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5. Billy's list

Communist accusations in Hollywood continue. Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson develops an anti-communist friendship with Howard Hughes.

Rumours of communist infiltration in the movie business had circulated for years. Showbiz insider Billy Wilkerson is the first to publicly name alleged Tinseltown 鈥渃ommunists鈥�, including Dalton Trumbo, in his paper, the Hollywood Reporter. William R. Wilkerson III speaks about his father鈥檚 friendship with billionaire producer Howard Hughes, a rabid anti-communist. He describes how his mostly apolitical father鈥檚 anti-communist stance was shaped by a visit to the Soviet Union. Wilkerson III recalls how his father鈥檚 close connections with stars like Jimmy Cagney gave him political influence in Hollywood. Oona Chaplin learns how future president Ronald Reagan operated as an FBI informant.

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Ronald Reagan鈥檚 'evil empire' speech, 1983, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

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  • Hollywood Exiles

    A story of glamour, duplicity and the FBI's battle against communism in Hollywood