LOS ANGELES (AP) - A blacklisted screenwriter who later named names to Communist hunters during the McCarthy era has died in California. Richard Collins was 98.
His son, Michael Collins, tells the Los Angeles Times ( https://lat.ms/Z1nT8s) that Collins died Thursday of pneumonia in Ventura.
Collins was one of 19 writers and directors called by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 in a probe of supposed Communist subversion in Hollywood. He wasn’t asked to testify but 10 who refused to answer questions about their beliefs were jailed in what has widely been called a witch hunt.
Collins was subpoenaed again in 1951 and identified more than 20 colleagues as Communist sympathizers. He later expressed regrets.
He went on to have a three-decade career in TV writer and producer on shows including “Bonanza” and “Matlock.”
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Information from: Los Angeles Times, https://www.latimes.com
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