Helen Gahagan (November 25, 1900 – June 28, 1980) was an American actress and (under the name Helen Gahagan Douglas) a politician. Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person She was of Scottish and Irish descent. The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate
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Actress
Gahagan was born in Boonton, New Jersey, and reared Roman Catholic. see also Boonton Township New Jersey Boonton is a Town in Morris County, New Jersey that was chartered in Graduating from Barnard College in 1924, she became a well-known star on Broadway in the 1920s. Barnard College is a women's liberal arts college founded in 1889 Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located In 1931, she married actor Melvyn Douglas. Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg ( April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor Gahagan starred in only one Hollywood movie, She in 1935, playing Hash-a-Motep, queen of a lost city. She is a 1935 film produced by Merian C Cooper. The film is based on H The movie, based on H. Rider Haggard's novel of the same name, is perhaps best known for popularizing a phrase from the novel, "She who must be obeyed. Sir Henry Rider Haggard KBE ( 22 June 1856 &ndash 14 May 1925) was a prolific writer of Adventure novels set She A History of Adventure is a novel by H Rider Haggard, first serialized in The Graphic from October 1886 to January 1887 "
Political career
In the 1940s, Gahagan Douglas entered politics. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives from California's 14th Congressional district as a liberal Democrat in 1944, and served three full terms. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. Modern liberalism in the United States, also referred to as American liberalism, is a political ideology that seeks to use the power of the state to effect change upon society The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. During this time, according to author Robert Caro, she carried on an affair with then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson.
In 1950, Gahagan Douglas ran for the United States Senate even though the incumbent Democrat Sheridan H. Downey was seeking a third term. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Sheridan Downey ( March 11 1884 – October 25 1961) was a Lawyer and a Democratic U William Malone, the Democratic state chairman in California, had advised Douglas to wait until 1952 to run for the Senate, rather than split the party in a fight with Downey. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Gahagan Douglas, however, told Malone that Downey had neglected veterans and small growers and must be unseated. Downey withdrew from the race in the primary campaign and supported a third candidate, Manchester Boddy, the owner and publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view The Daily News of Los Angeles, also known as the Los Angeles Daily News, is the second largest circulating daily Newspaper of Los Angeles When Gahagan Douglas defeated Boddy for the nomination, Downey endorsed the Republican U.S. Representative Richard M. Nixon. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. [1]
In the race against Nixon, Gahagan Douglas was considered by many liberals to have been the prototypical victim of a smear campaign. A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a Metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with Alluding to her alleged Communist (or "Red") sympathies, Nixon suggested that she was a "fellow traveler", citing as evidence her supposed "Communist-leaning" votes in Congress — but neglected to mention that her voting record was not substantially different from his own. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based In some political contexts the term fellow traveler refers to a person who sympathizes with the beliefs of a particular organization but does not belong to that organization He referred to her as "the Pink Lady", and said that she was "pink right down to her underwear. Pinko is a derogatory term for a person regarded as sympathetic to Communism, though not necessarily a Communist Party member " His campaign manager, Murray Chotiner, even had flyers printed up on sheets of pink paper, to underline the point. In Representative democracies, Electoral campaigns larger than a few individuals generally include a campaign manager, either Paid or Volunteer Murray Chotiner ( October 4, 1909 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania - January 1974 American lawyer who was a close associate of Richard
Gahagan Douglas, in return, bestowed upon Nixon one of the most enduring nicknames in American politics: "Tricky Dick". List of United States Presidential names contains lists of nicknames, name origins, and the first, middle, and last names of each Nonetheless, Nixon won the election, with over 59 per cent of the vote. Gahagan Douglas' political career hence came to an end. The conservative Democrat Samuel W. Yorty (later a Republican convert) succeeded her in Congress. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Samuel William Yorty ( October 1, 1909 &ndash June 5, 1998) was a Politician from Los Angeles, California.
Later life
At its 1979 commencement ceremonies, Barnard College awarded Gahagan Douglas its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Barnard College is a women's liberal arts college founded in 1889 The following is a list of notable individuals associated with Barnard College through attendance as a student service as a member of the faculty or staff or award of the Barnard Medal
She died at the age of seventy-nine from breast and lung cancer. Breast cancer is a Cancer that starts in the cells of the Breast in women and men Lung cancer is a Disease of uncontrolled Cell growth in tissues of the Lung.
Actress Illeana Douglas is her step-granddaughter. Illeana Douglas (born July 25 1965 is an Emmy award -nominated American actress
See also
- Jerry Voorhis (Nixon's first political opponent)
External links
- Biographical Sketch of Helen Gahagan Douglas
- Helen Gahagan at the Internet Movie Database
- Helen Gahagan Douglas at Find A Grave
- ^ Kenneth Franklin Kurz, Nixon's Enemies, NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, 1998, p. Horace Jeremiah "Jerry" Voorhis ( April 6, 1901 &ndash September 11, 1984) was a Democratic Politician from Find A Grave is a Website allowing its users to access maintain and expand an online Database of Burial records 104
| Preceded by Thomas F. Ford |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 14th congressional district 1945–1951 |
Succeeded by Samuel W. Yorty |
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