Presidents and Celebrities: Herbert Hoover, FDR and the Hollywood Elite
Warren Harding may have been the first President to enlist the star power of Hollywood when he brought Al Jolson to his Marion Ohio home to campaign for him in 1920. Jolson wrote campaign ditties for both Harding and for Calvin Coolidge in 1924. But in the 1928 presidential election, the entertainment industry became even more involved in political campaigns in the 1928 presidential race, when Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM Studios, threw his support behind Republican Herbert Hoover. Mayer not only donated funds to Hoover's campaign, but he also gave speeches on Hoover’s behalf and made a talking film of him. He also arranged for campaign rallies in support of Hoover attended by stars such as Jolson and also Ethel and Lionel Barrymore. At the 1928 Republican convention, Mayer's studio prepared a slide show for the delegates. After Hoover was elected President, Mayer was invited to spend a night at the White House in the Lincoln Bedroom. Hoover also received support from Cecil B. DeMille and from advertising genius and best-selling author Bruce Barton, who even offered Hoover lessons on how to improve his speaking style. Hoover declined the offer, likely to his detriment.
Mayer quickly grasped the power of political persuasion that lay within Hollywood. In 1934, when author and journalist Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California as the candidate for the Democratic Party, Mayer used his propaganda machine to work against the Socialist journalist. Sinclair had promised to end poverty in the state, and had even written a political campaign novel awkwardly titled, “I, Governor of California, And How I Ended Poverty: A True Story of the Future.” In the book, Sinclair imagined his own victory and the success of his proposed policies. Mayer and other powerful figures such as William Randolph Hearst and Warner Brothers’ Jack Warner, created short films that showed their vision of what they saw as disastrous consequences for California coming from Sinclair’s policies, including ‘tramps’ overwhelming the state. The campaign worked, as Sinclair was defeated in a year when Democrats triumphed elsewhere.
But even before that, in 1932, as the country became mired in the Great Depression, Mayer and Warner became disillusioned with Hoover. Mayer reluctantly remained loyal to the incumbent President. Warner seized on the opportunity to back a winner. He decided to become more involved politically by supporting Hoover's opponent, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also organized cinematic events to support Roosevelt, including the “Western Film Stars Cowboy Circus” which included comedian Will Rogers, and a parade that featured a float celebrating his candidate Franklin Roosevelt.
Roosevelt’s election marked the start of a shift in support within the entertainment industry from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. In the years that followed, Warner Brothers worked closely with FDR’s administration to promote New Deal programs, aided by such stars as Humphrey Bogart and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. His studio organized star-studded charity events, with politicians they sought to support as honored guests. In 1934, Warner threw a “surprise” party for Roosevelt’s birthday, billed as a fundraiser for finding a cure for infantile paralysis. Over 5,000 local communities and businesses around the country organized their own, similar events. In Hollywood the event was attended by stars of the day such as Mickey Rooney and Dorothy Lamour. The events became annual ones.
In 1939, Roosevelt made national news when he told actress Janet Gaynor that she was “cute as a button.” Gaynor decided to use the phrase as the title of her next film. The next year was an election year and in the 1940 campaign, over 200 well-known actors, producers, writers, and studio executives joined a group known as ‘Hollywood for Roosevelt.’ Radio broadcasts supporting Roosevelt included performances by celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Groucho Marx and Humphrey Bogart. The Democrats ran two massive national broadcasts in the week before the election. For his 1941 inauguration gala, Roosevelt had celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Irving Berlin, performing at the event.
The connection between the Roosevelt administration and Hollywood grew closer during World War II, as celebrities such as Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Frank Capra and Ronald Reagan helped sell war bonds and performed for our troops. The president even spoke at the Academy Awards in 1941. His address can be heard in the two minute video embedded below:
Studios also created short films that could be played in theaters to promote the bonds. One film was called “The All Star Bond Rally.” It was hosted by Bob Hope and featured Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Harpo Marx, Betty Grable and Frank Sinatra.
