film director. The comedy thriller features three leading players from the previous year's Dracula , and was the first film...
, Newboys' Home, and Buy Me That Town. Kahn joined several leftist and liberal causes and helped found the Writers Guild
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
. In 1947, when the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
(HUAC) began its anti-Communist hearings, Kahn – a presumed Communist – lost his job at Warner Bros. Studios. Although he was subpoenaed, he was not called to testify. He sold his 13-room Beverly Hills home, and he and his family moved into a smaller house in Studio City. Fearing that he would be arrested, he fled to Cuernevaca, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. His wife and sons Jim and Tony joined him six months later. The Kahns lived there until low funds forced them to return to the United States. Kahn used the pseudonym "Hugh G. Foster" to write magazine articles. He died of a heart attack on December 31, 1962 during a snowstorm in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
.
Kahn is described as a "...man who affected a beard and monocle." One F.B.I. report noted that Kahn had “a facial resemblance to Lenin."
Kahn is the subject of his son Tony's 1987 short documentary The Day the Cold War Came Home.
Blacklisted, a docu-drama in six half-hour episodes that first aired on National Public Radio in 1997, chronicles the last fifteen years of Gordon Kahn's life and the fears and ordeal his family experienced. It was written, produced, and narrated by Gordon Kahn's son Tony Kahn
Tony Kahn
Tony Kahn is an American award-winning broadcaster, published author, scholar and son of the blacklisted screenwriter Gordon Kahn.- Life :Kahn grew up in Los Angeles, the son of Hollywood screenwriter Gordon Kahn and Barbara Brodie Kahn. He joined his family in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where his father...
. All of the words of Gordon and his wife Barbara were drawn from their writings, diaries, and letters. The words put in the mouth of J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
were all derived from a confidential 3,000-page FBI surveillance file on Gordon Kahn dated from 1944 to 1962.
Partial filmography
- The Death KissThe Death KissThe Death Kiss is a mystery film starring David Manners as a crusading studio writer, Adrienne Ames as an actress, Bela Lugosi as a studio manager, and Edward Van Sloan as a film director. The comedy thriller features three leading players from the previous year's Dracula , and was the first film...
(1933) - Newsboys' HomeNewsboys' HomeNewsboys' Home is a 1938 Universal Studios film that starred Jackie Cooper and The Little Tough Guys.-Cast:The Little Tough Guys:*Harris Berger as Sailor*Hal E...
(1938) - World Premiere (1941)
- Buy Me That Town (1941)
- RuthlessRuthlessRuthless can refer to:* Ruthless * Ruthless * Ruthless , a 1948 film starring Zachary Scot* Ruthless , a race horse* Ruthless!, a 1992 musical-See also:...
(1948)