Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston (December 21, 1896 – August 22, 1963) was a motion picture association executive.

He was born in Washington DC, and lived most of his life in Spokane, Washington. He became head of the United States Chamber of Commerce before being named President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) by the movie studio heads in 1945.

In November of 1947, Johnston was part of a closed-door meeting with forty-seven motion picture company executives at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. As a result, on the 25th of November, Johnston issued the Waldorf Statement, a two-page press release that marked the beginning of the "Hollywood blacklist."

Johnston was enlisted for special assignments by two U.S. persidents. In 1951 he was appointed by pesident Harry S. Truman as "Economic Stabilization Administrator" replacing Alan Valentine. Later he was appointed by president Eisenhower as a "Special Representative of the President of the United States" (in the capacity of an ambassador) to deal with the water conflict between Israel and Arab countries (mainly Jordan and Syria).

Eric Johnston served as President of the MPAA until his death in 1963.