Hilda Vaughn
| Hilda Vaughn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Baltimore, MD |
| Died |
December 27, 1957 (aged 59) Baltimore, MD |
| Occupation | Female actress |
| Years active | 1929-1940 |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Spouse(s) | Charles Morgan |
Hilda Vaughn was a female actress of the stage, radio, and television. She frequently played a “pleb”, or a commoner in the films she acted in. More often than not, she portrayed waitresses, maids, charwomen, governesses, saleswomen, and slaveys. Her characters were outgoing and spunky. A fixture at MGM in the sound era of the early 1930s, Vaughn acted in multiple films. In the 1930s and 40s a rising threat of communism in Eastern Europe and China frightened many Americans, thus creating the Cold War. Senator Joseph McCarthy “publically accused 200 ‘card carrying’ communists of infiltrating the American government.” This, along with the House Un-American Activities Act (HUAC) of 1938, resulted in the most repressive times in 20th century American Politics. The accusations made by these groups and people were taken very seriously although they were false and could not be supported. The “paranoid hunt for infiltrators” was especially hard on writers and entertainers like Hilda Vaughn. She and many other actors, directors, and screenwriters were pegged as communist sympathizers. The most famous of these, “The Hollywood Ten”. During the Witch Hunt, Hilda Vaughn was blacklisted by Joseph McCarthy. Although Vaughn made her return to film after a four year break in acting, her career never really took off again after her 1940 film, Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum.
Filmography
- Her screen debut, Three Live Ghosts (1929). She played an English Cockney.
- Susan Lennox, Her Rise and Fall (1931).
- Dinner at Eight (1933). She played Tina.
- Today We Live (1933). She played an ambulance corps worker.
- Anne of Green Gables (1934). She played Mrs. Blewett
- Chasing Yesterday (1935). She played a slavey.
- Banjo On My Knee (1936).
- Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940). She played a suspect.
References
- ↑ Bellinger, Guy. “Hilda Vaughn.” IMDb. n.d. Accessed March 28, 2015. http://www.imdb.com/nm0891176/bio
- ↑ Dirks, Tim. “Film History of the 1940s”. AMC Filmsite. n.d. Accessed March 28, 2015. http://filmsite.org/40sintro6.html.
- ↑ Eckstein, Arthur. “The Hollywood Ten in History and in Memory”. Film History 16, no. 4 (December 2004): 424-436. Communication and Mass Media complete, EBSCOhost. (Accessed March 28, 2015).
- ↑ “McCarthyism”. PBS. August 23, 2006. Accessed March 28, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/arthur-miller/mccarthyism/484/. Wollstein, Hans J. “Hilda Vaughn—Biography.” New York Times. March 28, 2013. Accessed March 28, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/73141/Hilda-Vaughn/biography.