Philip Loeb
Encyclopedia
Philip Loeb was an American
stage, film
, and television
actor
who was blacklisted under McCarthyism
and committed suicide
.
, Loeb first performed in a high school production of Lady Gregory's
The Workhouse Ward. He served in the Army, then worked as stage manager of The Green Goddess
. His stage career gained strength in the early 1920s when he became associated with the newly-formed Theatre Guild
in New York City. He worked in a number of plays throughout the decade. His stage work lessened in the 1930s, while he worked with Actors Equity Association. (It is his work with Equity that is thought to have prompted the charges of Communist leanings.)
In 1948, Loeb portrayed the role of Jake Goldberg on Broadway in Gertrude Berg
's play Me and Molly
which was based on Berg's long running radio show The Goldbergs
. After the play, he reprised the role on the television adaptation of The Goldbergs on CBS
. Loeb became a viewer favorite as the sometimes exasperated but always loving husband Jake to Berg's sometimes meddlesome but always bighearted Molly Goldberg, and it looked as though he would become a television fixture.
: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television, named Loeb as a Communist. Loeb denied being a Communist, but the sponsors of The Goldbergs, General Foods, insisted that he be dropped from the show's cast due to his "controversiality". Berg (who had created the show and owned it on both radio and television) refused to fire Loeb, but Loeb soon resigned, accepting a settlement which was estimated at $40,000.
Loeb's last acting job was in the 1952 Broadway
production of Time Out For Ginger
and its subsequent Chicago production in 1954.
describes Loeb as being disconsolate and depressed as a result of the blacklisting. Loeb was the sole support of a mentally disturbed son, and was burdened with money worries. Bernstein was part of a circle of friends including Zero Mostel
, and said "I never saw Loeb smile, even when Zero was at his hilarious best."
The following year Loeb committed suicide
by taking an overdose
of sleeping pills in the Taft Hotel in midtown New York City
on September 1, 1955. No note was found. One woman wrote to the Drama Editor of the New York Times to say that Loeb "died of a sickness commonly called the blacklist
." Loeb was buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in his native Philadelphia.
(himself a blacklisted performer), in Martin Ritt
's 1976
film examining the Hollywood blacklist, The Front
(also starring Woody Allen
). The screenplay of the movie was written by another friend from that era, Walter Bernstein
.
Loeb's case is also noted in the Philip Roth
novel, I Married a Communist.
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts
---where Loeb was an instructor---awards an annual scholarship in his memory. Equity briefly issued the Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who was blacklisted under McCarthyism
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...
and committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Background
Born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Loeb first performed in a high school production of Lady Gregory's
Augusta, Lady Gregory
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory , born Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of...
The Workhouse Ward. He served in the Army, then worked as stage manager of The Green Goddess
The Green Goddess (stage play)
The Green Goddess was a popular stage play of 1921 by William Archer.In the three years after its publication, the play toured in both America and England....
. His stage career gained strength in the early 1920s when he became associated with the newly-formed Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
in New York City. He worked in a number of plays throughout the decade. His stage work lessened in the 1930s, while he worked with Actors Equity Association. (It is his work with Equity that is thought to have prompted the charges of Communist leanings.)
In 1948, Loeb portrayed the role of Jake Goldberg on Broadway in Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg was an American actress and screenwriter. A pioneer of classic radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her serial comedy-drama The Rise of the Goldbergs , later known as The Goldbergs.-Career:Berg was born...
's play Me and Molly
Me and Molly
Me and Molly is a play by Gertrude Berg which is based on Berg's long running radio drama The Goldbergs. The work premiered on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on February 26, 1948. It closed after 156 performances on July 10, 1948...
which was based on Berg's long running radio show The Goldbergs
The Goldbergs
The Goldbergs is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, Me and Molly, and a 1973 Broadway musical, Molly.-Radio:...
. After the play, he reprised the role on the television adaptation of The Goldbergs on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Loeb became a viewer favorite as the sometimes exasperated but always loving husband Jake to Berg's sometimes meddlesome but always bighearted Molly Goldberg, and it looked as though he would become a television fixture.
Blacklisting
In June 1950, Red ChannelsRed Channels
Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television is an anti-Communist tract published in the United States at the height of the Red Scare...
: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television, named Loeb as a Communist. Loeb denied being a Communist, but the sponsors of The Goldbergs, General Foods, insisted that he be dropped from the show's cast due to his "controversiality". Berg (who had created the show and owned it on both radio and television) refused to fire Loeb, but Loeb soon resigned, accepting a settlement which was estimated at $40,000.
Loeb's last acting job was in the 1952 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Time Out For Ginger
Time Out For Ginger
Time Out For Ginger is a Broadway comedy by Ronald Alexander that ran 248 performances at the Lyceum Theatre from November 26, 1952 to June 27, 1953, before becoming hugely popular in regional theatres throughout the 1950s and early 1960s...
and its subsequent Chicago production in 1954.
Death
In his memoirs, Inside Out, blacklisted screenwriter Walter BernsteinWalter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein is an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s.-Early life:...
describes Loeb as being disconsolate and depressed as a result of the blacklisting. Loeb was the sole support of a mentally disturbed son, and was burdened with money worries. Bernstein was part of a circle of friends including Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
, and said "I never saw Loeb smile, even when Zero was at his hilarious best."
The following year Loeb committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by taking an overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
of sleeping pills in the Taft Hotel in midtown New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on September 1, 1955. No note was found. One woman wrote to the Drama Editor of the New York Times to say that Loeb "died of a sickness commonly called the blacklist
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
." Loeb was buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in his native Philadelphia.
Remembrances
Loeb's suicide was reflected in the character Hecky Brown, played by his real-life friend Zero MostelZero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
(himself a blacklisted performer), in Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
's 1976
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
film examining the Hollywood blacklist, The Front
The Front
The Front is a 1976 film drama about the Hollywood blacklist during the age of live television. It is written by Walter Bernstein, directed by Martin Ritt and stars Woody Allen and Zero Mostel....
(also starring Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
). The screenplay of the movie was written by another friend from that era, Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein is an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s.-Early life:...
.
Loeb's case is also noted in the Philip Roth
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
novel, I Married a Communist.
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
---where Loeb was an instructor---awards an annual scholarship in his memory. Equity briefly issued the Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award
Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award
This award was named in memory of the blacklisted prominent actor and Actors' Equity Association worker Philip Loeb, who committed suicide in 1955 after losing his craft to McCarthyism. The award was bestowed only twice....
.