At times, Hollywood activists used their fame to advance liberal politics, just as they often do now. Charlie Chaplin’s films took on immigration authorities and worker-hostile industrial efficiency measures like the assembly line , but his pro-labor performances were seen as pro-communist during the post-World War II Red Scare, and his right to live in the United States — Chaplin was born in Britain — was revoked by the U.S. attorney general in 1952. Frank Sinatra and Jack Warner worked for the Democratic Party, creating memorable radio spots for Franklin Roosevelt’s reelection campaigns in 1944. And Harry Belafonte later became a trusted confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. and central to spreading the message of civil rights to unite white and black America behind the cause.
But music and movies were not political tools reserved solely for the left. The conservative author (and Hollywood screenwriter) Ayn Rand saw an opportunity to roll back the New Deal with motion pictures. “Don’t take politics lightly,” she wrote in her 1947 “Screen Guide for Americans,” as she encouraged Hollywood to use “good entertainment” to sell the merits of free enterprise, celebrate wealth and promote industrialists as American heroes. As a member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, Rand and other Hollywood anti-communists attempted to regulate the activism of Hollywood liberals off the screen and police films for hints of a left-wing agenda. They encouraged the House Un-American Activities Committee to investigate Hollywood and were eager witnesses at hearings.
The right has been effective in translating entertainment into votes ever since Louis B. Mayer turned his studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, into a political tool for Republicans in the 1920s — taking pictures of Calvin Coolidge on set in 1924, raising money and delivering radio addresses for Republicans in 1928. In return, President Herbert Hoover rewarded him with an overnight stay at the White House in 1929.
But it was Richard Nixon who cemented the Republican-Hollywood connection. A native of Southern California, Nixon cultivated Hollywood supporters over the years, but after losing to the media-savvy John F. Kennedy in 1960, he took entertainment more seriously. He studied then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan’s political success, observing how the former actor “reached the hearts” of voters. He revamped his media strategy for 1968 by following in Reagan’s footsteps (going so far as to appear on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”), and then as president ingrained those lessons into his presidency and the national Republican Party. Nixon worked hard to bring athletes, actors and musicians on board for his reelection campaign in 1972. And then his team urged them to “work for the party all year round.” He cultivated a relationship with the country singer Merle Haggard, whose hits “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me” became conservative anthems, taking it to antiwar protesters and others who were agitating for change. Television actress Pam Powell headed Nixon’s youth outreach. Sinatra and Charlton Heston made waves as Democrats turned Republicans. Surrogates were equipped with campaign “briefing books” and exploited all media opportunities — on talk shows, in interviews and through campaign events — to promote Nixon.