美国国家公共电台 NPR Actress Marsha Hunt, 100, Has Matters Of Principle

 

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Here's something pretty wonderful. Meet actress Marsha Hunt. Now 100 years old, she was part of the golden age of Hollywood and then the golden age of live television. Off screen, she lived through the McCarthy era and survived the Hollywood blacklist and still held on to her ideals. NPR's Ina Jaffe met her at her home in Los Angeles.

INA JAFFE, BYLINE¹: Marsha Hunt usually played the good girl, in comedies and dramas, westerns and war movies, even in gritty pictures like the 1948 film noir classic "Raw Deal."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "RAW DEAL")

MARSHA HUNT: (As Ann Martin) You think you had to fight, but the only way you know how to fight is that stupid way with a gun.

JAFFE: Hunt plays a legal caseworker who falls for a killer² but finally gets wise.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "RAW DEAL")

HUNT: (As Ann Martin) It's the daily fight that everyone has to get food and an education, to land a job and keep it and some self-respect. Safe - I never asked for anything say. All I want is just a little decency³. That's all.

JAFFE: Marsha Hunt knew what she wanted from an early age. Though she grew up in New York, she wanted Hollywood. After high school and a brief modeling career, the tall brunette with luminous⁴ eyes landed a contract with Paramount⁵ Pictures. She was just 17.

HUNT: I had blind confidence, predestined. I was going to be a film actress.

JAFFE: And she was a busy one. In the 1930s and '40s, she appeared in more than 50 films. She often played romantic leads but loved the chance to play less glamorous⁶ parts.

HUNT: I did play four old women before I was 21, and I think that's true. And that's not usual, but these were aging where you started young and aged⁷ throughout the story.

JAFFE: We could only find three such films that she made in her 20s. So while Hunt's memory for the important things is still strong, she knows she's foggy sometimes on the details, and she has a standard answer for that.

HUNT: You know, I am a hundred (laughter).

JAFFE: When Hunt appeared in big-budget pictures, she usually played supporting roles. Her leads were mostly in B movies, the less expensive films that filled out a double feature, like "The Affairs Of Martha."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA")

HUNT: (As Martha Lindstrom) No matter how upset they are, they don't have to behave like the Gestapo. All this spying...

JAFFE: In this 1942 comedy, the housemaids in a wealthy town fall under suspicion when word gets out that one of them has written a tell-all book. Marsha Hunt plays the secret author who rallies her fellow housekeepers⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA")

HUNT: (As Martha Lindstrom) There's nothing shameful⁹ about writing a book, is there? There's nothing in the Constitution that says you can't, is there?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Hear, hear.

(APPLAUSE)

HUNT: (As Martha Lindstrom) It's a matter of principle.

JAFFE: Hunt lost her career over a matter of principle. In the late 1940s, she publicly supported a group of writers, directors and producers who'd been accused of being communists and were called to testify before HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee.

HUNT: If you were liberal, that to some people meant communist. And of course, that was the dirtiest word in that period that could be used about anyone.

JAFFE: Hunt is the last surviving member of what was known as the Committee for the First Amendment¹⁰. It was a group of a few dozen big names, including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Huston and Judy Garland.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "HOLLYWOOD FIGHTS BACK")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: "Hollywood Fights Back."

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

JAFFE: This was a radio show produced by the Committee for the First Amendment protesting HUAC as itself un-American.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "HOLLYWOOD FIGHTS BACK")

JUDY GARLAND: This is Judy Garland.

JOHN HUSTON: This is John Huston.

LAUREN BACALL: This is Lauren Bacall.

HUNT: This is Marsha Hunt.

HUMPHREY BOGART: This is Humphrey Bogart.

LUCILLE BALL: This is Lucille Ball. All of us agree that the Constitution of the United States must be defended. But the way to do this...

JAFFE: Several members, including Hunt, flew to Washington, D.C., to show support for the writers and directors who'd been called before HUAC.

HUNT: I was there with pride and great excitement because we were testing what I had grown up believing in - free speech and love of country. And to find that there were people who questioned that was appalling¹¹ to me.

JAFFE: But not long after that trip, the Committee for the First Amendment was itself accused of being a communist front organization. It fell apart. Some members recanted. Others claimed they'd been duped but not Marsha Hunt.

HUNT: Mind you, I wasn't a big star, and I was never asked to recant. I guess they knew I wouldn't.

JAFFE: In 1950, Hunt's name appeared in Red Channels, a publication that named alleged¹² communists. That's all it took. Her movie work dried up overnight. Even when the blacklist ended, her career never returned to what it was. The blacklist hit some people hard. They succumbed¹³ to the bottle, died young or spent years in exile. But Marsha Hunt found a new dream to pursue. When her name appeared in Red Channels, she was working on Broadway where the blacklist didn't seem to matter much. So she continued to work on stage for a while. She also worked in some of the first live television dramas broadcast nationwide.

HUNT: That was trailblazing. Everything was brand new.

JAFFE: When she returned to Los Angeles, she threw herself into charity work and found a new outlet¹⁴ for her political activism as an advocate for the United Nations.

HUNT: The first time I heard the term, I thought the United Nations, yes, that means no war. That means getting along with each other, and that's for me. So how can I help?

JAFFE: She helped by making speeches to encourage support for the UN. She also produced a 1960 documentary about the plight¹⁵ of refugees around the world. It was written by her husband, screenwriter Robert Presnell Jr. who died in 1986. She still lives in the house they bought in the 1940s and gazes with joy at his fading photograph over the mantel piece.

HUNT: I was so lucky. He was brilliant and fun and philosophical¹⁶. We had all there was.

JAFFE: Now, the frailties¹⁷ of age have curtailed¹⁸ the activism and charity work to which Hunt devoted¹⁹ decades of her life. She uses a hearing aid. She walks with assistance from a cane²⁰ or a walker, and she doesn't see well enough to read.

HUNT: So I have to get the news on the air rather than in my newspaper or magazines. And that changes the degree of awareness²¹. I hope I know what's going on but not in the detail that I used to and that I treasured.

JAFFE: But she doesn't worry much about the details now. What Hunt treasures are the milestones²² in her life and the memories of the people she shared them with. Ina Jaffe, NPR News

(SOUNDBITE OF PETER SANDBERG'S "THE WARMTH OF THE SUN ON HER SKIN")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

4 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

5 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

6 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

7 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

8 housekeepers   

n.（女）管家( housekeeper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you send up one of your housekeepers to make bed? 请你派个女服务员来整理床铺好吗？ 来自互联网
• They work as gas station attendants, firemen, housekeepers,and security personnel. 本句翻译：机器人也能够作为煤气站的服务员，救火队员等保安作用。 来自互联网

9 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

14 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

15 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

16 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

17 frailties   

n.脆弱( frailty的名词复数 )；虚弱；（性格或行为上的）弱点；缺点

参考例句：

• The fact indicates the economic frailties of this type of farming. 这一事实表明，这种类型的农业在经济上有其脆弱性。 来自辞典例句
• He failed therein to take account of the frailties of human nature--the difficulties of matrimonial life. 在此，他没有考虑到人性的种种弱点--夫妻生活的种种难处。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

20 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

21 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

22 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网