In 1953, the Department of State removed John F. Melby from the Foreign Service because of his affair with acclaimed American author and political activist Lillian Hellman, who was suspected of being a Communist Party member. Hellman was famous for her 1934 Broadway play, The Childrenâ??s Hour, which dealt with lesbianism, and The Little Foxes. As a screenwriter at Goldwyn Studios she earned the incredible sum of $2500 a week and like many others she supported the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. She described herself as a â??casual memberâ? of the Communist Party but said she attended meetings from 1938-40.
Lillian and Johnâ??s 40-year affair took place while Hellman carried on a 30-year affair with fellow political activist and writer Dashiell Hammett, famed author of The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, seen at left. Melby and Hellman began to drift apart at about the time Hellman was called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1952 . Melby was then forced to testify before the State Departmentâ??s Loyal Security Board because of his association with Hellman. The Department officially removed Melby from the Foreign Service on April 22, 1953. The Cold War Romance of Lillian Hellman and John Melby, published in 1989, chronicles an era of heightened anti-Communism in the Department while shedding light on a highly covert affair. Charles Stuart Kennedy interviewed John F. Melby in 1989. You can read about another famous screenwriter with political views, Clare Booth Luce.
Read Full Article »