Nobody gets through the holiday season without repeated doses of Burl Ives and his Have Holly Jolly Christmas song (“Give her one for me”). Ives was an Amerian musican, actor and author, but all of his actions weren’t jolly. He was identified in the 1950 pamphlet Red Channels and blacklisted as an entertainer with alleged Communist ties. In 1952, he cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Commitee and agreed to testify, fearful of losing his income. Ives's statement to the Committee ended his blacklisting allowing him to continue acting in movies - and it led to a bitter rift between Ives and many folk singers, including Pete Seeger, who accused Ives of naming names and betraying the cause of cultural and political freedom to save his own skin. Later, Seeger publicly ridiculed Ives for attempting to distance himself from the far left organizations he had supported. In 1993, Ives, by then using a wheelchair, reunited with Seeger during a benefit concert in New York City, having reconciled years earlier.
© 2024 John Oliver
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