Morris Carnovsky

Shortly after completing a role in Stanley Kramer's "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950), Carnovsky was called upon to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to compromise his rights or to vilify colleagues, Carnovsky was blacklisted but, partly thanks to the help of John Houseman, was able to revive his career in live theater. Portraying characters from Shylock to Lear (at the American Shakespeare Festival) and enjoying many of the plums of the classical and contemporary repertory during the next three decades, Carnovsky enjoyed his career peak late in life, though American films of that period were denied a singular talent.