When I first joined the Dramatists Guild, right after grad school, there was a note on our membership cards that said we were allied with The Authors League. But I could never figure out what The Authors League was. In Something Wonderful, Todd Purdum solves the mystery. It was comprised of members of the Dramatists Guild, the Radio Writers Guild and the Screenwriters Guild, and in 1950, Oscar Hammerstein was its president. Purdum writes: "Oscar had spoken out strongly against the Hollywood blacklist, saying that to 'blacklist writers on the basis of their personal political views, however repellent those views are, is more in accord with the practices of the Soviets than with our democratic traditions.'" Thank you, Todd Purdum!