Roosevelt’s death in 1945 coincided with the rise of anti-Communist sympathies, and Republican lawmakers called for hearings into possible Communist infiltration into the Hollywood studios. The 1947 hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee damaged Hollywood’s reputation with Americans. Political activists such as Humphrey Bogart, Olivia de Havilland and Edward G. Robinson faced professional consequences for their activism, and many entertainers had to repent publicly of their activism for fear of having their liberalism branded as communism. This also caused the Democratic Party to shun celebrities, and the 1950s would see an end to liberal celebrity activism.
Mayer quickly grasped the power of political persuasion that lay within Hollywood. In 1934, when author and journalist Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California as the candidate for the Democratic Party, Mayer used his propaganda machine to work against the Socialist journalist. Sinclair had promised to end poverty in the state, and had even written a political campaign novel awkwardly titled, “I, Governor of California, And How I Ended Poverty: A True Story of the Future.” In the book, Sinclair imagined his own victory and the success of his proposed policies. Mayer and other powerful figures such as William Randolph Hearst and Warner Brothers’ Jack Warner, created short films that showed their vision of what they saw as disastrous consequences for California coming from Sinclair’s policies, including ‘tramps’ overwhelming the state. The campaign worked, as Sinclair was defeated in a year when Democrats triumphed elsewhere.
But even before that, in 1932, as the country became mired in the Great Depression, Mayer and Warner became disillusioned with Hoover. Mayer reluctantly remained loyal to the incumbent President. Warner seized on the opportunity to back a winner. He decided to become more involved politically by supporting Hoover's opponent, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also organized cinematic events to support Roosevelt, including the “Western Film Stars Cowboy Circus” which included comedian Will Rogers, and a parade that featured a float celebrating his candidate Franklin Roosevelt.
Roosevelt’s election marked the start of a shift in support within the entertainment industry from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. In the years that followed, Warner Brothers worked closely with FDR’s administration to promote New Deal programs, aided by such stars as Humphrey Bogart and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. His studio organized star-studded charity events, with politicians they sought to support as honored guests. In 1934, Warner threw a “surprise” party for Roosevelt’s birthday, billed as a fundraiser for finding a cure for infantile paralysis. Over 5,000 local communities and businesses around the country organized their own, similar events. In Hollywood the event was attended by stars of the day such as Mickey Rooney and Dorothy Lamour. The events became annual ones.
In 1939, Roosevelt made national news when he told actress Janet Gaynor that she was “cute as a button.” Gaynor decided to use the phrase as the title of her next film. The next year was an election year and in the 1940 campaign, over 200 well-known actors, producers, writers, and studio executives joined a group known as ‘Hollywood for Roosevelt.’ Radio broadcasts supporting Roosevelt included performances by celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Groucho Marx and Humphrey Bogart. The Democrats ran two massive national broadcasts in the week before the election. For his 1941 inauguration gala, Roosevelt had celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Irving Berlin, performing at the event.
The connection between the Roosevelt administration and Hollywood grew closer during World War II, as celebrities such as Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Frank Capra and Ronald Reagan helped sell war bonds and performed for our troops. The president even spoke at the Academy Awards in 1941. His address can be heard in the two minute video embedded below:
Studios also created short films that could be played in theaters to promote the bonds. One film was called “The All Star Bond Rally.” It was hosted by Bob Hope and featured Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Harpo Marx, Betty Grable and Frank Sinatra.
Roosevelt’s death in 1945 coincided with the rise of anti-Communist sympathies, and Republican lawmakers called for hearings into possible Communist infiltration into the Hollywood studios. The 1947 hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee damaged Hollywood’s reputation with Americans. Political activists such as Humphrey Bogart, Olivia de Havilland and Edward G. Robinson faced professional consequences for their activism, and many entertainers had to repent publicly of their activism for fear of having their liberalism branded as communism. This also caused the Democratic Party to shun celebrities, and the 1950s would see an end to liberal celebrity activism.