05-09-2008, 04:22 AM
Don Dresden Wrote:I believe it was because Bear's father, John Klempner, was blacklisted by Hollywood for his Communist activities.
Interesting stuff, Don. Bear certainly has a lot of baggage in his life about which to be embarrassed.
But are you sure this isn't just another one of Bear's tall tales? The only source I can find who says Klempner was blacklisted is Bear. For example, the Wiki article Hollywood Blacklist names the people known or believed to have been blacklisted, citing a variety of authors and sources, yet the name Klempner is nowhere to be found among them.
Klempner had three of his works made into motion pictures, which is about three more than any of us ever will have. The blacklist is said to have begun in 1947, but Give My Regards to Broadway (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and Three for Jamie Dawn (1956) were all released during "the height of the Red Scare." For supposedly being blacklisted Klempner didn't seem to have much trouble getting people to buy his stuff.
Could it be that Klempner just wasn't a very good screenwriter? Or at least not prolific enough to earn a consistent living? In some circles the notion of being "blacklisted" has an appealing revolutionary aura. It certainly sounds a lot more exciting than being "unemployed."
I'm sure there is some highly embarrassing reason other than his wife's un-hyphenability that caused him to change his name, but I'm not sure this is it.